The Book Junkie Reads . . . Interview with . . . A.K. Palombo . . .
How would you describe your style of writing to someone that has never read your work?
Most of my published work is historical, although my newest, Heavy Metal Symphony, is contemporary. I’d say my style is to tell a story clearly but with an eye towards beautiful, lyrical sentences where possible. My writing also tends to be most concerned with my characters’ emotions, and whatever they are feeling most strongly at a given time. I like to say that my favorite thing to write is big feelings, whatever form that takes, and so I think that comes through in how I approach story and characters.
Do you take your character prep to heart? Do you nurture the growth of each character all the way through to the page? Do you people watch to help with development? Or do you build upon your character during story creation?
I generally don’t do any pre-writing preparation in terms of character development; I prefer to discover who the character is by writing their story and seeing how they react in different situations, and usually by the time I have a first draft (if not sooner) I have a very strong sense of who the character is and can revise with that in mind. Sometimes the character voice comes through very strongly right from the get go – even before I start writing, in some cases – and sometimes it’s more of a struggle to figure out who they are. I suppose the revision process might go faster if I did more character work up front, but a big part of the joy of the writing process, for me, is discovering things along the way. So this method might not be perfect, but it definitely works for me!
Have you found yourself bonding with any particular character(s)? If so, which one(s)?
All of my main characters have something of me in them, some of them more than others. I find I need that connection to a character to get inside their head and tell a story through their eyes. Of all my main characters, I suppose I feel closest to Ava Tomei, the protagonist of Heavy Metal Symphony. For starters, we’re both modern women living in Buffalo, NY, so my life is more similar to hers than to any of my historical protagonists’. We also share a deep love of music – both classical and heavy metal – and both want to make our voices heard as artists.
Can you share your next creative project(s)? If yes, can you give a few details?
My next novel is a historical novel (under the name Alyssa Palombo) titled The Assassin of Venice, and it will be out on June 18th, 2024 from Crooked Lane Books. It’s about a courtesan in Renaissance Venice who doubles as an assassin for the Council of Ten. Things get…complicated when she is ordered to kill the man she loves. I’m very excited for readers to meet Valentina!
What are some of your writing/publishing goals for this year?
In what remains of 2023, I’d like to put the finishing touches on a book I’ve been working on most of the year and that I love with my whole entire heart. I also have a new project in mind that I’m very excited about and am hoping to get a start on!
Where would you spend one full year, if you could go ANYWhere, money is not a concern? What would you do with this time?
Definitely Venice, Italy, which is my favorite place in the world. I would absolutely love to live there for a period of time. As to what I’d do there, well…I’d probably write a lot! I’ve written multiple books set in Venice already, and I have more in mind, so I’d definitely take advantage of the time there to research and write.
Thank you A.K. Palombo for joining and giving a little insight to you and your process. Your work is appreciated.
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