Debut Novel with Music, BALLAD OF DREAMS, is Now Available

Ballad of Dreams, a new novel with music written by Allyson Hernandez, is now available from New Degree Press. Initially written as a musical pre-pandemic, the debut novel features the lyrics from the original music embedded in the book similarly to a musical libretto. Ballad of Dreams is about friendship, dreams, love, loss, and everything in between, and is available for purchase here.

Audrey and Rose are cousins and best friends in 1940s New York City whose trajectories, choices, sacrifices, and life experiences are drastically different, but their friendship remains constant. What greater love story is there than the one between two friends? They each journey in discovering their own identities and independence as women in a time where society tried to define that for them. Ballad of Dreams combines the richness and drama of musical theater with historical fiction.

"Ballad of Dreams is inspired by my grandmother," said Hernandez. "As a mother of 13 children, she spent so much of her life caring for others, and I was motivated to explore her story before motherhood. When imagining my dream role, I pictured my grandmother and knew I had to write it."

Allyson Hernandez defines the word multi-passionate as a writer, performer, composer, executive coach, and mom. She wrote Ballad of Dreams to explore who her grandmother was and what she wanted before she became a mother, and, in the process, found the same answers for herself. As President and Founder of AH Coaching Group, LLC she empowers clients to embrace their extra and boldly follow their dreams. Allyson has extensive coaching experience with C-Suite Leaders, Vice Presidents, Directors, and high-potential emerging leaders. She has a BFA in Musical Theater from Syracuse University, is a member of Actors Equity Association, and holds her ACC credentials through the International Coaching Federation. Soul Stories, Allyson's debut EP, can be found on iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube. She has performed at the acclaimed Apollo Theater and toured with the Gospel musical If This Hat Could Talk, directed by Tony award-winning director George Faison. On the weekends you can find Allyson singing at church and proudly cheering on the sidelines at her two sons' soccer games.