by Joe Cosentino
An Interview with Nicky Abbondanza and Noah Oliver the leading characters in Joe Cosentino’s Drama Oz, the 14th Nicky and Noah mystery/comedy/romance novel now an audiobook performed by Brian Cheney.
Nicky and Noah, you are an adorable couple.
Nicky & Noah: We agree!
Congratulations on the release of the fourteenth audiobook in your award-winning and popular Nicky and Noah gay cozy comedy mystery romance series.
Nicky: Try saying that three times fast with a tongue ring.
Since the readers can’t see you, tell them what you look like.
Noah: Nicky is a gorgeous hunk.
Nicky: And Noah is always 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 chamber of horrors.
Noah: Best of all, Nicky has a huge heart. And something else that is huge.
Nicky: And Noah likes that.
Noah: It sure doesn’t hurt. Well, not too much anymore. (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.
Nicky & Noah: And we both love solving mysteries!
Nicky: Talking together is a cute couple thing we do.
Tell us about Drama Oz, the fourteenth novel in your popular, award-winning series.
Nicky: It stars me!
Noah: And me!
Nicky: A killer is loose in the Wizard of Oz theme park theatre in Key West, Florida.
Noah: Where we are staging an original musical adaptation of The Wizard of Oz entitled, Friends of Dorothy.
Nicky: The young actress cast as Dorothy is quite the diva. Why are so many actors full of themselves—like me (smile).
Noah: The young actors cast as Toto, the Munchkin Leader, and the Winged Monkey Leader fully inhabit their roles and their G-string, chaps, and loincloth respectively.
Nicky: Noah and I use our drama skills, including playing wacky characters in investigative role-plays with the suspects, to catch the killer before the witch’s fireball sends us up in smoke.
As usual, calamity ensues in book fourteen.
Nicky: More calamity than when a past Republican president ordered a terrorist takeover of the Capitol. But let’s talk about me. I play wizard onstage and off, doing double duty as show director and taking on the role of the Wizard. After all, “It takes a wiz!”
Noah: Nicky cast me as the Scarecrow sitting on a long pole.
Nicky: Pun intended. Our teenage son, Taavi, plays the role of the Tinman with a large can of lube, and his best friend, Ty, counters as the Lion with a playful tail.
Noah: Our best friends, older couple Martin and Ruben, join the cast playing Aunt Em and Uncle Henry “going down on the farm.”
Nicky: Martin and Ruben also double as Glinda who does it good and the Wicked Witch of the wild West.
Who are the new characters in book fourteen?
Noah: Adorable actor Pip Manning plays Toto in the show. His affections (and dog collar) waver between handsome Mormon Drew Gateway the stage manager and bodybuilder Detective Rick Boulder.
Nicky: Gymnast with a secret Topper Tucker, who plays the Winged Monkey Leader, has his wings set on stocky Taz Zaman, who plays the Munchkin Leader.
Noah: A crew of woman technicians and the diva starring as Dorothy have more baggage than an airport.
Who was your favorite new character?
Nicky: Noah.
Noah: New character, Nicky.
Nicky: Oh, Topper Tucker goes through quite a journey in the story. He finds out a great deal about his family, and he also finds true love. Topper’s good humor, kindness, and compassion make him quite a likeable guy—like me.
Noah: My favorite character is Nicky.
Nicky: New character, Noah.
Noah: Oh, Pip Manning won’t compromise in finding the love of his life. He also calls out “religious” hypocrisy. I admire both of those things.
Which new character do you like the least?
Nicky and Noah: Everyone who is murdered. (smile)
Which new character is the sexiest?
Nicky: Bodybuilder Detective Rick Boulder had a great sense of humor—and a great set of pecs. Unfortunately, or fortunately, his detecting skills were sketchier than a Republican governor’s voter redistricting map.
Noah: So we stepped in as theatre chair sleuths a la Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.
Now the book is available as an audiobook performed by Brian Cheney.
Noah: Brian is an absolute dream.
Nicky: But not as dreamy as me.
Noah: Agreed.
Nicky: Brian totally gets me. It’s like I’m inside him.
Noah: But not technically.
