Tag: heavy metal symphony

HEAVY METAL SYMPHONY new cover reveal!

Alyssa Palombo

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!

You can check out more of Jennifer’s work here.

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.

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Announcing the return of HEAVY METAL SYMPHONY!

Alyssa Palombo

I’m very excited to finally be sharing this news! This year I’ve been working on self-publishing a project, and so I am thrilled to announce that that project is none other than Heavy Metal Symphony!

A quick recap: Heavy Metal Symphony is a contemporary novel that I have been working on between other projects since late 2014. It was published in 2021 by a small publisher called Kaledena Press; however, a couple months after the book was released, Kaledena unfortunately closed their doors, meaning that Heavy Metal Symphony was no longer available.

This was heartbreaking for me, as this book is very much a book of my heart: it has all my love of music in general, heavy metal in particular, live music, and my hometown of Buffalo, NY in its pages. I knew immediately that I would absolutely be getting this book back out there someday, somehow, but I took some time to think about how I wanted to do that, and to explore some options with my wonderful literary agent.

Ultimately, I decided that self-publishing was the way to go for this book. I knew it would be a lot of work (and it has been!) but that it would be worth it for me to be completely in control of this book that means so very much to me, and to do it exactly the way I want to do it. Too, the process of self-publishing this book has been a wonderful learning experience for me, and has also been very empowering.

So, when will you be able to get a copy of Heavy Metal Symphony again? The book will be released on August 15th, 2023, and will be available in both paperback and ebook formats. So not too much longer to wait!

The book is also not exactly the same version that was published with Kaledena. I’ve revised it one last time, and it has some updates and fresh content, including:
-One full new scene
-Several smaller new scenes
-A rewrite of the song that Ava, my main character, writes at the beginning of the book and which sets the events of the story into motion
-New and updated song lyrics in the back of the book

So if you read the previously published version and enjoyed it, I definitely recommend getting a copy of the updated version to see what’s new and improved!

One reason I chose to self-publish this was so that I could keep the album artwork that was featured in the original published version, as well as expand the bonus lyrics section included at the back of the back. I’m so, so excited with how it has all come together, and know I am putting out the strongest version possible of this book.

Cover reveal to come (yes, there is a shiny brand new cover!) and I will also post preorder links as soon as they are live, so stay tuned for all of those updates and more! You’ll be able to find those 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, you can add the book on Goodreads.

I can’t wait for this book to be back in the world – to stay, this time.

About Heavy Metal Symphony

“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 symphonic metal band Handel’s Messiah and is in a committed relationship with the band’s keyboard player and brilliant lead 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 original 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 fill 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 bandmates, 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 their band if not.

Told in alternating storylines that show Ava and Killian’s seemingly fairytale past and their fraught present, and perfect for fans of Daisy Jones and the Six, Heavy Metal Symphony is a novel of jealousy, rock stars, ambition, creative control, finding your voice, and, of course, heavy metal.

HEAVY METAL SYMPHONY cover reveal!

Alyssa Palombo

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.

Announcing My First Contemporary Novel – HEAVY METAL SYMPHONY!

Alyssa Palombo

I am SO thrilled to announce that my fifth novel and first ever contemporary novel, Heavy Metal Symphony, is going to be published by Kaledena Press!

Here is a synopsis of the book:

Ava Tomei seems to have it all: she’s the lead singer of Buffalo-based Handel’s Messiah, the metal band of which she was a long-time fan – and is also in a committed relationship with Killian Sterling, the band’s keyboard player and brilliant lead composer. Yet 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 as Killian’s artistic dominance and Ava’s desire to express her own creativity come to a head. They are forced to confront whether what they have can be repaired, and what will happen to their band if not.

Introduced by a mutual friend over six years before, classically trained singer Ava and budding rock star Killian found that what started as an artistic collaboration quickly bloomed into a passionate romance. When the lead singer of Handel’s Messiah and Killian’s fellow founding band member – and ex-girlfriend – Celeste Perinot leaves the band after a heated disagreement in the middle of the band’s world tour in support of their second album, Killian calls Ava to replace her. Ava is immediately plunged into the pressures of stepping in to front one of metal’s biggest rising bands amidst fan disappointment, skepticism from her new band members, the physical demands of a world tour, and sexism in the metal scene – but also has the chance to fulfill her wildest dreams, and to do it at the side of the man she loves.        

Told in alternating storylines that show Ava and Killian’s seemingly fairytale past and their fraught present, the novel follows their relationship from its start and into its uncertain future. Through it all Ava is forced to grapple with what she wants from her career and from her relationship and whether those two things are mutually exclusive, and how to find her own voice when she’s so used to singing the music of others. Daisy Jones and the Six meets A Star is Born set in the metal scene in Heavy Metal Symphony, a novel of jealousy, competing talents, rock stars, ambition, creative control, and, of course, heavy metal.

Being able to publish this book is truly a dream come true for me. Those of you who have followed me on social media and/or receive my author newsletter will have seen me refer to this book as my “love affair project”. That’s because a) the book is about an actual love affair and b) I wrote the first draft while I was deep in second book syndrome and was SUPPOSED to be writing The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence, aka I was cheating on the book I was supposed to be writing with this one XD This is truly a book of my heart, as they say, and I’ve often felt that Heavy Metal Symphony and The Violinist of Venice are the two halves of my music-loving soul: classical music and heavy metal.

I am also SO thrilled to be working with Kaledena Press to publish this book. Kaledena is a Buffalo-based indie publisher, and they are absolutely the perfect home for this Buffalo-based book. That’s another reason this novel is so close to my heart: it is my first one set in my beloved hometown, and I get to show you some of my favorite places in this wonderful city.

There will be more news to come in the next few months (release date, cover, all that fun stuff) and I am so excited to share it all with you. Until then, I’ll be diving back into edits of this book, and I’m so excited to be hanging out with my heavy metal friends once again 🙂