Interview
with Nicky Abbondanza, the leading character in Drama Dance,
the eighth
Nicky and Noah mystery by Joe Cosentino
Hi, Nicky.
Congratulations on the release of the eighth novel in your award-winning and
popular Nicky and Noah gay cozy mystery series.
Thanks. I’m happier than a priest
at altar boy induction.
The
novels in the series have been called “laugh out loud funny,” “sexy
shenanigans,” “brilliant brain teasers,” “sweet romances,” and “a combination
of Murder She Wrote, The Hardy Boys, Hart to Hart, and a British farce.”
Stop, I’m getting a big head.
Well, if you read the series, you know I’ve already got one (pun intended).
Actually, I share the success of our series with the love of my life, my
husband and theatre professor colleague, Noah Oliver.
Why are your books
called gay cozy mysteries?
Because readers get cozy with Noah and me. Our
books include romance, humor, mystery, adventure, and quaint and loveable
characters in uncanny situations. The settings are warm and cozy with lots of
hot cocoa by the fireplace. The clues and red herrings are there for the
perfect whodunit. So are the plot twists and turns and a surprise ending to
keep the pages turning faster than a closet gay politician running out of a gay
bar in November. No matter what is thrown in our path, Noah and I always end up
on top. At least I end up on top, which is just fine with Noah. Many of the
novels take place in Vermont, a cozy state with green pastures, white church
steeples, glowing lakes, and friendly and accepting people. Treemeadow College (named
after its gay founders, couple Tree and Meadow) is the perfect setting for a
cozy mystery with its white Edwardian buildings, low white stone fences, lake
and mountain views, and cherry wood offices with tall leather chairs and
fireplaces. The Drama Department is the ideal place for high drama.
Which brings us to your
current release, Drama Dance.
In Drama
Dance, I’m directing The Nutcracker
ballet at our Treemeadow College (named after its founders, gay couple Tree and
Meadlow). Muscular dance students and faculty with bountiful dance belts cause
more things to rise than the Christmas tree. When cast members drop faster than
Christmas balls, Noah and I once again use our drama skills, including
impersonating other people, to figure out who is trying to crack the Nutcracker’s
nuts, trap the Mouse King, and be cavalier with the Cavalier before Noah and I
end up in the Christmas pudding.
Do you and Noah take on
roles in the ballet?
I direct and co-star (as the Mouse King)
opposite my husband Noah (the Cavalier), son Taavi (Fritz), and best friend and
department head Martin (Drosselmeyer). Since it is Treemeadow College after
all, there are lots of cracked nuts as characters and the yule tide is
definitely gay. Oh, and of course there are more murders than closet gay politicians
hidden in the stalls of public men’s rooms.
Can you give us a run
down on some of the other characters?
Besides Noah and me, old beloved cast members
are back, including my best friends the comically cantankerous Martin and
Ruben, Martin’s sassy office assistant Shayla, and Noah’s and my both sets of
riotous parents. New characters include Thomas Bighorn, the muscular and
gorgeous student cast as the Nutcracker. Everyone at the college wants to be in
his Christmas stocking. Thomas’ understudy and ex, Piero Lamas, is just as
hunky and makes everyone’s bells jingle. Only Piero’s sister, Caterina (Clara),
knows Piero’s secret, and he knows hers. Liz Canton (Clara’s understudy) is an
abstinence-before-marriage advocate with more than holiday gifts hiding in her
closet. The dance faculty members playing the other roles, and Otto Dietrich
the choreographer with a secret past, have just as many hidden roasted chestnuts
in their drawers.
It’s also
nice to see an older couple in the series.
Martin Anderson (our department
head and best friend) is loyal and supportive of Noah and me. His one
up-man-ship with his office assistant Shayla is a riot. I’ll admit that Martin
is a bit of a gossip. It’s great when Ruben keeps Martin’s theatricality in
line with hysterical barbs. The older couple stay sharp by engaging in their
verbal warfare, but it’s all done in deep admiration and respect. Finally, it’s
wonderful to see an elderly couple so much in love, and how they can read each
other like a book—no pun intended. I hope Noah and I age to become just like
them.
