Joe Cosentino, congratulations on the release today of Finding Armando, Found At Last e-book 2, and the paperback novel of Found At Last (Finding Giorgio & Finding Armando).
Both Found At Last stories are out at last!
What propelled you to write Finding Armando, book 2?
After writing nearly thirty books, I finally had the courage to write Finding Giorgio, a story about two young lovers reuniting two older, lost lovers. To my elation, Finding Giorgio was a novella cherished by so many people who loved reading it as much as I adored writing it. They fell in love with Theo and Jamison as the two heroes fell in love with each other. The readers admired the young couple for risking so much to reunite Nolan and Giorgio, separated at eighteen years old by their homophobic parents. Thankfully, Theo and Jamison’s story didn’t end there. As the new owners of Nolan Giorgio’s Resort in the Pennsylvania Pocono Mountains, the young couple have a new challenge. That’s the story of Finding Armando, Found At Last book 2.
Tell everyone the story of Finding Armando.
Theo and Jamison embark on a second search, this one for their friend, resort manager Asher’s lost love, Armando, separated from him years ago under the military’s old Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. Complicating matters further, Jamison’s playboy younger brother, Kendall, pays them a visit on leave from the Navy, and a woman in need makes Theo and Jamison a shocking offer.
Who is your favorite character in Finding Armando?
The resort manager, gray fox Asher Hillel. In his younger days, Asher was taunted for being Jewish and gay. He was separated from the love of his life in the Navy during the discriminatory Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. Yet he made a success of himself.
Which character was the hardest to write?
Phoenix, the assistant manager at the resort in the Poconos. He is tall, muscular, handsome, mixed-race, and an ex-Marine. While regimented and cold on the outside, he has a heart of gold ready to melt.
Which character is the sexiest?
Again, Jamison’s younger brother Kendall is a bad boy on the brink of becoming a man. Physically he is a younger version of Jamison, however, unlike Jamison he is always on the lookout for fun and frolic.
Many of your characters in both stories in Found At Last are of various ethnicities and sexual identities. Is that deliberate on your part?
Yes, I love that about the two novellas.
Which other MM authors do you read?
All of them!
Which is your favorite series: In My Heart, the Bobby and Paolo Holiday Stories, The Tales from Fairyland, Cozzi Cove, Nicky and Noah mysteries, the Jana Lane mysteries, or Found At Last?
That’s like asking a parent which one is their favorite child, though my parents would have no problem picking my sister (smile). Each of my series is full of romance, humor, mystery, adventure, wonderful characters, and enticing stories. Though each is different, I love them all.
How can your readers get their hands on the Finding Armando e-book and the Found At Last (Finding Giorgio & Finding Armando) paperback?
The purchase links are below.
Thank you, Joe, for interviewing today.
My pleasure. I hope everyone will read both Found At Last stories at last. I’m sure, like me, you will fall in love with Theo and Jamison as they bring together lost lovers from the past. And I love to hear from readers. So contact me at http://www.JoeCosentino.weebly.com.
FINDING ARMANDO, Found At Last book two
an e-book novella by JOE COSENTINO
Length: 127 pages
Language: English
Genre: MM, contemporary, romance, mystery, comedy, adventure
Cover Art: Paul Richmond
ASIN: B0873DFXZC
Release date: June 23, 2020
Blurb:
An investigative adventure in search of an elderly man’s first love brought Theo and Jamison together. Now they’re called to put their sleuthing skills to use once again and reunite Pocono resort manager Asher with his lost love, Armando. But the hunt through rural Pennsylvania won’t be easy with Jamison’s younger brother locking horns with the resort’s assistant manager and a shocking offer from the sous chef, Grace.
Buy Links:
AND!
FOUND AT LAST Anthology (Finding Giorgio & Finding Armando)
a paperback novel by JOE COSENTINO, published by Dreamspinner Press
Theo and Jamison meet while volunteering at a nursing home and come together on an investigative adventure to reunite elderly Nolan with his first love, Giorgio. Their sleuthing skills are needed again to create a second chance at happiness for resort manager Asher and his first love, Armando. As they search for the men who got away, Theo and Jamison grow closer, and the lessons of the past could change their lives—and their future—forever.
