Press release:
Local 501(c)3 nonprofit coffee shop Common Grounds will host “Sips and Stories”, a book-reading and signing fundraiser, on Saturday, July 25 from 1 to 3 p.m.
Local children’s author and award-winning novelist Rita M. Reali is the featured presenter.
The event is free and open to the public.
Rita M. Reali will read selections from her Sheldon Family Saga books. Guests may ask questions about the books, the characters, the writing process and more. They’ll also have an opportunity to purchase autographed copies of her novels, as well as her two Purringest Kitty children’s books.
Twenty percent of each sale will go directly to Common Grounds, which provides jobs for more than two dozen physically and intellectually disabled adults in Cumberland County.
“Common Grounds does great work, and I know how important fundraising is,” Reali said. “As a member of the Exchange Club of Lake Tansi, as well as the wife of a member of the Knights of Columbus – which both support the shop – I’m proud to back Common Grounds’ efforts.”
Coffee shop owner Sara Bakker hopes this fundraiser will spur a series of signings featuring other local authors. “This is such a great opportunity – for Rita and for the community, as well as Common Grounds,” she said. “I’d also love to have other authors come in to do similar events in support of what we do here. It’s a win-win for everyone.”
Reali said she’s currently writing the seventh (and final) book in the Sheldon Family Saga; she hinted she might also read excerpts from that work.
Common Grounds is located at 152 West First Street in Crossville, Tennessee.
