Love Bytes is delighted to welcome Joe Cosentino to their blog
Welcome Joe 🙂
A message from Jonathan Bello, the leading character in A Shooting Star,
(In My Heart series) by Joe Cosentino, published by Dreamspinner Press,
now also available as an audio book performed by Brian Cheney
Hello, wonderful readers and listeners. This is Jonathan Bello from A Shooting Star, the second In My Heart novella by Joe Cosentino, published by Dreamspinner Press, now also available as an audio book performed by Brian Cheney. Since you can’t see me, I’ll tell you that I’m 35 years old, and I have chestnut curly hair and eyes. My fans say I’m handsome. Since I work out with a personal trainer every day in my home gym, I’m pretty muscular. I’m also Italian-American and come from a hysterically funny family. When I told my mother I wanted to be an actor, she said, “Take this knife and stick it through my heart!”
Joe Cosentino asked me to tell you about my greatest achievement. Last night I won the Academy Award for Best Actor. I’m looking at the statue right now, still on an incredible high. Me, not the statue.
Joe also asked me to tell you about my college days. To do that I need to take you back twenty years to when I was a theatre major in college. Did you have an all-consuming, incredibly powerful first love? I’ll tell you about mine. As a freshman I was lucky enough to have a senior as a roommate. Later, I found out luck had nothing to do with it. The whole thing was orchestrated by my incredible roommate, David Star. David was 21 years old, half Native American, with long shiny jet black hair down his neck, and crystal blue eyes. He wore the most amazing clothing and colorful long scarves—and he let me borrow them. David was incredibly muscular, and he taught me how to be the same. I learned everything I know about acting from him. My last name even came from David, he changed it from Falabella to Bello (meaning beautiful in Italian). He was extremely charismatic, and he changed the life of anyone with whom he came in contact. He adored helping, molding, and shaping others—including me. I can describe him as magical, an enigma, and incredibly sexy. Everyone was in love with him, and so was I. David wanted to be a star, and he was the biggest star in my sky. But David carried an incredible secret. That led to something that haunts me to this day.
When my story, A Shooting Star, was published by Dreamspinner Press, readers fell in love with Barry (my wildly funny and always loyal scene partner), Professor Katzer (my hysterically funny hypochondriac acting professor), David, and me! Joe received countless messages from readers describing how reading the novella changed their lives, and how the characters, story, and messages stayed with them. Joe waited nearly ten years to find the perfect audio book performer to bring my story to audio book life. Joe found him in Brian Cheney who has performed many of Joe’s audio books. Brian is truly a man of a hundred voices, a very skilled actor, amazingly in touch with his emotions, quite intelligent, and the perfect voice for my story. Brian’s perfect sense of comic timing, dramatic skills, insight into human nature, and sensitivity are on perfect display in the A Shooting Star audio book. I highly recommend that you listen to my story come to life now! I think it will make you laugh, feel romantic, and maybe even shed a few tears. But don’t worry, I get a happy ending. Drop me a line via Joe’s web site after you listen to the audio book. I think it will be a life-changer for you. Thanks for reading my message. With love, Jonathan Bello.
A Shooting Star by Joe Cosentino (In My Heart series) published by Dreamspinner Press now also available as an audio book performed by Brian Cheney
An In My Heart Novella
On the eve of the best night of his life, winning an Academy Award, Jonathan Bello thinks back to his one great love, David Star.
Flipping back the pages of time, Jonathan recalls his handsome, muscular, and charismatic college roommate. Since Jonathan was a freshman and David a senior in the Theatre Department, David took Jonathan under his wing and molded him, not only as an actor but as a lover. With every wonderful new adventure, David left his joyful mark on anyone with whom they came in contact, but Jonathan soon uncovered David’s dark past, leading to a shocking event. Undaunted, Jonathan celebrates the captivating man who will always hold a special place in his heart.
A Bittersweet Dreams title: It’s an unfortunate truth: love doesn’t always conquer all. Regardless of its strength, sometimes fate intervenes, tragedy strikes, or forces conspire against it. These stories of romance do not offer a traditional happy ending, but the strong and enduring love will still touch your heart and maybe move you to tears.
Joe Cosentino was voted Favorite MM Mystery, Humorous, and Contemporary Author of the Year and Second Place Favorite MM Romance Author of the Year by the readers of Divine Magazine. His Dreamspinner Press titles are the In My Heart Anthology: An Infatuation & A Shooting Star, the Tales from Fairyland Anthology: The Naked Prince and Other Tales from Fairyland & Holiday Tales from Fairyland, the Bobby and Paolo Holiday Stories Anthology: A Home for the Holidays & The Perfect Gift & The First Noel, the Found At Last Anthology: Finding Giorgio & Finding Armando, and the two Player Piano mysteries. He is also the author of the 18 Nicky and Noah mysteries, 5 Jana Lane mysteries (The Wild Rose Press), and 5 Cozzi Cove novels (Ninestar Press). 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
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 eight of Joe Cosentino’s Nicky and Noah Mystery novels, many of Joe Cosentino’s books published by Dreamspinner Press, 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
Released: November 15, 2024
Genre: Contemporary MM Romance
Length: 3 hours
Cover Artist: L.C. Chase