Excerpt from Finding Armando, Found At Last book 2, by Joe Cosentino,
Asher appeared to be transported back in time. “I always knew I was gay. Coming from a small farming town in Pennsylvania, I never acted on it. After attending community college, I joined the Navy and remained there for eight years. It was the best time of my life until….” Sitting back, he said, “Let me start at the beginning. During boot camp, I noticed another recruit from Pennsylvania. He had piercing, tortured gray eyes like a wounded animal. The guy was always alone, never speaking to anyone. I learned his name was Armando Caro.”
The name seemed familiar to me, but I couldn’t place it.
“Armando had jet-black wavy hair and a wide, strong build. Though we never spoke, he and I stole furtive glances at each other during drills, meals, and before bed. I wondered who he was, what he was thinking, and if he liked me.” He took in a shaky breath. “A bunch of the other guys in boot camp weren’t thrilled about me being Jewish.”
I asked, “How did you know?”
“They called me Christ-killer, Jew-boy, kike.”
“That would do it.”
“One night after lights out, they dragged me from my bed into the latrine.” A look of terror filled his face. “One guy held my hands behind my back. Another pressed down on my feet. Three others pummeled my face and stomach. I’d never been so afraid in my life. I screamed, thinking my life was over and wondering what my parents would do when the Navy shipped home my dead body. Like an angel of mercy, Armando appeared and threw them off me. I had never seen anyone fight like that. As if a windmill in motion, he landed punch after punch until they fled back to their beds. When Armando and I were alone, he rested my head on his shoulder, and he asked me if I was all right. I told him, ‘I’m all right for the first time in my life.’ Then he took a clean cloth, washed the blood off my face, and ran his fingers through my hair. Finally, he held me in his strong arms and rocked me back and forth. After that night, the others left me alone.”
“Armando was a true hero,” I said.
Asher nodded. “After boot camp, I couldn’t believe my good fortune when Armando and I were stationed on the same ship in the Middle East. One night after chow, he slid a piece of paper into my pocket. It read, ‘Meet me in the storage room near the forecastle at 0200.’ When I arrived, without saying a word, Armando took off his uniform and skivvies. Then he removed my clothes, and he gently rested me on top of some old blankets. Covering me with his powerful mass, he kissed me softly and tenderly. And I started to cry.”
“Why?”
“I had never felt anything so wonderful.”
“What happened next?”
“Armando taught me how to make love. I’m not talking only about the mechanics. I mean love itself.” He rubbed his forehead. “My parents proved their love to me by working hard—my father as a salesman and my mother as a bookkeeper and homemaker. As a kid, I heard a lot about the importance of making ends meet, owning a presentable home, wearing clean clothing, and having good manners. But my folks were never affectionate to each other… or to me.”
“And Armando was different?”
“That’s an understatement. He hugged and kissed me continuously throughout our lovemaking. Afterward, he pressed my back against his strong chest, wrapped his arms around me, and whispered of his love in my ear. Armando opened a whole new world for me, but it existed solely in that storage room. I never wanted to leave it.”
“But you had to.”
Asher made eye contact with us again. “Armando and I met in our secret place whenever we could get away, going mad when we were apart and living for those precious hours together. We not only made love, we shared our hopes and dreams for the future, and our fears too. I told him about my family life and my goal to enter the business world. Armando was from a poor neighborhood, and his family was very Catholic. His father was a car mechanic. Armando was a champion boxer in high school, and he wanted to have his own gymnasium someday. I told him I’d like to manage it. We both studied and worked hard in the Navy. Like the other gay couples onboard ship, we kept that side of our lives hidden, and nobody bothered us. Eventually Armando and I were each promoted to chief petty officer.” His face hardened. “That’s when the trouble started.”
“The trouble?” I asked.
Jamison was a step ahead of me. “You were in the military during the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy.”
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, Drama Faerie, Drama Runway; 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/Holiday Tales from Fairyland, Found At Last: Finding Giorgio and Finding Armando; the Cozzi Cove series (NineStar Press): Cozzi Cove: Bouncing Back, Cozzi Cove: Moving Forward, Cozzi Cove: Stepping Out, Cozzi Cove: New Beginnings, Cozzi Cove: Happy Endings; 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
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Amazon: Author.to/JoeCosentino
Post a comment about reuniting with a lost love. The one that tickles our heartstrings the most will win any backorder book by Joe Cosentino published by Dreamspinner Press!
I don’t think you ever give up hope. You’re always wishing for another chance. You believe, deep inside, that they’ll be waiting for you, just around the corner or just over the hill. Second chances are what keep us moving forward.
No story here to tell. I love to read reunion stories but never have had one myself.