Interview
with Joe Cosentino, author of Drama Runway,
the tenth
Nicky and Noah mystery/comedy/romance novel
Welcome Joe Cosentino on the release of the tenth novel in your award-winning and popular Nicky and Noah gay cozy mystery series.
Thanks. I’m a baker’s dozen.
(smile)
What makes the Nicky and Noah mystery series so special?
It’s
a gay cozy mystery comedy series, meaning the setting is warm and cozy, the
clues and murders (and laughs) come fast and furious, and there are enough plot
twists and turns and a surprise ending to keep the pages turning (as Nicky
would say) “faster than a priest facing an altar boy with a robe malfunction.”
At the center is the touching relationship between Professor of Play Directing
Nicky Abbondanza and Associate Professor of Acting Noah Oliver. We watch them
go from courting to marrying to adopting a child, all the while head over heels
in love with each other (as we fall in love with them). Reviewers called the
series “hysterically funny farce,” “Murder
She Wrote meets Hart to Hart
meets The Hardy Boys,” and
“captivating whodunits.” One reviewer wrote they are the funniest books she’s
ever read! Another said I’m “a master storyteller.” Who am I to argue?
How are the novels cozy?
Many of them take place in Vermont, a cozy
state with green pastures, white church steeples, glowing lakes, and friendly
and accepting people. Fictitious 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.
Tell us about Drama Runway, the tenth novel in the series.
Witty
and wonderful armchair sleuth, Professor of Play Directing Nicky Abbondanza, is
directing a fashion show for the Fashion Department at Treemeadow
College—founded by gay lovers Tree and Meadow. The plan is to showcase the new
black leather line by famous fashion designer Ulla Ultimate of Ultimate Fashion
(FU for short). The visiting professor’s rebellious son, Treemeadow fashion
student Cory Ultimate, is featured as one of the models. The other hot and
hunky male student models are feuding exes Shane Buff and Julio Bonero, and
picked upon plus-size model Cosmo Capra. As rehearsals for the show begin,
Nicky is “happier than a televangelist buying a mansion and new wig after
pledge week.” However, Nicky finds out quickly the runway is a dangerous place
as sexy male models drop faster than their leather chaps. Nicky and Noah need
to use their drama skills to figure out who is taking the term “a cut male
model” literally before the couple end up steamed in the wardrobe steamer.
Are our favorite
characters back?
To keep peace in the family (and arsenic out of
his oatmeal), Nicky has also cast his handsome husband, Associate Professor of
Acting Noah Oliver, and their adopted son, Taavi, as models in the show. Of
course Nicky’s best friends, Theatre Department Head Martin Anderson and his
long suffering spouse Ruben, are producers, with office assistant Shayla
Johnson on hand to supply sassy remarks. Nicky’s droll
nemesis, Detective Manuello, and Nicky and Noah’s both sets of riotous parents
are also along for the rocky ride.
Does a reader need to have read the first nine books before reading book ten?
No. Each book is a separate mystery. However, I
recommend reading them in order to watch Nicky and Noah’s personal lives
unfold. It’s quite a story!
Who was
your favorite new character to write in Drama
Runway?
Johnny Riley, with each of his
fingers bandaged from sewing in the shop, is an absolute hoot. His romance with
muscular Hoss Packer, the student stage manager, is quite touching (pun
intended) as well. Johnny’s personal secret isn’t revealed until later in the
book. It’s a doozy!
Which new
character do you like the least in book ten?
Lila Hekekia is riotously funny
as the student crying “religious discrimination” whenever she doesn’t get
something she wants. Like so many evangelicals today, she practices quite the
opposite of what she preaches, and she is shocked when others stand up to her
bigotry.
Which new
character was the hardest to write?
Ulla’s son Cory is wild, wicked,
and wonton. However, he is acting out in hopes of gaining his mother’s
attention, and ultimately her love. Their dynamic is quite layered and
interesting.
Which new
character in book ten was the sexiest?
Ulla’s assistant, Miles Jeffrey, is
secure in his own gorgeous skin. He knows what he wants, and ultimately (pun
intended) how to get it.
For anyone unfortunate enough not to have read them, what are the titles of the first nine novels in the series?
Drama Queen (Divine Magazine’s
Readers’ Choice Award for Favorite LGBT Mystery, Humorous, and Contemporary
Novel of the Year), Drama Muscle (Rainbow
Award Honorable Mention), Drama Cruise,
Drama Luau, Drama Detective (Rainbow Award Honorable Mention), Drama Fraternity, Drama Castle (Rainbow
Award Honorable Mention), Drama
Dance (Rainbow Award Honorable
Mention), Drama Faerie.
Over the five years, did you forget certain things about the characters and their environment?
