Love Bytes gives a warm welcome to author Joe Cosentino joining us today to introduce us to the new audio book in the Nicky and Noah mystery series: ‘Drama King”.
Joe shares with us a Q & A and brought a wonderful giveaway for our readers.
Welcome Joe 🙂
Q&A with Joe Cosentino, author of the novel, Drama King,
the 18th/last Nicky and Noah mystery novel
now released as an audio book performed by Brian Cheney
Joe Cosentino, congratulations on the release of the eighteenth and last audio book in your popular Nicky and Noah gay cozy comedy mystery series, Drama King.
Thank you. You can king me. (smile)
Why do you think the Nicky and Noah mystery series has lasted over a decade now?
I haven’t found any other cozy MM comedy mystery romance series set in the world of academia and theatre. Also, nobody else has my warped sense of humor.
Why did you pick the King Arthur Legends as the show within a novel for the eighteenth mystery?
As a kid, I loved reading the King Arthur Legends. I also listened to Broadway show albums around the clock. (That should have been a clue to my parents.) Not surprisingly, one of my favorites was Camelot, the story of Merlin the magician’s student King Arthur, Arthur’s favorite knight Lancelot, and Guinevere, the woman who came between them. While I loved the music, colorful period costumes, royal sets, and chorus of knights, I didn’t buy the story. To me it seemed like King Arthur and his stud knight Lancelot should be the couple, and the Knights of the Round Table should be sharing more than their goodness (smile).
Tell us about Drama King, the 18th Nicky and Noah mystery.
In the novel, Nicky, Noah, and their theatrical troupe at Treemeadow College stage an original musical production of the King Arthur legends entitled, Knights in Tights.
It’s great to see some of your favorite characters back.
Of course! In the show within the novel, King Arthur (Nicky) and the gorgeous knight Lancelot (Noah) are star-crossed lovers due to Arthur’s mail-order bride Guinevere (played by their best friend and department chair Martin). Martin’s long-suffering husband, Ruben, is Merlin who in the final moments of the show sets all right (or left), and King Arthur marries his beloved Lancelot. Nicky and Noah’s son, Taavi, is cast as Young Arthur. His wife Sloane, a transexual, plays the mysterious Lady of the Lake. Martin and Ruben’s son, Ty, is Arthur’s bastard (pun intended) son Mordred, and Martin’s sassy office assistant, Shayla, is cast as the cunning Morgan le Fay. Detective Manuello comes along for the ride as Pellinore, the knight with the Holy Grail (he found at a gay bar). Noah’s niece from Scotland, Lairie, plays the scheming Isolde. Nicky and Noah’s dog, Asterisk, and his husband, Tag, are cast as King Arthur’s dogs Cavall and Glassic. Ty’s girlfriend, Shinelle, is also back as stage manager.
Who are the new characters/suspects in book eighteen?
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). 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. As Nicky would say, 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. You’ll also get to see how this popular series ends!
And now Drama King is also an audio book performed by Brian Cheney.
Yes, Brian is the definitive audio book interpreter of the Nicky and Noah mysteries. As a gifted actor and audio book performer, Brian brings each character (over 20 of them!) to life perfectly. As a comedian with perfect timing, Brian embodies the Nicky and Noah comic timing and spirit like no other. Finally, as an amazing opera singer, Brian sings the titles of the songs (in the musical within the book) beautifully. Not to mention (but I will) that Brian really understands the cozy whodunit genre and performs it with panache.
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 teenager in a red state buying an AR-15. 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, 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.
For anyone unfortunate enough not to have read them, tell us the titles of the books in the series.
The Nicky and Noah mysteries are: Drama Queen, 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), and now Drama King.
Many of your characters are of various ethnicities and sexual identities. Is that deliberate on your part?
Absolutely. We live in a diverse world. A story taking place at a college and/or in the world of theatre would be unbelievable if everyone were the same.
I’m sure you’ve been told that the books would make a terrific TV series.
Many many times! I would love to see The Nicky and Noah Mysteries on television. Come on, TV producers, make your offers! I’ve written a three-hour teleplay of the first novel (Drama Queen) and treatments for the remaining novels!
How would you cast the TV series?
Here’s my wish list: Matt Bomer as Nicky, Neil Patrick Harris as Noah, Rosie O’Donnell and Paul Rudd as Noah’s parents, Valerie Bertinelli and Jay Leno as Nicky’s parents, me as Martin Anderson (nepotism!), Nathan Lane as Martin’s husband Ruben, Wanda Sykes as Martin’s office assistant Shayla, and Luke Macfarlane as any character!
Is this really the last novel in the Nicky and Noah mysteries series?
As they say, all good things come to an end. At this point, I believe this is the end of the series. And what a great ending!
How can your listeners get their hands on the Drama King audio book, 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. I tell them everything!
Thank you, Joe, for interviewing today.
It was my pleasure. As a past professional actor and college theatre professor/department chair, I know first-hand the hysterically funny antics, sweet romance, and captivating mystery in the worlds of theatre and academia. The Nicky and Noah mysteries are full of them! I know you’ll laugh, cry, feel romantic, and love delving into this crackling new audio book (as Nicky would say) with more plot twists and turns than a QAnon member finding out liberals don’t really eat dead babies. I’m more excited (as Nicky would say) than an anti-gay politician tapping his foot in a public men’s room to share this eighteenth Nicky and Noah mystery audio book with you. So put on your cape and crown, and head to the magical land of Camelot for murder, mayhem, and of course a happy ending (no pun intended)!
DRAMA KING (the 18th Nicky and Noah mystery) by Joe Cosentino
Listen to an excerpt of the audio book performed by Brian Cheney:
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!
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, 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 a happily married emeritus theatre professor residing in New York State.
Web site: https://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
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joecosentinoauthor
Brian Cheney, hailed by KUSC Los Angeles as the “next great tenor”, protégé of legendary tenor Jerry Hadley, has gained international acclaim for his portrayal of characters such as Radamés in Aida, Don José in Carmen, Mario Cavaradossi in Tosca, Rodolfo in La bohème, the Duke in Rigoletto, and Canio in Pagliacci. “It is tenor Brian Cheney as the brave painter Cavaradossi who really blew me away. Cheney has that terrific tenor sound: the power, richness, and vocal color of a high baritone combined with ringing, awe-inspiring high notes” (Stage and Cinema.) Highlights from last season include Mr. Cheney’s creation of the role of Victor Frankenstein in the world premiere performance of Gregg Kallor’s Frankenstein in New York to critical acclaim and his National Philharmonic debut as the tenor soloist in Leonard Bernstein’s Mass and West Side Story. “Cheney’s ringing tenor voice carried well in the stone catacombs, conveying the fear that the deep bass sound of the monster summoned. And as the section of the sketches went on, Cheney’s voice bloomed to match the action and threats of the creature.” (Operawire) Recent engagements include Radamés in Aida with Virginia Opera, Antonin Scalia in Derrick Wang’s Scalia/Ginsburg with Toledo Opera, and Salute to Vienna performances in Miami, West Palm Beach, Nashville, and New York City (Lincoln Center). In audio books, Mr. Cheney performed several Nicky and Noah Mystery novels, All the King’s Men by Scott Leddy, Swarm by Guy Morris, The Last Ark by Guy Morris, and Pressure by Barry Napier. www.briancheneytenor.com
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