Join us for a virtual author chat with local authors, Maria C. Palmer and Ruthie Robbins. 

Maria Costanzo Palmer is an author and grant writer. Growing up as the oldest child of an award-winning restaurateur, Maria unexpectedly became a daughter of the incarcerated. This experience ignited an interest in working for Get on the Bus, a nonprofit dedicated to uniting children with their incarcerated parents. A former host on L.A. Talk Radio, Maria was recently featured on Food and Beverage Magazine.

Ruthie Robbins is an award-winning educator who worked for the Montour School District in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, PA, and for Johns Hopkins Talent Development Secondary. Ruthie now teaches English and Language Arts in Buffalo, New York. Well-known as co-creator of a popular amusement park interdisciplinary unit, she is currently working on other books and is preparing to launch The Writing Factory Online, a comprehensive writing program for middle schools.

On the Rocks by Maria C. Palmer and Ruthie Robbins chronicles the real-life journey of restaurateur Joseph Costanzo Jr., from his rise to success in the 1990s as owner of the highly acclaimed Primadonna Restaurant, radio host, entrepreneur, columnist, and aspiring politician to his sharp fall in the early 2000s, ending in an investigation and a stint in federal prison. Costanzo is a complex character whom readers will admire for his confidence and rebuke for his arrogance, will love for his generosity and despise for his egotism, and will learn from in both his attention to detail and lack thereof. This driven, not-your-average Joe is an unforgettable character who achieves the seemingly impossible but can’t help getting in his own way. Come along with Joe for a bumpy ride On the Rocks!