Cocktails on the Page

Join the Palm Springs Public Library Foundation for “Cocktails on the Page” a special event celebrating books and the Library with author Rufi Thorpe (Margo’s Got Money Troubles) in attendance at the historic Liberace Estate.

Step back in time as you walk through the doors of Piazza di Liberace, the official name of Liberace’s Estate, his home from 1968 to 1974. Enjoy cocktails and light appetizers as you stroll the grounds, take in the views and imagine if these walls could talk!

Be entertained as author and special guest Rufi Thorpe briefly talks about her latest novel “Margo’s Got Money Troubles”, a bold, laugh-out-loud, funny, and heartwarming story about one young woman’s attempt to navigate adulthood, new motherhood, and her meager bank account in our increasingly online world. Each guest will receive a copy of the book that can be autographed at the event.

Tickets are $150 and include a catered cocktail event, appearance of author Rufi Thorpe and a copy of her book, with an estimated value of $60, therefore, $90 of each ticket is eligible for an income tax deduction.

Author appearance courtesy of HarperCollins Publishers

About Rufi Thorpe

She grew up in Southern California, the only child of a single mom who read (and still reads! And writes!) voraciously. She was a self-proclaimed unhappy and weenie-ish child, and books were her salvation. In her teens and twenties she moved around a lot, going to high school in New Hampshire, attending The New School for undergrad in New York, and then going to UVA in Virginia for graduate school.She waited tables to make money, but after graduate school began teaching academic writing at the college level, and loved it!

Rufi sold her first novel, The Girls from CdM, when she was 26 and when her first baby was 7 months old and they were living in Maryland in a tiny basement apartment with mold problems, and it was life changing. She wrote her second novel as fast as she could, and that was Dear Fang, With Love, inspired by some time she spent in Lithuania. She wrote another book, but, according to her, it was bad and she put it in a drawer, and then she wrote The Knockout Queen, and worried it would be the last book she ever got to publish, so she really swung for the fences.

Knockout Queen was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner award and that whole experience was insane and wonderful. The pandemic significantly slowed her writing.

She lives with her husband and two baseball-crazy sons: Booker, who loves geography and obsessively reminds them all to do our duolingo, and Gus, who is cracked at Fortnite. They have a bull terrier named Coco who is beloved but terribly behaved.

She says she grew up in a female world of books and theater, but now finds herself living with a bunch of stinky boys, and it has given her a love for pro wrestling, jujitsu, baseball, video games and all things internet.

About Margo's Got Money Troubles

Margo Millet’s got money troubles. As the child of a Hooters waitress and an ex-pro wrestler, she’s always known she’d have to make it on her own. So she enrolls at her local junior college, even though she can’t imagine how she’ll ever make a living. She’s still figuring things out and never planned to have an affair with her English professor—and while their affair is brief, it isn’t brief enough to keep her from getting pregnant. Despite everyone’s advice, she decides to keep the baby, mostly out of naiveté and a yearning for something bigger.

Now, at twenty, Margo is alone with an infant, unemployed, and on the verge of eviction. She needs a cash infusion—fast. When her estranged father, Jinx, shows up on her doorstep and asks to move in with her, she agrees in exchange for help with childcare. Then Margo begins to form a plan: she’ll start an OnlyFans as an experiment, and soon finds herself adapting some of Jinx’s advice from the world of wrestling. Like how to craft a compelling character and make your audience fall in love with you. Before she knows it, she’s turned it into a runaway success. Could this be the answer to all of Margo’s problems, or does internet fame come with too high a price?

Blisteringly funny and filled with sharp insight, Margo’s Got Money Troubles is a tender tale starring an endearing young heroine who’s struggling to wrest money and power from a world that has little interest in giving it to her. It’s a playful and honest examination of the art of storytelling and controlling your own narrative, and an empowering portrait of coming into your own, both online and off.

Optioned by A24 and showrunner David E. Kelly for an eight-part series for Apple TV+, it will star Elle Fanning, Nicole Kidman, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Nick Offerman.

About the Palm Springs Public Library Foundation

The Palm Springs Public Library Foundation aims to support the Palm Springs Public Library and to increase and broaden its use as a cultural and educational institution through financial support securing its place as an essential community resource. Ensuring local access to high-quality library services for generations requires more than just public funding. Although public funds make libraries possible, it is private gifts that make them flourish. As we embark on a major library renovation initiative, the Foundation will play a pivotal role as a key funding partner. Please look for future announcements on how you may participate. Learn more about the Foundation at pslibraryfoundation.org.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

1441 N Kaweah Rd, 1441 North Kaweah Road, Palm Springs, United States