A warm Love Bytes welcome to author Joe Cosentino , joining us today here to talk about new release “Drama King”.
Joe brought some special guests with him today 😉
So let’s welcome Nicky and Noah also here!
Check out the interview with these wonderful men and don’t forget to enter the giveaway 🙂
An Interview with Nicky Abbondanza and Noah Oliver
the leading characters in Joe Cosentino’s novel, Drama King,
the 18th Nicky and Noah mystery/comedy/romance
Nicky and Noah, you are an adorable couple.
Nicky & Noah: We agree!
Congratulations on the release of the eighteenth mystery in your award-winning and popular Nicky and Noah gay cozy comedy mystery romance series.
Nicky: Try saying that three times fast while tongue kissing.
Since the readers can’t see you, tell them what you look like.
Noah: Nicky is a gorgeous hunk.
Nicky: And Noah is very honest.
Noah: Nicky is tall with dark hair and sexy long sideburns, a cleft chin I love to kiss, Roman nose, emerald eyes, and a muscular body thanks to the gym on campus.
Nicky: I call it the Treemeadow Torture Chamber.
Noah: Best of all, Nicky has a huge heart. And something else that is huge.
Nicky: And Noah likes that very much.
Noah: Well, it doesn’t hurt. Not at first anyway. (He blushes.)
Nicky: Noah is tall, with silky golden blond hair, true-blue eyes, milk and honey skin, and a body I love to hug all night long. And Noah always cares about others. Especially me. And I adore him for it. I’m a one-man man, and that man is Noah Oliver.
Noah: And I’d have it no other way.
Nicky & Noah: Not to mention, but we will: we both love solving mysteries!
Tell us about Drama King, the eighteenth mystery in your popular, award-winning series.
Nicky: It stars me!
Noah: And co-stars me!
Nicky: In the novel, our theatrical troupe at Treemeadow College stage an original musical production of the King Arthur legends entitled, Knights in Tights.
Noah: Once again, Nicky and I, as Holmes and Watson (I always thought they were lovers) use our drama skills to catch the killer before our capes get squeezed around our necks.
As usual, calamity ensues in book eighteen.
Nicky: More calamity than when a past Republican president ordered the Proud Boys to take over the Capitol. In the show within the novel, I direct and play King Arthur.
Noah: And I am the acting coach and play gorgeous Knight Lancelot. We are star-crossed lovers
Nicky: due to Arthur’s mail-order bride Guinevere.
Noah: Played by our best friend and department chair Martin.
Nicky: Martin’s long-suffering husband, Ruben, is Merlin
Noah: who in the final moments of the show sets all right (or left).
Nicky: And King Arthur marries
Noah: his beloved Lancelot.
Nicky: Our son, Taavi, is cast as Young Arthur.
Noah: His wife Sloane, a transexual, plays the mysterious Lady of the Lake.
Nicky: Martin and Ruben’s son, Ty, is Arthur’s bastard (pun intended) son Mordred.
Noah: And Martin’s sassy office assistant, Shayla, is cast as the cunning Morgan le Fay.
Nicky: Detective Manuello comes along for the ride as Pellinore, the knight with the Holy Grail (he found at a gay bar).
Noah: My niece from Scotland, Lairie, plays the scheming Isolde.
Nicky: Our dog, Asterisk, and his husband, Tag, are cast as King Arthur’s dogs Cavall and Glassic.
Noah: And Ty’s girlfriend, Shinelle, is also back as stage manager.
Nicky: If you read this novel, you’ll have more fun than a conservative politician taking away people’s medical insurance.
Who are the new characters in book seventeen?
Noah: The Knights of the Roundtable are played by hunky newcomers to the series. Associate Professor of Musical Theatre Bernardo Anita is cast as Knight Perceval. The Latino’s muscular body, dark hair and eyes, and olive skin set his adorable graduate assistant Wang Fong’s heart aflutter. Wang (Knight Kay), a deaf performer, also enjoys the fact that Bernardo is a CODA (child of deaf adults).
Nicky: Theatre majors bodybuilder Nathan Masterson (Knight Tristan), wealthy Tevye Perchik (Knight Gawain), and Dracula lookalike Beau Babcock (Knight Bedivere) form an interesting love triangle. When play reviewers drop like knights’ tights, there are plenty of suspects—not to mention sweet romance. If you read this novel, you’ll have more fun than a Republican-appointed Supreme Court member taking away LGBT, workers’, environmental, women’s, and voting rights.
Noah: You’ll also get to see how this popular series ends!
Who was your favorite new character?
Nicky: Noah.
Noah: New character, Nicky.
