*in no particular order
1. Ava playing “Appassionata” for Killian for the first time (chapter 3)
This is the event that is the catalyst for everything that follows in the “present” timeline of the book. Ava has written a song that came from her heart, is honest, and that she is very proud of. She’s afraid of the consequences for her relationship and her band in playing it for Killian, but ultimately, in this moment, she’s more afraid of not being heard, and that’s what propels her decision. In my last revision pass of the book, I rewrote most of the lyrics to this song, and I’m really proud of them.
2. Ava’s first show with the band (chapter 16)
This is such a pivotal moment for Ava: the first time she ever takes the stage with Handel’s Messiah, and the first time she gets to try out a dream she’s had for a very long time. In a way, everything that happens to and for her after flows from this moment. She stepped onto that stage and knew it was where she was meant to be. We also see her overcome her nerves, fear, and imposter syndrome, and that’s big for her too!
3. Ava’s recital (chapter 10)
I had so much fun writing this scene because, as a classically trained musician who’s sung in recitals before, I really got to channel a lot of my own experience. Some of the pieces Ava performs are ones I’ve sung myself, so it was a joy to be able to write about them and describe the experience of singing them. I also love her decision to sort of make a move on Killian right onstage – it’s in the spirit of the performance, yes, but it’s another way that the two of them use music to communicate with each other (sometimes successfully, as here, though other times definitely less so!).
4. Ava’s conversation with Celeste (chapter 28)
The specter of Celeste looms large over the book as a whole after her abrupt exit from Handel’s Messiah, but the only time we actually see her on the page is when Ava comes face to face with her backstage at the Download Festival. I like this scene a lot because the encounter between the two women doesn’t go how Ava thinks it’s going to, and she gains a lot more insight into not only Celeste and her decision to leave the band, but into Killian as well.
5. Ava and the band’s interview with Cook (chapter 20)
This was another scene that was really fun to write, because there’s so much going on: Ava’s nerves about her first interview with the band, the tension of the band getting asked about Celeste’s departure and Ava finally getting some more information about that, and Ava calling out sexism in the music industry broadly and the metal scene specifically.
A.K. Palombo
Genre: Women’s fiction (contemporary)
Date of Publication: August 15th, 2023
ISBN: Paperback: 9798218175207
Ebook: 9798218178628
Number of pages: 334
Word Count: 100,500
Cover Artist: Jennifer Hark-Hameister
Book Description:
"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, and to do it at the side of the man she loves. 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, Heavy Metal Symphony is a novel of rock stars, ambition, creative control, finding your voice, and, of course, heavy metal.
A.K./Alyssa Palombo is the author of four historical novels from St. Martin’s: Griffin: The Violinist of Venice, The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence, The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel, and The Borgia Confessions.
She graduated from Canisius College with degrees in English and creative writing, respectively. In addition to her love of heavy metal, she is also a classically trained mezzo-soprano. She lives and works in Buffalo, New York, and when not writing she can be found at metal shows, listening to records and adding to her vinyl collection, lost in a good book, or planning her next travel adventure.
Website: https://alyssapalombo.com/
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlyssInWnderlnd
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