I keep really good notes on everything for
continuity. Also, the regular characters are like family to me. I know them so
well. I love watching them and their relationships grow and develop. It’s also
great fun developing minor characters from earlier books into major characters
later on, like Martin Anderson’s husband Ruben. It’s equally fun creating
important new characters like Nicky and Noah’s son Taavi. Finally, I enjoy
creating new suspects in each book. I laugh out loud when writing these novels,
and the endings still surprise me—even though I wrote them!
You’re a college theatre professor/department chair like Martin Anderson in your series. Has that influenced the series?
As a past professional actor and current
college theatre professor/department chair, I know first-hand the wild and
wacky antics, sweet romance, and captivating mystery in the worlds of theatre
and academia. My books are full of them! I never seem to run out of wild
characters to write about. My faculty colleagues and students kid me that if
any of them tick me off, I’ll kill them in my next book.
Are you Martin Anderson, the theatre department head, in the novels?
My colleagues say my sense of
humor is Nicky’s, but I look like Martin Anderson. I love how Martin is so
loyal and supportive of Nicky and Noah. His one up-man-ship with his office
assistant Shayla is a riot. I’ll admit that like me Martin is a bit of a
gossip. His spouse, Ruben, is based on mine. 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
(uncommon in the entertainment field), and how they can read each other like a
book—no pun intended.
Are Nicky
and Noah based on any of your younger colleagues?
Like most of the characters in my
books, Nicky is a combination of a few people I’ve known. He’s handsome,
muscular, smart, charming, and he has an enormous manhood, which doesn’t hurt
(or maybe it does). However, what I admire most about Nicky is his never give
up attitude and sense of humor in the face of adversity. He is genuinely
concerned for others, and he’ll do anything to solve a murder mystery. Finally,
he is a one-man man, and Nicky is proud to admit that man is Noah Oliver. Nicky
is also incredibly devoted to his family and friends. Noah is blond, blue-eyed,
lean, handsome, smart, and devoted. He makes the perfect Watson to Nicky’s
Holmes. (I always thought Holmes and Watson were a gay couple.) Noah also has a
large heart and soft spot (no pun intended) for others. Finally, like Nicky,
Noah is quite gifted at improvisation, and creates wild and wonderful
characters for their role plays to catch the murderer.
Since
both you and Nicky are of Italian-American decent, are Nicky’s parents like
yours? Are Noah’s parents like your spouse’s parents?
Both Nicky’s parents and Noah’s
parents have many of the traits of my parents. 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 Nicky. As they say, men marry their fathers. Nicky’s
parents’ goal to feed everyone and protect their children is heartwarming. Both
sets of parents fully embrace their sons and their sons’ family, which is
refreshing.
You and your spouse have travelled to Alaska, Hawaii, and Scotland, just like Nicky and Noah. Did those trips inform those novels in the series?
Since my spouse and I have travelled
extensively to gorgeous locations, those situations often pop up in my books. I
hear other things pop up as well when the readers read Nicky and Noah’s love
scenes.
How did you become a storyteller?
I’ve always had a wild imagination. My parents
always feared what I’d make up and tell neighbors about them. And they still
do! I appropriately majored in theatre at college. Then I went on to act
opposite stars like Rosie O’Donnell (AT&T
industrial), Nathan Lane (Roar of the
Greasepaint musical onstage), Bruce Willis (A Midsummer Night’s Dream onstage), Charles Keating (NBC’s Another World), Jason Robards
(Commercial Credit computer commercial), and Holland Taylor (ABC’s My Mother Was Never a Kid TV movie). Finally,
I began writing plays and ultimately writing novels. Since I’m a cozy mystery
reading fanatic, and there are so few gay cozy mystery series out there, I was
happy to fill the bill—or in this new novel, the tights.
How do
you find the time to be a college professor/department head and do all this
writing?
My writing time is incredibly
precious to me. I’m a night owl, so I write late into the night.
Where do
you write?
My home study is very much like
Martin Anderson’s office at Treemeadow College including a fireplace with a
cherry wood mantel and a cherry wood desk and bookcase. I also have a window
seat beneath a large window/gateway to the woods.
Do you
write an outline before each book?
For a mystery, an outline is
imperative. It’s important to plot out all the clues and surprise reveals. I
generally think of a great idea for a new book at 3am. If I can remember it the
next day, or read my notes on my night table, I draft the outline. Since I was
an actor, I also write a character biography for each character. Then I close
my eyes and let the magic happen. As I see the scenes in front of me like a
movie and the characters start talking to each other in my head, I hit the
computer. My spouse reads my second draft. After we argue, I write my third
draft. The fourth draft is after notes from my editor.
What
advice do you have for unpublished writers?
Don’t listen to naysayers. Get in
front of the computer and start writing your unique story. Don’t copy anyone.