Nicky: Associate Professor of Musical Theatre Bernardo Anita is a fine professor, musical director, and Knight Perceval in our show. As a CODA (child of deaf adults), he has empathy for his deaf graduate assistant Wang Fong—who Bernardo just happens to desire.
Noah: My favorite character is Nicky.
Nicky: New character, Noah.
Noah: Graduate Assistant of Musical Theatre and our choreographer Wang Fong is a sweet, warm, and adorable deaf performer cast as Knight Kay.
Which new character do you like the least?
Nicky and Noah: The McAfee family of play reviewers/murder victims.
Nicky: But I solve the mystery anyway.
Noah: With my help.
Which new character is the sexiest?
Nicky: Theatre major Nathan Masterson (Knight Tristan), as an award-winning bodybuilder, has many hearts aflutter. Like all of the characters (and I mean characters), Nathan has quite a secret. But Noah is sexier.
Noah: Theatre major Beau Babcock (Knight Bedivere) has long dark hair, large molars, and an enormous package, but not as impressive as Nicky’s.
What makes the Nicky and Noah mystery series so special?
Nicky & Noah: Us!
Nicky: Actually, 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 faster than a priest chasing an altar boy up the bell tower. At the center is the touching relationship between Noah and me. You watch us go from courting to marrying to adopting a child, all the while head over heels in love with each other.
Noah: 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 Joe is “a master storyteller.” Who are we to argue?
Nicky: Even though Noah and I tell Joe everything to write.
How are the novels cozy?
Noah: Many of them, like this one, 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.
Why do you think there aren’t many other gay cozy mystery series out there?
Noah: Most MM novels are erotica, young adult, dark thrillers, or supernatural. While that’s fine, I think we’re missing a whole spectrum of fiction. In the case of the Nicky and Noah mysteries, they 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.
Nicky: So are the plot twists and turns and a surprise ending to keep the pages turning over like a family values politician at an orgy. And no matter what is thrown in my path as a sleuth, I always end up on top.
Noah: Which is just fine with me.
For anyone unfortunate enough not to have read them, tell us the titles of the novels in the series.
Nicky: The Nicky and Noah mysteries are Drama Queen, Drama Muscle, Drama Cruise, Drama Luau, Drama Detective, Drama Fraternity, Drama Castle, Drama Dance. Take it, Noah, while I catch my breath.
Noah: Drama Faerie, Drama Runway, Drama Christmas, Drama Pan, Drama TV, Drama Oz, Drama Prince, Drama Merry, Drama Daddy (novelette), and now Drama King. Phew!
Joe is a college theatre professor/department chair like Martin Anderson in your series. Has that influenced the series?
Noah: As a past professional actor and current college theatre professor/department chair, Joe knows first-hand the wild and wacky antics, sweet romance, and captivating mystery in the worlds of theatre and academia.
Nicky: The Nicky and Noah mysteries are full of them! He never seems to run out of wild characters to write about.
What do you like about the regular characters in the series?
Noah: I love Nicky’s never give up attitude and sense of humor in the face of adversity. He’s genuinely concerned for others, and he’ll do anything to solve a murder mystery. He’s also a one-man man, and I’m proud to admit that man is me.
Nicky: Noah makes the perfect Watson to my Holmes. He also has a large heart and soft spot (no pun intended) for others. Finally, like me, Noah is gifted at improvisation, and creates wild and wonderful characters for our role-plays to catch the murderer.
Noah: I think it’s terrific how Martin and Ruben throw riotous zingers at each other, but they’re so much in love. You don’t see a lot of older gay characters in books nowadays.
Nicky: And our son, Taavi, fits into our thespian crime-solving group perfectly.
Noah: So does Martin and Ruben’s son Ty.
How about your parents?
Nicky: They’re hilarious. I love Noah’s mother’s fixation with taking pictures of everything, and his father’s fascination with seeing movies and television. I also love how Noah’s father is a ham and an amateur sleuth like me. As they say, men marry their fathers.
Noah: Nicky’s mom’s Mafia ties and addiction to church Bingo are also a riot. Both sets of parents fully embrace their sons and their sons’ family, which is refreshing.
I’m sure Joe has been told that the books would make a terrific TV series.
Nicky: Many many times! Rather than Logo showing reruns of Golden Girls around the clock, and Bravo airing so called reality shows, I would love to see them do The Nicky and Noah Mysteries. Come on, TV producers, make your offers! Joe has written a teleplay of the first novel and treatments for the remaining novels!
How would you cast the TV series?
Noah: Here’s my wish list: Matt Bomer or Luke McFarlane as Nicky, Neil Patrick Harris as me, Rosie O’Donnell and Bruce Willis as my parents, Valerie Bertinelli and Jay Leno as Nicky’s parents, Joe as Martin Anderson (nepotism!), Nathan Lane as Martin’s husband Ruben, Wanda Sykes as Martin’s office assistant Shayla.
