I am so excited to be revealing the shiny, brand new cover of Heavy Metal Symphony. As much as I loved the original cover, I did want a new one for this new iteration of the book, and once again I worked with my dear friend, Jennifer Hark-Hameister, on a cover that I love just as much as the first one. Without further ado, here it is!
If you remember the first cover, you’ll notice that we kept the fonts the same for the title. There are two reasons for that: 1) I think those two fonts are just perfect for the book and can’t imagine anything better, and 2) I liked the idea of having a through-line to the first published version of the book. Everything else, of course, is new, and I love it so much: the live music vibe (an almost must for the cover of this book!) and the way Ava is reaching out and firmly grabbing the mic, as if to say “You will hear me.” That’s basically the point of the book, after all!
I hope you all love the new cover as much as I do! More updates to come, including preorder links and also a way you may be able to read an early copy of the book! Stay tuned for updates here on my website, on my Twitter or Instagram pages, or get them delivered right to your inbox by signing up for my newsletter. And in the meantime, make sure you add the book on Goodreads.
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!
Designed by Jennifer Hark-Hameister
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.
I’m SO excited to finally reveal the cover of my third novel, The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel, out October 2nd, 2018 from St. Martin’s Press. Also below is the synopsis of the novel, to give you a better idea of what exactly the book is about! My publisher really worked with me to make sure the cover had the exact vibe that I wanted, and I so appreciate the work everyone at St. Martin’s put in on this. The result is a cover that I am absolutely thrilled with.
Without further ado, here it is!
I absolutely love the creepy, spooky vibe here, with the blue and the tree branches and the misty forest and the blood-red letters. I also love the figure of Katrina at the bottom, how her posture looks both hesitant and determined. She – and her journey throughout the novel – are captured perfectly in that image. I also love the way this is heavy on the text, as it reminds me of covers or title pages that I’ve seen from Washington Irving’s time.
I hope you all love this cover as much as I do!
Synopsis:
When Ichabod Crane arrives in the spooky little village of Sleepy Hollow as the new schoolmaster, Katrina Van Tassel is instantly drawn to him. Through their shared love of books and music, they form a friendship that quickly develops into romance. Ichabod knows that as an itinerant schoolteacher of little social standing, he has nothing to offer the wealthy Katrina – unlike her childhood friend-turned-enemy, Brom Van Brunt, who is the suitor Katrina’s father favors.
But when romance gives way to passion, Ichabod and Katrina embark on a secret love affair, sneaking away into the woods after dark to be together – all while praying they do not catch sight of Sleepy Hollow’s legendary Headless Horseman. That is, until All Hallows’s Eve, when Ichabod suddenly disappears, leaving Katrina alone and in a perilous position.
Enlisting the help of her friend – and rumored witch – Charlotte Jansen, Katrina seeks the truth of Ichabod Crane’s disappearance, investigating the forest around Sleepy Hollow using unconventional – often magical – means. What they find forces Katrina to question everything she once knew, and to wonder if the Headless Horseman is perhaps more than just a story after all. In Alyssa Palombo’s The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel nothing is as it seems, and love is a thing even death won’t erase.
Pre-order The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel now at:
Alyssa Palombo 