Do you
like Noah’s parents as much as we’re led to believe in the books?
Yes! They’re absolutely
hilarious. I love Noah’s mother’s fixation with taking pictures of everything,
and his father’s fascination with seeing movies. I also love how Noah’s father
is an amateur sleuth like me. As they say, men marry their fathers.
How can
your readers get their hands on Drama Dance,
and how can they contact you?
The blurb, purchase links, and Joe’s
contact links are below. Joe tells me everything, so message me through him. I
love to hear from readers! So does Noah!
Thank you, Nicky, for interviewing
today.
It is my joy and pleasure to share this eighth
novel in my series with you. So take your seats. The curtain is going up on
Clara, the Nutcracker, the Mouse King, the Sugar Plum Fairy, and the Cavalier.
And of course hilarity, romance, and murder!
DRAMA DANCE (the 8th Nicky and Noah mystery) by JOE COSENTINO
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/drama-dance-joe-cosentino/1131937902?ean=2940163240081
Theatre
professor Nicky Abbondanza is back at Treemeadow College directing their
Nutcracker Ballet co-starring his spouse, theatre professor Noah Oliver, their
son Taavi, and their best friend and department head, Martin Anderson. With
muscular dance students and faculty in the cast, the Christmas tree on stage
isn’t the only thing rising. When cast members drop faster than their loaded
dance belts, Nicky and Noah will once again need to use their drama skills to
figure out who is cracking the Nutcracker’s nuts, trapping the Mouse King, and
being cavalier with the Cavalier, before Nicky and Noah end up stuck in the
Land of the Sweets. You will be applauding and shouting Bravo for Joe
Cosentino’s fast-paced, side-splittingly funny, edge-of-your-seat entertaining
eighth novel in this delightful series. Take your seats. The curtain is going
up on the Fairy—Sugar Plum that is, clumsy mice, malfunctioning toys, and
murder!
Praise for the Nicky and
Noah mysteries:
“Joe Cosentino has a
unique and fabulous gift. His writing is flawless, and his use of farce, along
with his convoluted plot-lines, will have you guessing until the very last
page, which makes his books a joy to read. His books are worth their weight in
gold, and if you haven't discovered them yet you are in for a rare treat.”
Divine Magazine
“a combination of Laurel
and Hardy mixed with Hitchcock and Murder She Wrote…
Loaded with puns and
one-liners…Right to the end, you are kept guessing, and the conclusion still
has a surprise in store for you.” “the best modern Sherlock and Watson in books
today…I highly recommend this book and the entire series, it’s a pure pleasure,
full of fun and love, written with talent and brio…fabulous…brilliant” Optimumm
Book Reviews
“adventure, mystery, and
romance with every page….Funny, clever, and sweet….I can’t find anything not to
love about this series….This read had me laughing and falling in love….Nicky
and Noah are my favorite gay couple.” Urban Book Reviews
“For fans of Joe
Cosentino's hilarious mysteries, this is another vintage story with more cheeky
asides and sub plots right left and centre….The story is fast paced, funny and
sassy. The writing is very witty with lots of tongue-in-cheek humour….Highly
recommended.” Boy Meets Boy Reviews
“This delightfully sudsy,
colorful cast of characters would rival that of any daytime soap opera, and the
character exchanges are rife with sass, wit and cagey sarcasm….As the pages
turn quickly, the author keeps us hanging until the startling end.” Edge Media
Network
“A laugh and a murder,
done in the style we have all come to love….This had me from the first
paragraph….Another wonderful story with characters you know and love!” Crystals
Many Reviewers
“These
two are so entertaining….Their tactics in finding clues and the crazy funny
interactions between characters keeps the pages turning. For most of the book
if I wasn't laughing I was grinning.” Jo and Isa Love Books
“Superb
fun from start to finish, for me this series gets stronger with every book and
that’s saying something because the benchmark was set so very high with book 1.” Three Books Over the Rainbow
“The Nicky and Noah
