WENDY DIO Says RONNIE JAMES DIO's Upcoming Autobiography Will Feature 'Great Stories'

"Rainbow In The Dark: The Autobiography Of Ronnie James Dio", the revealing memoir of the heavy metal master, will be published in the spring of 2012 via MTV Books.

With nearly five decades of worldwide success and album sales in the tens of millions as the front man of ELF, RAINBOW, DIO, BLACK SABBATH, and, most recently, HEAVEN & HELL, Ronnie James Dio grabbed the mic, took the stage, and led a movement whose influence resonates to this day. In "Rainbow In The Dark", Dio himself will introduce the reader to this incredible life and the over 50 photographs included will provide readers with an unprecedented all-access pass to the rock concert of a lifetime.

The late singer's widow and manager, Wendy Dio revealed in a recent interview that Ronnie James Dio's memoir was three-quarters written before the singer's death and that she has until June 2011 to finish it so that it could be released the following spring.

"Everything Ronnie did, lyrics or anything, was always handwritten," Wendy told VH1 Classic Rock Nights. "He didn't do anything on the computer. So he would handwrite it and then he'd give it to me and then I'd give it to my assistant, she'd type it up. So that's how it went and, of course, I'd read it along the way and it's very, very interesting. It's just interesting the way his stories are; he was a storyteller. Ronnie was always a storyteller and it's just great stories."

"Rainbow In The Dark: The Autobiography Of Ronnie James Dio" was sold at auction to Jacob Hoye, Senior Director of Publishing at MTV Books, by Shawna Morey, in her first deal at Folio Literary Management, LLC.

Renowned for his powerful, hard-driving vocals, Dio lends that unique voice to recount his extraordinary journey from early pioneer in a burgeoning music movement to his undisputed reign atop the heavy metal landscape. He was born in a time and to a family so far removed from the hard-rocking world he would dominate for nearly five decades, but his unbounded passion and peerless talent broke barriers and legitimized heavy metal as an alternative art form. His creative genius made him a legend.

During his life, Dio drew on the energy and devotion of millions of fans from around the world for the strength to create, entertain, and give back. In his death, he leaves us with his own voice and his own story to edify and inspire. He also leaves us perhaps his most important legacy, the Ronnie James Dio "Stand Up and Shout" Cancer Fund, a non-profit founded by Wendy Dio, to fund and advocate for cancer research and screenings for society’s underprivileged.

On May 16, 2010, the day Dio finally succumbed after a lengthy battle with cancer, the music stopped and the curtains were drawn. "Rainbow In The Dark" will open those curtains and reignite the band.