Joe has written other mystery series: the Player Piano mysteries and the Jana Lane mysteries. There are mystery elements in his Cozzi Cove series and Found At Last series. A story in Joe’s Tales from Fairyland Anthology is a mystery.
Nicky: They’re great stories, but Noah and I aren’t in them. Next question.
This novel has quite an amazing ending. Is it really the last novel in the series?
Nicky: All good things come to an end.
Noah: And it seems this is the end of the series.
Nicky: And what an ending!
How can your readers get their hands on Drama King, and how can they contact you?
Nicky: The purchase links are below, as are Joe’s contact links, including his web site.
Noah: Nicky and I love to hear from readers via Joe! He tells us everything you say about us!
Thank you, Nicky and Noah, for interviewing today.
Nicky and Noah: Our pleasure.
Noah: We know you’ll laugh, cry, feel romantic, and love delving into this crackling new mystery with more plot twists and turns (as Nicky would say) than a past Republican president’s bankruptcies, illegal charities, and affair with a porn star.
Nicky: We’re more excited than the conservative majority of the Supreme Court taking away LGBT, women’s, environmental, workers’, and voting rights under the guise of “religious freedom” to share this eighteenth mystery in the series with you.
Noah: So put on your cape and crown, and head to the magical land of Camelot for murder, mayhem, and madness.
Nicky: I promise you a happy ending!
Nicky & Noah: And murder!
DRAMA KING (the 18th Nicky and Noah mystery)
a comedy/mystery/romance novel by JOE COSENTINO
E-book and Paperback: 230 pages
Cover Art: Jesús Da Silva
Release date: October 1, 2023
Genre: MM, contemporary, mystery, comedy, romance, theatre, musical theater, college, Camelot, King Arthur, Lancelot, Knights of the Round Table, deaf, CODA
Blurb:
It’s summertime at Treemeadow College and the living isn’t easy. Theatre professors and adorable couple Nicky, Noah, and their thespian troupe stage an original musical adaptation of the King Arthur Legends entitled, Knights in Tights. Queens blissfully shout, “King me,” until critics drop like their scathing reviews. Once again in this novel, our favorite thespians will need to use their drama skills to catch the killer before their crowns spin—around their throats. You will be applauding and shouting Bravo for Joe Cosentino’s fast-paced, side-splittingly funny, edge-of-your-seat entertaining eighteenth mystery in this delightful series. It’s a royal riot! So hurry to your seat. The stage lights are coming up in Camelot on a king on the down low who pulls his long sword out of a tight stone, knights of the roundtable craving a circle jerk, a half-fairy son with a daddy complex, more men in tights than in a Promise Keepers’ convention, and murder!
Amazon Buy Link
Joe Cosentino was voted Favorite MM Mystery, Humorous, and Contemporary Author of the Year by the readers of Divine Magazine for Drama Queen, the first Nicky and Noah mystery novel. He is also the author of the remaining Nicky and Noah mysteries: Drama Muscle, Drama Cruise, Drama Luau, Drama Detective, Drama Fraternity, Drama Castle, Drama Dance, Drama Faerie, Drama Runway, Drama Christmas, Drama Pan, Drama TV, Drama Oz, Drama Prince, Drama Merry, Drama Daddy (novelette), Drama King; the Player Piano Mysteries: The Player and The Player’s Encore; the Jana Lane Mysteries: Paper Doll, Porcelain Doll, Satin Doll, China Doll, Rag Doll; the Cozzi Cove series: Cozzi Cove: Bouncing Back, Moving Forward, Stepping Out, New Beginnings, Happy Endings; the In My Heart Anthology: An Infatuation & A Shooting Star; the Tales from Fairyland Anthology: The Naked Prince and Other Tales from Fairyland and Holiday Tales from Fairyland; the Bobby and Paolo Holiday Stories Anthology: A Home for the Holidays, The Perfect Gift, The First Noel; and the Found At Last Anthology: Finding Giorgio and Finding Armando. His books have won numerous Book of the Month awards and Rainbow Award Honorable Mentions. As an actor, Joe appeared in principal roles in film, television, and theatre, opposite stars such as Bruce Willis, Rosie O’Donnell, Nathan Lane, Jason Robards, and Holland Taylor. He received his Master of Fine Arts degree from Goddard College, Master’s degree from SUNY New Paltz, and is currently a happily married college emeritus theatre professor residing in New York State.
