An Evening with M. L. Rio - Birmingham

Join us for a brilliant evening with bestselling author, M. L. Rio, discussing her latest novel Hot Wax. From the author of If We Were Villains and Graveyard Shift, Hot Wax is a nostalgic love-letter to the late 80s rock and roll scene, following a band on the cusp of stardom and a woman dealing with the violent legacy of the tour decades later.

Doors open for this event at 4:30pm.

About the Book

Summer, 1989: ten-year-old Suzanne is drawn like a magnet to her father's forbidden world of electric guitars and tricked-out cars. When her mother remarries, she jumps at the chance to tag along on the concert tour that just might be Gil and the Kills' wild ride to glory. But fame has sharper fangs than anybody realized, and as the band blazes up the charts, internal power struggles set Gil and his group on a collision course destined for a bloody reckoning – one shrouded in mystery and lore for decades to come.

The only witness to a desperate act of violence, Suzanne spends the next twenty-nine years trying to disappear. She trades the music and mayhem of her youth for the quiet of the suburbs and the company of her mild-mannered husband Rob. But when her father's sudden death resurrects the troubled past she tried so hard to bury, she leaves it all behind and hits the road in search of answers. Hitching her fate and Gil's beloved car to two vagabonds who call an old Airstream trailer home, she finds everything she thought she'd lost forever: desire, adventure, and the woman she once wanted to be. But Rob refuses to let her go. Determined to bring her back where she belongs, he chases her across the country – and drives her to a desperation all her own.

Drenched in knock-down drag-out rock and roll, Hot Wax is a raucous, breakneck ride to hell and back – where getting lost might be the only way to find yourself and save your soul.

About the Author

M. L. Rio has been an actor, a bookseller, an academic, and a music writer. She holds an MA in Shakespeare studies and a PhD in English literature. She is the author of the internationally bestselling novel If We Were Villains and The Times bestselling novella Graveyard Shift. Her next novel, Hot Wax, will be published in September 2025. She never stays in one place for long, but keeps her books, records, and four-legged sidekick in south Philadelphia.

Praise for M. L. Rio

“Rich in atmosphere and character development… proves Rio’s growing mastery of crafting gripping, character-driven stories that keep readers hooked until the final page.” – Glamour“

Spills over with atmosphere, full of flawed, fascinating characters.” – Catriona Ward“

Nothing short of an absolute blast.” – Polygon

Host or Publisher Waterstones