HOT WAX cover art

February 5, 2025February 5, 2025 ~ M. L. Rio

I won’t waste your time. It’s here. It’s hot. It’s big. It’s loud. I’m in love with it.

There are so many things I could say about this cover. A lot of care went into the design, and it looks absolutely delicious.

My editor, T., wanted this to feel like “ a big book.” We needed something high-contrast and eye-catching that would demand a reader’s attention as soon as they walked into the bookstore. Because the title is still one of everybody’s favorite things about this book, and because the words are so short and so perfectly matched in size, I suggested we go big with the title itself.

If you want to hear more about this process and what went into the design, I go in depth over on Substack, which is still the best place to keep up with all the goings-on going on behind the scenes. If you’re rather just pre-order the book, you can do that here (and I might just add that all pre-orders are 25% of at Barnes & Noble with the code PREORDER25). It’s hitting shelves on September 9. Hope you love it as much as we do.

New US Edition of IWWV

April 23, 2024 ~ M. L. Rio

Excited to share the cover art for the new US paperback edition of If We Were Villains. It’ll be available on the same day as Graveyard Shift: September 24 of this year. It’s been a long time in the works, but we wanted to update the original black-and-white paperback, which will be discontinued once the new version hits the shelves–with those sexy red spredges and everything. If you want one of the originals and haven’t grabbed it yet, now would be a good time! And if you’re as enamored with the new version as we are, you can pre-order it wherever you buy your books.

Thanks for coming on this journey with us.

M

GRAVEYARD SHIFT cover reveal

January 31, 2024January 31, 2024 ~ M. L. Rio

Short post today as I’m on All the Deadlines, but we’re excited to finally show you the cover art for Graveyard Shift, along with an official release date. Mark your calendars for September 24, 2024.

Don’t forget you can already pre-order the book if you’re in the U.S., and pre-orders are a huge help to bookstores, publishers, and authors because they take some of the guesswork out of the printing process. If you’re outside the United States, don’t worry–we’re working on getting foreign rights all lined up, and I’ll share more information on that front as soon as I have it. If you want to stay abreast of what’s going on behind the scenes with Graveyard Shift and Hot Wax, the best place to do that is over on Substack. Our first “Road to Publication” post will be live on Tuesday.

Hope you love this as much as we do.

M

Barnes & Noble Exclusive Edition

January 25, 2023 ~ M. L. Rio

Good morning, USA! It’s finally your turn for some shiny new art. Gold foil. Sprayed edges. Letter by me. Barnes & Noble Exclusive. On sale May 2, but you can get 25% off if you order by January 27 with code PREORDER25.

Hope you love it.

M

Spanish Cover Art

July 25, 2019 ~ M. L. Rio

If We Were Villains will be published in Spanish next year by Umbriel Editions, and I’m so excited to share the cover art with you. It might just be my favorite yet.

PUCK - _Todos somos villanos_ M.L. Rio JORDI

I’m so glad to be able to share this story with Spanish-speaking readers, and thrilled to have it published in a language (other than English) which I can actually read!

Hope you love it as much as we do.