Find the magic within yourself. Write what you know and feel passionate about.
Write every day. Don’t be afraid to take chances. When you have a story you
think is perfect, ask someone you trust to read it. Then after doing another
draft, email it to a publisher who has an open submissions policy and who
publishes the kind of story you’ve written, or publish it yourself.
Is it
hard to write comedy?
Not for me. I’ve always thought
funny. I remember as an actor directors telling me to stop making my scenes so
funny. I didn’t realize I was doing it. I think I get this from my mother. For
example, for Christmas one year my mother said, “Tell me exactly what you want
so you won’t return it.” I replied, “I’d like a red shirt.” Mom answered, “I
don’t like red. I’ll get you a blue one.”
Why do
you write gay fiction?
Why not? LGBT people have many interesting
untold stories. Go to a mall and look at the row of movie posters without any LGBT
characters in them. Visit a bookstore and see cover after cover of opposite sex
love stories. Take a look at so many of our political and so called religious
leaders who raise money and gain power by demonizing LGBT people and trying (and
often succeeding) to take away civil rights. I mourn for the young gay kids who
consider suicide. So I support organizations like GLSEN, and I write stories
that include LGBT people and themes. However, just as my Jana Lane series with
its gay supporting characters has huge crossover appeal for gay people, the
Nicky and Noah series with its LGBT leading characters and straight supporting
characters has a tremendous amount of crossover appeal for straight people. Most
people like a clever mystery, a sweet romance, and a good laugh, regardless of
the sexuality of the characters.
Your
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, Found At Last: Finding
Giorgio/Finding Armando, and The
Tales from Fairyland) were so well received, winning various awards. What
would you say to people who loved them and might be surprised that the Nicky
and Noah mysteries are quite different?
I’d tell them that my Nicky and
Noah mysteries sell just as well, and I’d ask them to give Nicky and Noah a
chance. As my mother said to me as a kid about pea soup (now one of my favorite
foods—post The Exorcist), “Just try
it, you may like it.”
And how
about your New Jersey beach series?
I just received the nicest
compliment about them. A reviewer compared them to Armistead Maupin’s Tales of
the City books. I was incredibly humbled and flattered. I love those books, and
they are incredibly cinematic (hint-producers)! They are: Cozzi Cove: Bouncing Back, Cozzi
Cove: Moving Forward, Cozzi Cove:
Stepping Out, Cozzi Cove: New
Beginnings, and Cozzi Cove: Happy
Endings. The series (NineStar Press) is about handsome Cal Cozzi’s gay
beach resort on a gorgeous cove. I spent my summers as a kid on the Jersey
Shore, so it’s a special place for me. The first novel was a Favorite Book of
the Month on The TBR Pile site and won a Rainbow Award Honorable Mention. I
love the intertwining stories of Cal and his family and the guests as Cozzi
Cove, each so full of surprises. Cozzi Cove is a place where nothing is what it
seems, anything can happen, and romance is everywhere. Some reviewers have
called it a gay Fantasy Island.
How can
your readers get their hands on Drama Runway,
and how can they contact you?
The purchase links are below, as
are my contact links, including my web site. I love to hear from readers! So do
Nicky and Noah!
Thank you, Joe, for interviewing today.
It is my joy and pleasure to share this tenth
novel in the series with you. So take your seats. The runway lights are
flashing, the music is pulsating, and the models are ready to enter. Curtain up
on the ultimate in fashion, and of course hilarity, romance, and murder!
DRAMA RUNWAY (the 10th Nicky and Noah mystery)
a comedy/mystery/romance novel by JOE COSENTINO
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1025298
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/drama-runway-joe-cosentino/1137112697?ean=2940164095888
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/drama-runway-a-nicky-and-noah-mystery
It’s
spring break at Treemeadow College, and theatre professor Nicky Abbondanza is
directing a runway show for the Fashion Department. Joining him are his spouse,
theatre professor Noah Oliver, their son Taavi, and their best friend and
department head, Martin Anderson. The show, designed by visiting professor Ulla
Ultimate, is bound to be the ultimate event of the season. And bound it is with
designs featuring black leather and chains. When sexy male models drop faster
than their leather chaps, Nicky and Noah will need to use their drama skills to
figure out who is taking the term “a cut male model” literally before Nicky and
Noah end up steamed in the wardrobe steamer. You will be applauding and
shouting Bravo for Joe Cosentino’s fast-paced, side-splittingly funny,
edge-of-your-seat entertaining tenth novel in this delightful series. Take your
seats. The runway is lighting up with hunky models, volatile designers, bitter
exes, newfound lovers, and murder!
