The lovely Joe is back with another of his Nicky and Noah books – the fifteenth!! - appearing in audio format. So, to celebrate, he got slammed down into the hot seat (figuratively speaking of course. This blog is so non-violent and conflict-avoidant, it trembles at loud noises)… anyhow, into the hot seat he went, and was made to answer some questions.

Q&A with Joe Cosentino, author of Drama Prince, the 15th Nicky and Noah mystery audio book

Joe Cosentino, congratulations on the release of the fifteenth audio book 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 15th 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 like a priest’s robe at altar boy training. 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.

And now it’s an audio book performed by Brian Cheney!
I am incredibly lucky to have opera star and actor Brian Cheney perform over twenty different character voices for the audio book. Brian’s comic timing is perfection. His acting skills are impeccable. You will laugh and cry listening to this audio book.

It’s great to see our favorite characters back performed by Brian Cheney.
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. Brian does a wonderful job bringing each of them to audio book life.

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. Again, Brian plays them brilliantly.

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, Drama Prince, Drama Merry, Drama Daddy, 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! 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.

How can your readers get their hands on the Drama Prince 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! Brian too!

Thank you, Joe, for interviewing today.
It was my pleasure. As a past professional actor and emeritus college theatre professor, 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 audio book 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 and Brian!

About the audiobook

DRAMA PRINCE (the 15th Nicky and Noah mystery) by Joe Cosentino, now an audio book performed by Brian Cheney

Click on the link to listen to a sample of the audio book performed by Brian Cheney.

To buy the book, go here: https://mybook.to/DramaPrince

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, side-splittingly 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!

Praise for the Nicky and Noah books

“Joe Cosentino has a unique and fabulous gift. His writing is flawless, and his plot-lines will have you guessing until the very last page, which makes his books a joy to read. His books are worth their weight in gold, and if you haven’t discovered them yet you are in for a rare treat.” Divine Magazine

“a combination of Laurel and Hardy mixed with Hitchcock and Murder She Wrote…
Loaded with puns and one-liners…Right to the end, you are kept guessing, and the conclusion still has a surprise in store for you…the best modern Sherlock and Watson in books today…I highly recommend this book and the entire series, it’s a pure pleasure, full of fun and love, written with talent and brio…fabulous…brilliant” Optimumm Book Reviews

“adventure, mystery, and romance with every page….Funny, clever, and sweet….I can’t find anything not to love about this series….This read had me laughing and falling in love….Nicky and Noah are my favorite gay couple.” Urban Book Reviews

“For fans of Joe Cosentino’s hilarious mysteries, this is another vintage story with more cheeky asides and sub plots right left and centre….The story is fast paced, funny and sassy. The writing is very witty with lots of tongue-in-cheek humour….Highly recommended.” Boy Meets Boy Reviews

“Every entry of the Nicky and Noah mystery series is rife with intrigue, calamity, and hilarity…Cosentino keeps us guessing – and laughing – until the end, as well as leaving us breathlessly anticipating the next Nicky and Noah thriller.” Edge Media Network

“A laugh and a murder, done in the style we have all come to love….This had me from the first paragraph….Another wonderful story with characters you know and love!” Crystals Many Reviewers

“These two are so entertaining….Their tactics in finding clues and the crazy funny interactions between characters keeps the pages turning. For most of the book if I wasn’t laughing I was grinning.” Jo and Isa Love Books

“Superb fun from start to finish, for me this series gets stronger with every book and that’s saying something because the benchmark was set so very high with book 1.” Three Books Over the Rainbow

“The Nicky and Noah Mysteries series are perfect for fans of the Cozy Mystery sub-genre. They mix tongue-in-cheek humor, over-the-top characters, a wee bit of political commentary, and suspense into a sweet little mystery solved by Nicky and Noah, theatre professors for whom all the world’s a stage.” Prism Book Alliance

“This is one hilarious series with a heart and it just keeps getting better. I highly recommend them all, and please read them in the order they were written for full blown laugh out loud reading pleasure!” Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

ABOUT JOE

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 (novelette), 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 currently a happily married college emeritus theatre professor residing in New York State.

About Brian

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.

Website: www.briancheneytenor.com