The Two Compliments That Made My Weekend and the Primadonna Pop-Up Link

Hello Friends and Fans of On the Rocks,

Happy Daylight Savings Time! I don’t know about you, but after a bit of a challenging week, there is nothing more that I love than losing an hour of sleep. (In all honesty, though, this is my favorite time zone, so really, I welcome the change to have a little more vitamin D in my life!)

First and foremost, here’s the link to our next Pop Up Restaurant at The Kitchen by Vangura. On Friday, May 2nd from 6:30-9 pm, Chef Pino will be back behind the stove cooking up Fried Zucchini, Chicken ala Pino (think Chicken Parm with sauteed veggies under the melted provolone cheese), Fettucine Primavera in a Red Sauce, and Cannoli. BYO 50 seat max. $90 per person. Pre-pay, pre-res only. Here’s the link.

I wasn’t really intending to write a newsletter today, but if you followed me for a bit, you know that when I have something to share, I do. When I don’t, I stay quiet. As I mentioned, this week was a tough one.

After a dream opportunity popped onto our horizon and everything seemed to be lined with the stars, a sudden sharp turn happened that caused a pause and now a pivot. Let me be clear: I do still think this opportunity is very much happening, and the right people are still at the helm for it; it just is now going to happen a little more calculated with a different path that needs to be cultivated. What I had initially envisioned is not going to be the actual reality.

Although, by now, I should be used to this as this is not only common in creative fields but the norm, but instead, I was using this opportunity as a means to cope with other factors that aren’t going just right for me. It became that magical pill that took the sting out of life. It was the thing that got me out of bed in the morning and kept me up late at night, trying a little harder when I felt completely exhausted. It was a motivator for me to finish my R and R of the cookbook, which by the way, did happen! Hence, I guess not all was lost, right?

Disappointment happens; when it does, it is easy to focus and mellow in it. However, as the universe would have it, months back, I had scheduled a very important meeting with an editor I’ve gotten to know at a large press. She was giving me some advice and feedback on my latest go around of the cookbook proposal.

After this week, I was braced for the worst. I came into the meeting expecting her to tell me that my expectations didn’t match my reality, my writing and recipes could both use a little assistance and because I didn’t have 30 million TikTok followers, this dream likely would never be a reality.

Because I was already primed for it, I got on the call and just said, “Okay, let me have it. I am ready for you to tell me and, most importantly, just be honest. My feelings are not important. I just need you to spare me now of what I’m gonna find out later. Think of this as a compassionate time-traveling fortune-telling session. Okay, go.”

A pause and then laughter followed her look of complete bewilderment. It was laughter that was so contagious that I started laughing too. When we finally both calmed down, she said, “Wow, it’s been a week for you, I see?”

I nodded, and then she started to dive in and ask me questions, not necessarily about my proposal, but about my life. We talked about all the things ranging from the after-hours stripper story on On the Rocks to being a Girl Scout leader. One thread was constant though we laughed throughout. She then told me how much she not only loved the concept and the proposal for this book, but after chatting with me, she was further sold on why this needs to happen.

She gave me two of the most coveted compliments I’ve received in a long time. The first was that I was a “weird unicorn” with almost magical qualities.

She said some of the things that have happened to us over our literary journey are complete outlier events that really only happen to the biggest of celebrities. There are always one offs, but the amount of wins we’ve had are more than just coincidental. Unfortunately though, these don’t translate easily to a P and L sheet for publishers. Meeting me actually solidified these rare occurrences for her vs. made her continue to question them.

The second happened at the end of the call. It was prefaced with, “I’m going to tell you something that I hope doesn’t come off offensively.”

I reminded her of how we started the conversation and told her that not many things offended me nowadays. After more laughter, she said, “Maria, I’m a big fan of the Sopranos. After meeting you and reading this proposal and seeing the recipes, if Tony and the Soprano family owned a restaurant, it would be The Primadonna.”

Case closed. Week turned around. Life made with this compliment.

The End!

In gratitude,

Maria C. Palmer, Co-Author On the Rocks and hopefully, soon-to-be Author of The Primadonna Table