SUBMITTED NEWS RELEASE:
“In the end there is only light and dark. And the two are not so far apart.”
First-time novelist Thomas Lloyd Qualls’ debut work of fiction, Waking Up at Rembrandt’s, takes readers on a multi-dimensional journey where adversity leads to awakening and the spirit and senses become one. A story told entirely in second-person present-tense, this welcome debut also coaxes poetry into bed with prose, sensuality to seduce spirituality, and the written word to find its lyrical groove.
Maggie, a world-weary lawyer, Dillon, an over-educated slacker, and Phillip, a writer who can’t find his voice, have each fallen into an apathetic slumber. Within the walls of cafe rembrandt, where whipping fresh cream is an act of poetry and pouring a drink is an act of faith, they find sanctuary. We experience their stories through the voice of Jillian, who is part bartender, part spiritual guru. As she lures them each into consciousness, the reader is also awakened.
Few first-time novelists take the risks Qualls has with voice, tense, and the blending of genres, especially as a male author speaking through a female narrator. Qualls’ fearless, clever and skillful approach keeps the reader turning pages, making this literary debut stand even taller in crowd.
“This novel speaks to anyone who has ever woken up and not recognized their life – those who have gotten lost without even knowing it,” explains Qualls. “Waking Up at Rembrandt’s reminds us that we ultimately get to make up our own rules in life and that sometimes it takes adversity to help get us back to being who we truly are.”
Waking Up at Rembrandt’s, Thomas Lloyd Qualls, 237 pp. ISBN: 978-0-578-00632-1, $17.95 USD.
Available from Amazon.com, Lulu.com and bookstores throughout Northern Nevada.
For more information, to schedule an interview with the author, or for a review copy of Waking Up at Rembrandt’s, please contact Kaity Ocean ([email protected], +1.775.787.9257).
