by Joe Cosentino

Q&A with Joe Cosentino, author of Drama Prince,
the fifteenth Nicky and Noah mystery/comedy/romance novel

Joe Cosentino, congratulations on the release of the fifteenth novel in your award-winning and popular Nicky and Noah gay cozy comedy mystery series, Drama Prince.

Thank you. Who doesn’t love a charming prince with a slipper fetish?

You’ve written five Jana Lane mysteries, two Player Piano mysteries, five Cozzi Cove books, and fifteen Nicky and Noah mysteries. Why so many Nicky and Noahs?

Nicky and Noah keep begging me for more. So do the readers. Plus, the books are so much fun to write. I often laugh out loud when writing them. Each novel has humor, quirky characters, sweet romance, cozy settings, plot twists and turns, a show business background, and a shocking whodunit ending.

Why do you think the Nicky and Noah mystery series has lasted over a decade now?

I haven’t found any other 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 Cinderella and San Francisco as the show and location for the fifteenth novel?

I’m a Cinderella fanatic having read the fairytale countess times as a kid and watched all the play and movie versions. One of the stories in my Tales from Fairyland anthology, The Naked Prince, was my comical gay spin on the Cinderella story. Everyone can relate to the Cinderella story. Who doesn’t want a fairy godmother to don them in a stunning new outfit and to be rescued from their humdrum life by a gorgeous prince? Imagine, never having to cook, clean, do laundry, or deal with annoying relatives ever again? Not to mention live in a palace with a charming guy. And what better place to have a gay fairytale theme park and theatre than San Francisco?

Tell us about Drama Prince, the fifteenth Nicky and Noah mystery novel.

Nicky, Noah, and Treemeadow College theatre crew venture to a gay fairytale theme park in San Francisco to stage an original musical adaptation of Cinderella entitled, Let’s Ball. However, they may get a royal screw as four local detectives drop around them. Once again, our favorite thespians, Nicky and Noah, use their drama skills to catch the killer before an explosive pumpkin threatens to make the show a bomb.

It’s great to see our favorite characters back.

Hunky Sherlock Holmes, Nicky Abbondanza, in addition to being the director, plays King Charming in the show—the king with a long scepter. Nicky’s handsome husband and Dr. Watson, Noah Oliver, plays Nicky’s Queen—onstage and off. Their best friends, Martin and Ruben, are along for the wild ride as the Stepmother/Fairy Godmother and the Duke (who wants to grab his brother the King by the crown) respectively—but not respectfully. The two couples’ sons, Taavi and Ty, are cast as Gro and Tesque, the stepbrothers demanding full service from Cinder.

Who are the new characters/suspects/victims for book fifteen?

Things heat up pretty quickly between the hot young actors playing Cinder and Prince Charming as well as the sexy young men cast as the Mouse/Footman and the Mouse/Coachman. The playwright and his musclebound agent/stepbrother are also in the mix.

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 Republican ex-president ordering a riot at the Capitol.” 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 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. This novel in San Francisco is as cozy as ever with scenes taking place throughout that lovely city.

For anyone unfortunate enough not to have read them, tell us the titles of the novels 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, and now Drama Prince.

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! 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! I’ve written a teleplay of the first novel 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 Bruce Willis 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 Nicky’s brother Tony.

Is this the last novel in the Nicky and Noah mysteries series?

Drama Prince has a wonderful ending that I won’t spoil here. It could be the last novel. Only the gay muses know for sure.

How can your readers get their hands on Drama Prince, and how can they contact you?

The purchase links are below, as are my contact links, including my website. 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 current 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 mystery with more plot twists and turns than a QAnon member hearing real news. I’m more excited (as Nicky would say) “than a Republican terrorist storming the Capitol” to share this fifteenth novel in the series with you. So wave your Fairy Godmother’s wand, ride coach, and head to the palace for a ball with a charming prince who has a slipper fetish! I promise you a happy ending!

