I am SO excited to be revealing the cover for my first contemporary novel, Heavy Metal Symphony, coming October 19th, 2021 from Kaledena Press!
Without further ado, here is the cover!
I knew that, for the cover of this book, I wanted the cover to have some sort of live music vibe, as the band spends much of the novel on tour, and performing live is one of Ava’s very favorite things in the world. And my wonderful publisher was good enough to take that into account, with this as the absolutely gorgeous result! I love that we see Ava in her performance zone; I love the blue color palette; I love the crowd completing the live concert vibe. And, while this is a smaller detail, I also really love Ava’s hair, since she is, like me, a fellow curly girl.
Heavy Metal Symphony is so very much a book of my heart, and every step of bringing it to publication has been an absolute dream come true. What has made this process and this cover even more special for me is the fact that the cover was designed by my best friend, Jennifer Hark-Hameister. Jen is, as you can see, an incredibly talented graphic designer, and a brilliant photographer as well (she also took my current author picture, which you can see on the About Me page!). She’s also done some promotional graphic design work for me in the past, including my bookmarks for The Borgia Confessions. It’s been so wonderful and meaningful to work with her on this book! You can (and should!) check out more of her work at her website: https://jenharkdesign.com/
I hope you all love this beautiful cover as much as I do! And you can now add Heavy Metal Symphony to your Goodreads to-read shelf. I cannot wait to share this book with you all soon!
Synopsis:
“I hope you never reach a day where you have to choose between your band and your relationship.”
Ava Tomei seems to have it all: she’s the lead singer of Buffalo-based metal band Handel’s Messiah and is in a committed relationship with the band’s keyboard player and brilliant composer Killian Sterling. But as the band hits the studio to record their fifth album, Ava and Killian can no longer hide the cracks in their relationship from their bandmates—or from themselves.
What started as an artistic collaboration between Ava and Killian six years before quickly bloomed into a passionate romance. Then, when the lead singer of Handel’s Messiah—and Killian’s ex girlfriend—leaves the band right in the middle of the band’s world tour, Killian calls on Ava to step in. Ava is plunged into the pressures of stepping in to front one of metal’s biggest rising bands amidst fan disappointment, skepticism from her new band mates, the physical demands of a world tour, and sexism in the metal scene. But she also has the chance to fulfill her wildest dreams. Still, as Ava’s desire to express her creativity comes to a head with Killian’s artistic dominance, they are forced to confront whether what they have can be repaired—and what will happen to the band if not.
Told in alternating storylines that show Ava and Killian’s seemingly fairytale past and their fraught present, Heavy Metal Symphony is a novel of jealousy, competing talents, rock stars, ambition, creative control, and, of course, heavy metal.
Alyssa Palombo 