Paperback: 55,220 words, 187 pages
Language: English
Genre: MM, contemporary, mystery,
comedy, romance
Cover Art: Jesús Da Silva
ISBN-13: 9780463982808
ASIN: B089G7YY87
Release
date: August 1, 2020
Excerpt of Drama Runway, the 10th
Nicky and Noah mystery by Joe Cosentino:
I placed my arm
around him. “Nobody’s been murdered in this show.”
“Yet.”
I rested my head
back. “But I have witnessed
some…conflict among the players.”
He grinned. “You
think?”
As a play director
and amateur sleuth, the psychology behind a character’s actions has always
intrigued me. “Did you notice Shane Buff and Julio Bonero are exes.”
“To Julio’s chagrin.”
Noah rubbed his adorable chin. “Do you think Julio will spill the beans to
Shane’s father about Shane being a fashion major rather than a business major?”
“Not if Shane has
anything to say about it.” I sighed. “Ah, the life of a student male model.”
“The life indeed. I’m
sure you caught our student set designer slash model trying to sneak some sugar
with Julio after rehearsal.”
“We were meant to
catch that.”
“What do you mean?”
“It was as contagious
and obvious as the flu.” I pressed my knees against my chest. “Cory Ultimate
put on that little charade with Julio to anger his mother. He’s acting out to
get her attention.”
“Why would the great
Ulla Ultimate care that her son wants to get it on with another college
student?”
“Ulla’s obviously as
controlling a mother as she is a fashion designer. Sometimes it’s easier to
control those we love than to listen to them and respect their own path in
life.”
Noah played footsies
with me. “Cory’s path seems to be a winding one.”
“And his mother
apparently wants him to walk straight—to the altar.” I laughed. “Can you
believe Ulla actually gave her personal assistant the task of interviewing
candidates to marry her son?”
“Sure. My mother
threatened that once.”
“She did?”
Noah nodded. “Just
before I met you.”
I chuckled. “Your dad
would have asked me what movies I like. And your mom would have wanted to know
if her friend Judy in Wisconsin approved of me.”
“Your papa would have
grilled me on my favorite Italian pastry. And your mama would have asked if I
know ‘Carmine the Mooch with the golden cannoli.’”
We shared a laugh.
I sobered up. “We’re
lucky to have such supportive parents—who live far away from Vermont, in
Wisconsin and Kansas.”
Always giving
everyone the benefit of the doubt, my sweet-hearted husband said, “I think Ulla
cares about her son, but she can’t separate love from dominance.”
“Maybe Cory needs
someone to dominate him.”
“Don’t we all.” Noah
giggled.
I pinched his pec.
“Do you think we’ll be ready for the show?”
“We always are.” He
kissed my nose. “Thanks to the magic of show business.”
“If Cosmo Capra
doesn’t stop eating, the sewing staff will need to reinforce all of his
outfits.”
“Poor guy. I wonder
why he eats so much. There must be something bothering him.”
“Yeah, Shane and
Julio mocking him for putting food into his mouth.”
Always concerned for
others, Noah’s handsome face saddened. “Why do models have to be so thin?” He
winked at me. “I like a man with some meat on his bones.”
“Then you must like
our student stage manager. Hoss Packer is built bigger than an actor on daytime
television during sweeps week.”
“Cory Ultimate sure
seemed to notice.”
“Cory was more
stimulated than a closet gay man watching a bodybuilding contest from the front
row with binoculars and a raincoat.”
We both burst out
laughing.
“Nicky, we sound like
Martin and Ruben.”
“Minus the arguing.”
He used Ruben’s crisp
delivery. “Are you still able to argue at your age?”
We guffawed again and
slid down onto our white satin sheets. The moment our heads rested on our
hypoallergenic pillows, I remembered. “I think I saw a ghost tonight.”
Noah did a
doubletake.
“When I was alone in
the fashion department theatre. It was dark. A beautiful young woman all in
white nearly floated down the runway.” I sighed. “I was tired. Maybe it was a daydream.”
“Fantasies of a
woman? How unlike you.” He kissed one of my long sideburns. “Should I be
worried?”
“Hardly.” I spooned
him in my arms. “I probably imagined it.” Or
maybe it was a foretelling of what’s to come. As Noah snored softly, I
thought about our cast and crew for the runway show. Like Taavi, I wondered
which one of them would be murdered first.
Giveaway:
Post a comment about why you love models. The one that sends us down the runway
will win a gift Audible code for the audiobook of Drama Queen, the first
Nicky and Noah mystery, by Joe Cosentino, performed by Michael Gilboe!
https://www.audible.com/pd/Drama-Queen-Audiobook/B012I834LS
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 plotlines, 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
Web site:
http://www.JoeCosentino.weebly.com
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/JoeCosentinoauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoeCosen
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4071647.Joe_Cosentino
Amazon: Author.to/JoeCosentino
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