by Joe Cosentino
Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win an Audible code for their choice of one of the first three Nicky and Noah mystery audiobooks: Drama Queen, Drama Muscle, or Drama Cruise, and a link to purchase the new one.
The Audiobook of Drama Detective, the Fifth Nicky and Noah Mystery by Joe Cosentino, performed by Griswold Addams
Author Joe Cosentino interviews audiobook performer Griswold Addams on Drama Detective, the fifth Nicky and Noah comedy mystery audiobook!
Joe: Hi, Griswold. Thanks for interviewing with me again today.
Griswold: I’ll keep trying until I get it right.
Joe: You did a fabulous job performing the audiobook of Drama Luau, the fourth Nicky and Noah mystery, and an equally amazing performance in Drama Detective, the fifth Nicky and Noah mystery novel.
Griswold: I’m like a poor relative. I keep coming back.
Joe: As you know, Nicky and Noah are college theatre professors who stage shows at Treemeadow College founded by gay couple Tree and Meadow. Did you go to college? And have you ever done theatre?
Griswold: Yes, I did, in fact, go to college. Did I finish? Absolutely not. Haha! However, when it comes to having experience in the theater, you could say that I am nuts about it! [No pun intended—as Nicky would say.] I started way back in middle school doing little roles for church plays and such. Then from there, it blossomed into a full-fledged passion that led to many school productions throughout middle school, high school, and into my 20s and 30s. I’ve been in productions such as The Music Man, West Side Story, The Diviners, A Christmas Carol [Radio City Music Hall version—not Joe’s Drama Christmas], Dracula: The Musical, Jane Austin, etc.
Joe: In Drama Detective, Nicky and Noah are staging an original Sherlock Holmes musical called Is Holmes a Homo? Are you a Sherlock Holmes fan? A musical theatre fan?
Griswold: I never was much of a Sherlock fan, as I found him a bit stuffy. That, and I felt bad for Watson having to write down all those stories! But I love Drama Detective, and like Nicky and Noah I’m a big musical theatre fan.
Joe: I laughed out loud when hearing the audiobook. Your timing and numerous character voices were spot on.
Griswold: Oh stop. Don’t!
Joe: Why do you think you connect so well with the humor in the Nicky and Noah mysteries series?
Griswold: Firstly, when I was taking theater classes in high school, we spent an entire semester on slapstick comedy: one-liners, punchlines, laugh lines, clowns and mimes, and comedic timing. We had to study Abbott and Costello along with Laurel and Hardy to get a solid foundation for said timing. Then we progressed to The Three Stooges, and even some early Stooge material from when Ted Healy was with the group. Secondly, my grandfather was a big inspiration to me and loved to sit with me and watch classic comedy movies like It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World and The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming. They don’t make comedy like that anymore.
Joe: Which character in Drama Detective was your favorite to voice and why?
Griswold: Hands down, this time it was Trevor who is cast as Moriarty in the play within the book. There is something eerily satisfying about playing a fictitious villain with a British baritone voice.
Joe: Which character was the most difficult to voice and why?
Griswold: For me it was Rev. Hawk this time. The reason is because, and you are going to laugh, when I got to him in the book, I was not expecting any more new characters. Channeling my own internal Winnie the Pooh, I said to myself, “Oh bother.” I had no idea what to do, and ultimately chose to drop my voice a tad and slow my rate of speech, which turned out to be VERY fitting for that character.
Joe: You’ve performed/produced numerous audiobooks. Do you read the entire book in advance and plan out the different character voices before you begin recording? How do you decide how each character will sound?
Griswold: This may sound a tad pompous, but I read it cold. I only work with the best authors, and I rely on their ability through the books’ descriptions and dialogue to paint the picture of each character in my head. Based on what I am given, an image forms, and I then relate it to either someone I’ve seen on screen or have met in real life and assign a voice. This also allows me to react to the book with true emotions. For example, if there is a part of the story that makes me weep, I want it to reflect in the recording, so it has that level of authenticity.
Joe: What’s it like spending so many hours alone talking to yourself in a rubber room [smile]?
Griswold: I actually don’t mind it at all. The running joke is that I get paid money to talk to myself in a padded room all day long. In other words, it’s my secret that I’m a bit bonkers. But I guess it’s not a secret anymore!
Joe: What was the biggest challenge in bringing Drama Detective to audiobook life?
Griswold: Earlier this year, my next door neighbor’s house caught on fire from a bird’s nest lodged in the chimney of their gas fireplace. Thankfully nobody was hurt. However, as soon as I started working on Drama Detective, their demolition team showed up with power saws, hammers, and God knows what else that made a ton of noise. Grrrrr! So, I had to wake up in the wee hours of the morning for quiet to record. However, I found it quite nice actually.
Joe: Why should audiobook lovers buy Drama Detective?
Griswold: Because this book is everything you want: romance, drama, mystery, murder, riotous humor, and an adorable little Hawaiian boy that you just want to take home and cuddle.
Joe: How can audiobook fans find out more about you?
Griswold: They can keep tabs on me by stalking my Instagram profile which can be found here: @griswoldaddams
Joe: Thank you for your time and talent, Griswold. I look forward to more collaborations! Drama Fraternity, the sixth Nicky and Noah mystery, is next!
Griswold: Right back at you, Joe. Let’s join the fraternity!
Drama Detective (the fifth Nicky and Noah mystery)
A comedy/mystery/romance novel by Joe Cosentino
Audiobook performed by Griswold AddamsAudible Link “Drama Detective”
Theatre professor Nicky Abbondanza is directing a Sherlock Holmes musical in a professional summer stock production at Treemeadow College, co-starring his husband and theatre professor colleague Noah Oliver as Dr. John Watson. When cast members begin toppling over like hammy actors at a curtain call, Nicky dons Holmes’ persona on stage and off. Once again Nicky and Noah will need to use their drama skills to figure out who is lowering the street lamps on the actors before the handsome couple get half-baked on Baker Street. You will be applauding and shouting Bravo for Joe Cosentino’s fast-paced, sidesplittingly funny, edge-of-your-seat entertaining fifth novel in this delightful series. Curtain up, the game is afoot!
Praise for Drama Detective, the fifth Nicky and Noah mystery:“Drama Detective (Nicky and Noah Mystery #5) by Joe Cosentino is high camp, warmed-hearted, murderous fun! A series that, like Nicky and Noah themselves, keeps getting better with each story as they adjust to each other, grow, and yes, continue to love, act, and investigate murders now as a family. I think this is the best yet! I can’t recommend the series and this story enough! Be prepared to want to cuddle a character or two as well as laugh out loud!” —Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words
Website: JoeCosentino.weebly.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/JoeCosentinoauthor
Twitter: twitter.com/JoeCosen
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/4071647.Joe_Cosentino
Amazon: Author.to/JoeCosentino
Language: English
Cover Art & Design: Holly McCabe
Release date: September 17, 2021
Giveaway: Post a comment about why you love a good gay detective series. The one that tickles our little gray cells the most will win a gift Audible code for their choice of one of the first three Nicky and Noah mystery audiobooks: Drama Queen, Drama Muscle, or Drama Cruise!
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I can’t say I love a ‘good gay detective series’ because I’ve never read one. however, your interview with Griswold Addams has persuaded me to put Drama Detective on my list.
I would love to read.
We have a winner!