Book Cellar: ALYSSA PALOMBO IN CONVERSATION WITH ERIN HAHN, "HEAVY METAL SYMPHONY"

The event is free, but advance registration is required. Please email words@bookcellarinc.com with the subject line "Greg Borzo" to reserve your spot! Access links will be sent the day of, and all start times are for the US Central Standard Time.

About Heavy Metal Symphony: 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 front of 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 the band if not.

About Alyssa Palombo: Alyssa Palombo is a writer living and working in Buffalo, NY. She attended Canisius College in Buffalo, majoring in English and creative writing with a minor in music. She is classically trained mezzo-soprano and also dabbles in playing the piano. Palombo is the author of four historical novels, The Violinist of Venice, The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence, The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel, and The Borgia Confessions, all from St. Martin’s Griffin and published (or forthcoming) in multiple languages.

About Erin Hahn: Erin Hahn is the author of You'd Be Mine, More Than Maybe, and Never Saw You Coming. She married her very own YA love interest, who she met on her first day of college, and has two kids who are much, much cooler than she ever was at their age. She lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, a.k.a. the greenest place on earth, and has a cat named Gus who plays fetch and a dog named June who doesn’t.