Mysteries series are perfect for fans of the Cozy Mystery sub-genre. They mix
tongue-in-cheek humor, over-the-top characters, a wee bit of political
commentary, and suspense into a sweet little mystery solved by Nicky and Noah,
theatre professors for whom all the world’s a stage.” Prism Book Alliance
“This
is one hilarious series with a heart and it just keeps getting better. I highly
recommend them all, and please read them in the order they were written for
full blown laugh out loud reading pleasure!” Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words
Joe
Cosentino was voted Favorite LGBT Mystery, Humorous, and Contemporary Author of
the Year by the readers of Divine Magazine for Drama Queen. He also wrote the other novels in the Nicky and Noah
mystery series: Drama Muscle, Drama Cruise, Drama Luau, Drama Detective,
Drama Fraternity, Drama Castle, Drama Dance; the Dreamspinner Press
novellas: In My Heart/An Infatuation & A Shooting Star, the Bobby and Paolo
Holiday Stories: A Home for the
Holidays/The Perfect Gift/The First Noel, The Naked Prince and Other Tales from Fairyland with Holiday Tales from Fairyland; the Cozzi
Cove series: Cozzi Cove: Bouncing Back,
Cozzi Cove: Moving Forward, Cozzi Cove: Stepping
Out, Cozzi Cove: New Beginnings, Cozzi Cove: Happy Endings (NineStar
Press); and the Jana Lane mysteries: Paper
Doll, Porcelain Doll, Satin Doll, China Doll, Rag Doll (The
Wild Rose Press). 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 Chair of the
Department/Professor at a college in upstate New York, and he is happily
married. Joe was voted 2nd Place Favorite LGBT Author of the Year in
Divine Magazine’s Readers’ Choice Awards, and his books have received numerous
Favorite Book of the Month Awards and Rainbow Award Honorable Mentions.
Web site: http://www.JoeCosentino.weebly.com
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/JoeCosentinoauthor
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/JoeCosen
Amazon: Author.to/JoeCosentino
Cover Art: Jesús Da Silva
Excerpt
of Drama Dance, the eighth Nicky and
Noah mystery, by Joe Cosentino:
Noah kissed my neck. “Being back at
Treemeadow and in a show again has been great for Taavi.”
“And for us.” I kissed his forehead.
Always thoughtful and kind, Noah said, “I
grew up in Wisconsin with my extended family nearby, as you did in Kansas. I
can tell Taavi misses our parents, our brothers and their husbands, and their
kids.”
“But Taavi has us. And his fairy godparents,
Martin and Ruben.”
“And his theatre family.” A line appeared
across Noah’s porcelain-like forehead. “Interesting how Taavi picked up on all
the bickering at rehearsals.”
“He’s a perceptive kid. Besides, Martin and
Ruben have been bickering since the turn of the century. It’s their way of
showing affection for each other.” I ran my sideburn against his cheek. “Every
family bickers a bit.”
“Especially the Lamas siblings. You’d think
they were playing the Borgias instead of Clara and the Nutcracker’s
understudy.”
The gossip in me was awoken. “It seems Piero
told their conservative parents that Caterina is a stripper. And Caterina told
them Piero is gay.”
“You think they’re each vying for a higher
spot in the parents’ will?”
“Or at least in their parents’ hearts.”
I squeezed Noah closer into my chest. “And
did you notice how Liz turned into Eve Harrington when Caterina was hit by the tree?”
“All understudies yearn to take over their
roles.”
“But Liz was practically salivating on my
neck.”
“While she gave her lecture about abstinence
until heterosexual marriage.”
I laughed. “Our
heterosexually-married choreographer didn’t seem to notice. Otto was too busy
trying to get into Piero’s dance belt.”
“Totally inappropriate. And not only because
Otto is married. Piero is his student!”
“I agree.”
Noah’s crystal blue eyes shimmered. “But,
Nicky?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m
not your student.”
I grinned. “But you are married.”
“And I’d have it no other way.”
Giveaway:
Post a comment about why you love The
Nutcracker Ballet. The one that tickles our tights the most will win an
audiobook of Drama Queen, the first
Nicky and Noah mystery, by Joe Cosentino, performed by Michael Gilboe
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