Web site: https://JoeCosentino.weebly.com
Facebook: https://facebook.com/JoeCosentinoauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoeCosen
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4071647.Joe_Cosentino
Amazon: Author.to/JoeCosentino
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joecosentinoauthor
Excerpt of Drama King, the 18th Nicky and Noah mystery, by Joe Cosentino:
I discreetly raced down the hallway and booked it into Noah’s dressing room, where I found my wonderful husband sitting at his makeup table. “I laid out lunch for you on the end table, Nicky.”
I gazed at Noah’s culinary creation: warm beet and farro salad with a blackberry vinaigrette, carrot ricotta tart with pesto and pine nuts, pheasant chestnut zucchini skewers, and peach banana cocoa souffle for dessert. “Noah, you outdid yourself!” I gave him a kiss on the cheek, sat on the (appropriately) pink loveseat across from the end table, and began devouring lunch with a pear plum kiwi smoothie chaser. I garbled between bites, “This is delicious.”
“Just like you.” Noah sat next to me, resting his head on my shoulder. The room was full of the scent of his luscious strawberry shampoo.
After we shared a kiss full of pesto, I said, “I hope you didn’t eat the pine nuts.” Noah is allergic to all nuts—except mine.
“Of course not.”
“Good.”
“But thank you for worrying about me.”
“Always.”
We kissed again.
I asked, “Have Taavi, Sloane, Asterisk, and Tag eaten?”
“They’re finishing up their lunches in Sloane’s dressing room. When I left, Nicky Jr. was on Sloane’s lap with Asterisk and Tag holding the bottle to Nicky Jr.’s lips. Our dogs wouldn’t leave the baby’s side until he drank all of his formula.” Noah kissed one of my sideburns as I chewed. “So, what did you find out?”
“About what?”
“Our cast members—while you were spying on them.”
“I told you, Noah, I don’t spy. I observe.”
“Potato potahto.”
“Don’t make me skewer you with my skewer, Noah.”
“Later.” He kissed my nose. “Tell me the scoop.”
After I swallowed a mouthful of pheasant, I said, “Ty and Shinelle seem to like our niece Lairie.”
Noah clapped his hands. “I’m so glad Lairie is making friends.”
“They may be more than friends.”
“What do you mean?”
“I could be wrong—”
“My own Sherlock Holmes? Never.” Noah giggled.
“Can it, Watson.” I slapped his bubble butt. “Ty and Shinelle seem to be attracted to Lairie.”
“Lairie is probably a novelty to them. They’ve probably never met anyone from Scotland.”
“I guess so.”
Noah fed me a tart. “What else did you discover about our merry troupe?”
“Assistant Professor of Musical Theatre Bernardo Anita and his graduate assistant Wang Fong seem to be at war.”
“That isn’t good.”
I nodded and avocado dribbled onto my plate. “And our students aren’t fairing any better.”
“Do tell.”
“Nathan Masterson is interested in Tevye Perchik who is interested in Beau Babcock who is interested in Nathan Masterson.”
Noah gasped. “Nicky, we have our own soap opera!”
“Let’s hope the drama stays on the stage during our press conference in the greenroom tomorrow.”
“Who’s coming?”
I replied between bites, “The theatre reviewers from the Vermont Victory: Albert and Rose McAfee, their sons Hugo and Conrad, and Rose’s mother Mae.”
Noah grinned. “The family that reviews together stays together.”
“They can be tough reviewers, but they review every show in Vermont. So I’m hoping some wining, dining, and press interviews tomorrow evening will soften them up before opening night.”
Noah nodded. “I made gourmet finger foods and stored them in our refrigerator. We can bring them to the theatre tomorrow. Taavi, Sloane, and Lairie agreed to help set up.”
Shinelle knocked on the open door. “We’re back from lunch, professors.”
“Thank you, Shinelle,” Noah said.
I mumbled the same with my mouth full. After Shinelle was gone, I wiped my mouth with the pink silk napkin Noah had placed on my knee. Then I handed him my empty pink china plate. “Thank you for the wonderful lunch, Noah. See you on stage, Lancelot.”
“I’m right behind you, Arthur.”
“That’s a switch.”
We shared a chuckle.
As I headed out of Noah’s dressing room, I thought about our cast and crew—wondering if one of them was a murderer.
Post a comment about why you love knights in tights. The one that tickles us under the tunic the most will win your choice of one of the first three Nicky and Noah mystery audio books: Drama Queen, Drama Muscle, or Drama Cruise! https://www.audible.com/search?keywords=Nicky+and+Noah+mysteries&ref-override=a_hp_t1_header_search&k=Nicky+and+Noah+mysteries&crid=1J6LD4H80QU5&sprefix=nicky+and+noah+mysteries%2Cna-audible-us%2C46&i=na-audible-us&url=search-alias%3Dna-audible-us&ref=nb_sb_noss_2
Great interview! Thank you for sharing!
Knights in tights sure do leave much to the imagination 😉