And I love to hear from readers. So drop me a line. I’ll share it with Nicky and Noah! JoeCosentino.weebly.com

Drama Prince
the fifteenth Nicky and Noah mystery
a comedy/mystery/romance novel by Joe Cosentino

Amazon: Drama Prince
Smashwords: Drama Prince
Barnes and Nobel: Drama Prince
Rakuten/Kobo: Drama Prince, a Nicky and Noah Mystery

At a gay fairytale theme park in San Francisco, the Treemeadow College theatre crew stage an original musical adaptation of Cinderella entitled, Let’s Ball. The adorable actors playing Cinder and Prince Charming fear they may not get a happy ending as local detectives drop around them like a royal flush. Once again, our favorite thespians will need to use their drama skills to catch the killer before an explosive pumpkin threatens to make the show a bomb. You will be applauding and shouting Bravo for Joe Cosentino’s fast-paced, sidesplittingly funny, edge-of-your-seat entertaining fifteenth novel in this delightful series. It’s a blast! So hurry to your seat. The stage lights are coming up in the royal kingdom of Fabulous on a king with a long scepter, a queen who is a real queen, a fairy godmother with a roving wand, a stepmother who grabs them by the crown, a servant left alone to stimulate himself, two stepbrothers demanding full service, a prince with a slipper fetish who is seeking a royal screw, and murder!

Excerpt from Drama Prince, the fifteenth Nicky and Noah mystery novel, by Joe Cosentino

After the agent disappeared, I called out to the ether, “Everyone, let’s take a fifteen-minute break.” Then I rested my head in my hands and planned my Celebration of Life ceremony. Like a gay angel on a rescue mission, my wonderful husband slipped into the chair next to me. Noah’s milk, honey, and rose-colored skin was draped with a queen’s gold gown and burgundy cape. His silky long blond locks filled the air with the luscious scent of strawberry shampoo. I fell into his welcoming arms like a lost toddler finding a parent in a busy mall. “Can I murder Carl Catalango?”

Noah held me in his warm embrace and stroked my hair. “Nobody in this show is going to be murdered, Nicky.”

I glanced up at his handsome face. “Maybe in our fifteenth caper everyone will take pity and murder me.”

“They’ll have to get by me first. And Watson doesn’t fool around.”

“Except with me.”

We shared a sweet kiss.

He held my face in his hands. “Nicky, do you realize we’ve been together for over a decade.”

And we tell people our ages are the same as when we first met.

Noah’s azure crystal eyes were full of love. “It’s been the best twelve years of my life.”

“Me, too.”

“We’ve shown Nicky and Noah can get through anything—together.”

“Noah Oliver is the only man for me.”

“And that’s just the way I like it, Nicky Abbondanza.”

We shared an amorous kiss.

I pouted. “But I’m still feeling sorry for myself.”

“Why?”

“It’s tech dress week. The time directors google ‘assisted-suicide methods.’”

Noah cocked his head at me. “Nicky, for once everything is going perfectly during the final technical dress rehearsal of our show. The acting, singing, and dancing are very strong. There are no divas in the cast. All the costumes look magnificent. Our Taavi is having the time of his life. Every technical element of the show is working perfectly. And nobody has gotten murdered! So, why are you so upset?”

“Carl Catalango! He makes me feel angrier than a Republican storming the Capital by order of a past Republican president and then left to his own defense when prosecuted.”

“Our playwright’s agent is upsetting you?”

“Carl is not only Kirk Castle’s agent. He’s Kirk’s stepbrother. And the thorn in my side—and in my top and bottom—and in my other side.”

“What did Carl do?”

“He keeps pressuring Kirk to pull the script before the show opens!”

“Why?”

“Carl says the theme park and the script are beneath Kirk’s talents. But I think there’s more to it than that.”

“What?”

“I don’t know. But I intend to find out.” I rose shakily, like a wall senselessly built by a past Republican president.

Noah stood and took my hand. “I’ll be backstage if you need me.”

“Holmes always needs his Watson.”

“And his Watson likes that.”

We shared a quick kiss. Then I made my way up the aisle of the appropriately pink theatre and out the double doors to the rainbow-colored lobby. I found Kirk holding an orange juice container at the concession stand. “Is that for Carl?”

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

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. Also listen to our new mystery podcast where mystery short stories and first chapters are read by actors! They are also available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Spotify. An episode featuring one of Joe Cosentino’s Player Piano mysteries went up earlier this year. You can find the episode here or listen in the player below.

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