Sunday, February 25, 2018

Welcome author Joe Cosentino


Five Questions for Joe Cosentino
on the Release of the Audio Book Version of Cozzi Cove: Bouncing Back (NineStar Press)
 
For any unfortunate readers who haven’t taken a reading vacation to Cozzi Cove, tell us about it.
 
Cozzi Cove is my Bali Hai or Shangri La. Part of Cozzi Cove is based on my childhood summers at the New Jersey Shore. Other parts come from my overactive imagination. It’s a place I want to visit again and again in my mind. I’m thrilled that so many readers feel the same way. In the five novels (the fifth one not yet published), Cozzi Cove is a gay resort of eight bungalows in a private cove on the New Jersey Shore with a stunning view of the ocean, bay, and lighthouse in the distance. The quaint small town is also inviting and picturesque.
 
Who inhabits Cozzi Cove?
 
Ex-professional football player Cal Cozzi runs the inn that was built by his great-grandfather. Cal adores his husband Lance, a school teacher. Connor, the college student assisting Cal at the resort, is packed with muscles and hormones. He revels in having flings at the cove. Tommy, the bald, muscular, tattooed bartender in town has held a torch for Cal since high school. Carla Mangione, who runs Carla’s Seafood Restaurant, holds a similar torch for Cal’s sister, Taylor, who drops in from Rome, Paris, Wall Street, or Palm Springs. In the first novel, Cal meets Michael, a troubled young man, leading to a shocking conclusion. In addition to the leading characters’ stories, each novel includes the stories of the guests at Cozzi Cove that summer. For the first novel, that includes two sexy college students, a wealthy older couple, a gay porn star, a gay romance novelist, an out of work actor, and a computer game designer who insists he saw a merman on the cove.
 
 The reviews have been incredibly positive for the series. What do readers like most about their visits to Cozzi Cove.
 
Readers tell me they enjoy the catchy dialogue, lush setting, quirky characters, and lots of surprising plot twists and turns in the novels. Nothing is what it seems at first at Cozzi Cove. Anything is possible, and romance is always in the sea air.
 
It sounds like a perfect television series.
 
I agree! I’ve written the pilot and treatments for future episodes. Come on, television producers, make me an offer!
 
 Until then, there’s now an audiobook version to add to the e-book and paperback of the first novel. Tell us about that.
 

  1. The audiobook is performed by frequent audio book performer Chase Johnson. Chase has an incredibly sexy, masculine voice, which is perfect for Cal Cozzi. He is also quite versatile in his character voices, and a very good actor. His diction is flawless, and his audiobooks are produced with fine equipment. Chase perfectly embodies Cal’s strength, honesty, and determination. When he reads the descriptions of Cozzi Cove, you feel as if you are lying on a gorgeous cove at the beach. He connects with each of the other characters as well in terms of their personalities, passions, and secrets. He also portrays the many humorous sections of the novel, keying into the timing and wit perfectly. I admit that I laughed out loud hearing some sections. So, grab your Speedos, suntan lotion, and shades and head over to Cozzi Cove for a listen of a lifetime. I hope to see you there! And I love hearing from readers. Please let me know all about your trip to the beach at http://www.JoeCosentino.weebly.com.



On Cozzi Cove at the New Jersey shore, handsome Cal Cozzi’s seven bungalows are open for summer and love. Mario and Harold are brothers and college students who happen to look alike, but couldn’t be more different: Mario is searching for love, and Harold is searching for lust. Josh and Greg, a wealthy older couple, are matchmakers for their son, Christopher. When it comes to Connor, the maid, packed with muscles and a roving sponge, anything can happen. Opposites attract as wild Tim with the secret past meets shy Mark, and porn star Chuck Caliber connects with Sean, a virgin romance novelist. And what will happen when computer-game designer Arthur has a midnight sea rendezvous with a merman? Even married Cal faces an emotional upheaval when a gay bashing turns into something quite unexpected. What secrets and passions lie in magical Cozzi Cove?