Nicky: Brian has my sense of humor and political beliefs. We are definitely on the same page (pun intended).
Noah: Brian is also an incredibly talented actor, singer, and audio book narrator. His comic timing is perfect. He totally understands the subtext in our story.
Nicky: Which makes Brian the perfect choice to narrate our novels.
What’s it like to hear Brian say your words?
Nicky: It’s like hearing myself talk.
Noah: And Brian perfectly portrays all of the other characters in our story—including me!
Nicky: And he does mean characters.
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 a new altar boy into the Confessional. 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 am I to argue?
Nicky: Even though Noah and I tell Joe everything to write.
How are the novels cozy?
Noah: 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.
Nicky: This novel in Key West is cozier than a Republican legislator and the CEO of a polluting corporation. The popular and picturesque vacation site is loved by so many. Key West, Florida is one of my favorite places. It’s a peninsula with white sandy beaches laden with foamy waves tickling jagged rocks under an azure sky dotted with marshmallow clouds. Gorgeous white seagulls and towering lighthouses herald gorgeous pink, violet, and gold sunrises and sunsets. Quaint guesthouses, theatres, and restaurants inhabited by people open and affirming to all line the shore. So in this novel, we thespians from Treemeadow stage an original musical adaptation of the much-loved classic in Key West, Florida.
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. 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 heard them, tell us the titles of the audiobooks 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, and now Drama Oz. 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. The Nicky and Noah mysteries are full of them! He never seems to run out of wild characters to write about.
Nicky: His faculty colleagues and students kid him that if any of them tick me off, he’ll kill them in his next book. And he probably will. The little guy is fearless!
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. (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 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. Of course Martin’s administrative assistant, Shayla, thrives on her one-upmanship with Martin, and he thrives right back.
Nicky: And our son, Taavi, fits into our thespian crime-solving group perfectly. 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 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.
Nicky: And Luke McFarlane as my brother Tony.
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.
How can your readers get their hands on the audiobook of Drama Oz, and how can they contact you?
Nicky: The purchase links are below, as are Joe’s contact links, including his website.
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 than a past Republican president’s bankruptcies, affairs, and illegal charities (as Nicky would say). So follow the yellow brick road to a girl with a dog who is one hot bitch, a wicked witch who would kill for a new pair of shoes.
Nicky: A sexy Wizard who wants to bang the Scarecrow’s brains out, a Tinman and Lion embarking on a mixed marriage, plenty of monkey business.
Nicky & Noah: And murder!
Drama Oz (the 14th Nicky and Noah mystery) a comedy/mystery/romance novel by JOE COSENTINO
mybook.to/DramaOz (Amazon, Apple, B&N)
smashwords.com/books/view/1140329
kobo.com/us/en/ebook/drama-oz-a-nicky-and-noah-mystery
Hear a sample of the audio book performed by Brian Cheney here:
audible.com/pd/B0CQDM7XSR/?source_code=AUDFPWS0223189MWT-BK-ACX0-379827&ref=acx_bty_BK_ACX0_379827_rh_us
The Treemeadow College theatre crew stage an original musical adaptation of The Wizard of Oz, entitled Friends of Dorothy, at a summer theme park in Key West. Quickly cast and crew members melt away like a witch submerged in water. Nicky, as the Wizard on stage and off, must save the show and figure out whodunit. Once again, our favorite thespians will need to use their drama skills to catch the killer before a witch’s fireball sends them up in smoke. You will be applauding and shouting Bravo for Joe Cosentino’s fast-paced, side-splittingly funny, edge-of-your-seat entertaining fourteenth novel in this delightful series. It’s a scorcher! So follow the yellow brick road. The stage lights are coming up in Oz on a girl with a dog who is one hot bitch, a wicked witch who would kill for a new pair of shoes, a sexy Wizard, a Scarecrow sitting on a big pole, a Tinman with a giant can of lube, a Lion with a long tail between his legs, plenty of monkey business, and murder!
Connect with Joe:
Web site: http://www.JoeCosentino.weebly.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JoeCosentinoauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoeCosen
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4071647.Joe_CosentinoAmazon: Author.to/JoeCosentino
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