Tag: simon & schuster

HOT WAX cover art

~ 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 Work: HOT WAX

~ M. L. Rio

It’s been a busy few months for Team Rio. As is always the case with publishing, there’s a strange lag between when big things happen and when they can actually be big news. I’m thrilled to finally share this with you.

I wrote the first version of this book seven years ago. It’s been on a long, strange journey since then, and I’m so glad it’s found such a good home with Tim at Simon & Schuster. The next few years promise to be very busy, in a very good way. Without a great agent this never would have happened–I’m grateful for mine every day. But it also wouldn’t have happened without my readers, who have loved my first book so fiercely and made it possible for me to write more.

I can’t wait to bring you along on this fresh adventure. Because most of my online writing has migrated to my Substack newsletter, this is a great time to subscribe. You’ll still see all the big news here, but if you’re interested in the publishing process and want a peek behind the scenes as Hot Wax and Graveyard Shift go to press, Substack is the place to be. I hope you’ll join me. You can subscribe right here.

Thank you, as always, for reading.

M