Praise for COZZI COVE: BOUNCING BACK: Book of the Month at The TBR Pile, Rainbow Award Honorable Mention, 3rd Place Best Fiction Book of 2016 on Urban Book Reviews

“I loved this story. It carries you through the full range of emotions, from joy to sadness, from happiness to anger.  The characters are beautifully written….I look forward to a return visit to the Cove.” TBR Pile

“Heartbreaking and heartwarming, sweet beginnings for some, sour endings for others, emotions jumping off the page as you turn eagerly to read more, welcome to Cozzi Cove. The author measured his scales to perfection in delivering the perfect balance of love, laughter and tears in this sexy, fun filled holiday romance entwined with some sadness. Summer magic waved its wand at all who visited and stayed at Cozzi Cove and I was one of those who wanted to stay.” Three Books Over the Rainbow

“poignant and full of beautiful imagery. It's one crazy mix of characters, all weird and wonderful in their own way…It made me laugh out loud, cry and want to snuggle up with someone I loved. I couldn't have asked for more.” Divine Magazine

“In true Joe Cosentino style, this book is packed full of drama! This cast of characters will have you laughing out loud one minute before ripping your heart out the next.” Joyfully Jay

“Joe Cosentino has the amazing ability to combine heartwarming, feel good moments with droll, sometimes biting humor, along with insights into the frailties and peccadillos of being human.” “Cozzi Cove: Bouncing Back is the very finest in literary fiction with a romance theme, yet it’s more than just that—it’s about human connections and empathy and finding a way out of the fear and inertia faced by so many. It’s also about courage and strength, about respect and coming to terms with all that life has to offer, and it’s about letting go. I loved this book and look forward to the next in the series. This is a highly recommended read, well-deserving of Five Stars.” GGR Reviews

“Cosentino tells the stories of the guests and owners at Cozzi Cove as separate yet intertwining stories, a delivery style that’s genius. It’s a bit like watching segments unfold in soap opera fashion…While the story is rife with the humor and lighthearted romance I’ve come to associate with Joe Cosentino, it also addresses several serious topics associated with the gay community: homophobia, stereotyping and coming out.” 3 Chicks After Dark
“This book is extremely well written and all the stories are equally compelling and cleverly crafted. There are moments when, just as you think you know what’s going on, the truth emerges and turns out to be something quite different….Cal’s guests are an amusing and heart wrenching mixed bag of people, all of whom I found irresistible in their own way….So many wonderful, poignant and often funny stories are told here….It’s a real roller coaster of a ride that’s finished off perfectly as the guests spend their last day at Cozzi Cove then check out to move on with their lives.” OptimuMM Book Reviews
“Another brilliantly written book by this author. He makes you want to take your own vacation in Cozzi Cove. You could feel all the emotion and love flowing from the pages.” Books Laid Bare Boys

Bestselling author Joe Cosentino wrote Cozzi Cove: Bouncing Back, Cozzi Cove: Moving Forward, Cozzi Cove: Stepping Out, and Cozzi Cove: New Beginnings (NineStar Press); Drama Queen, Drama Muscle, Drama Cruise, Drama Luau, Drama Detective Nicky and Noah mysteries (Lethe Press); In My Heart/An Infatuation & A Shooting Star, A Home for the Holidays, The Naked Prince and Other Tales from Fairyland (Dreamspinner Press); Paper Doll, Porcelain Doll, Satin Doll, China Doll, Rag Doll (The Wild Rose Press) Jana Lane mysteries.. He has appeared in principal acting roles in film, television, and theatre, opposite stars such as Bruce Willis, Rosie O’Donnell, Nathan Lane, Holland Taylor, and Jason Robards. Joe is currently Head of the Department/Professor at a college in upstate New York, and is happily married. He was voted 2nd Place for Favorite MM Author of the Year in Divine Magazine’s Readers’ Choice Awards for 2015, and his books have received numerous awards including Rainbow Award Honorable Mentions.


Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JoeCosentinoauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoeCosen



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