✨ CHARACTER INTERVIEW ✨
An Interview with Nicky Abbondanza
the leading character in Joe Cosentino’s Drama Daddy novelette,
the 17th Nicky and Noah mystery
now an audio book performed by Brian Cheney
Nicky, thank you for interviewing today for the release of the Drama Daddy audio book.
Just call me daddy. (smile)
Congratulations on the release of the seventeenth audio book in your award-winning and popular Nicky and Noah gay cozy comedy mystery series and your first novelette.
Thank you. It’s a novel event, or rather a novelette event.
Since the readers can’t see you, tell them what you look like.
Noah says I’m adorable. He should know. Noah’s adorable too. I’m tall with dark hair and long sideburns Noah loves to kiss, a cleft chin, Roman nose, emerald eyes, and a muscular body thanks to the gym on campus, which I call the chamber of horrors.
And?
Noah says I have shrewd mind for solving mysteries and a huge heart.
And?
I have another huge organ, which is just fine with Noah (smile).
Tell us about Drama Daddy, the seventeenth mystery in your popular, award-winning series.
It stars me! (smile) The seventeenth Nicky and Noah mystery has our theatrical troupe back at Treemeadow College, this time staging an original musical production of the founding of our nation entitled, I Do Declare. Murder, mystery, and romance ensue.
As do hilarity and calamity.
But let’s talk about me. It’s summer stock time at Treemeadow College. Professor of Play Directing sexy Nicky Abbondanza, yours truly, directs the show and takes on the leading role (What else did you expect?) of John Adams. My gorgeous and faithful husband, Associate Professor of Acting Noah Oliver, is cast as Adam’s love interest, Thomas Jefferson. Our best friend and department chair, Martin Anderson, grabs (among other things) the plumb role of Adams’s beard Abigail. Electricity sparks fly as Martin’s long-suffering husband, Ruben Markinson, plays a frisky Benjamin Franklin. Our son, Taavi, and Martin and Ruben’s son, Ty, threaten to call Child Protective Services until I cast them as the Couriers. My nemesis, the oblivious Detective Manuello, worms his way into the cast as King George III with a roving eye for muscular male servants. My dog, Asterisk, shows his molars until he secures the treat role of the king’s dog Georgie.
Who are the new characters in book seventeen?
New to the cast are hunky Sami Zaman, Graduate Assistant of Music, Musical Director, and Edward Rutledge, who has a yen for handsome Haku Yamato, Assistant Professor of Dance, Choreographer, and John Dick-in-son. Hot Theatre majors, Hector Alvarez and Philippe Laurent, play the father of our country George Washington and his French kiss lover Guy Raffleur III, giving new meaning to the term, “Sugar Daddy.” When the actor playing John Hand-cock finds snarky Professor of Music Hank Tobias (Caesar Rodney) murdered in the theatre wing, Noah and I take flight to solve the case—before the murderer clips our wings.
Who was your favorite new character?
Which new character do you like the least?
Professor of Music Hank Tobias is a pain in my britches—but not for long.
Which new character was the sexiest?
All of them, but none are as sexy as Noah.
Are you pleased with the audio book performed by Brian Cheney?
I’m thrilled. I think the audio book is terrific—like me (smile)! Brian Cheney is the most talented performer around, after Noah and me. He creates over 20 character voices, has perfect comic timing, displays his acting chops in the dramatic scenes, and sings beautifully. Brian is the perfect me.
What makes the Nicky and Noah mystery series so special?
Me! I’m a legend in my own mind. 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 the conservative majority of the Supreme Court takes away LGBT rights. 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. 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? Even though I tell Joe everything to write.
How are the books 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.
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, and now the Drama Daddy novelette. They are all available as audio books! Drama King will be available as an audio book soon.
What do you like about the regular characters in the series?
I like my never give up attitude and sense of humor in the face of adversity. I’m genuinely concerned for others, and I’ll do anything to solve a murder mystery. I’m also a one-man man, and I’m proud to admit that man is Noah Oliver. Noah is blond, blue-eyed, lean, handsome, smart, and devoted. He 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. 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.
How about your and Noah’s parents?
They’re hilarious. I love Noah’s mother’s fixation with taking pictures of everything, and his father’s fascination with seeing movies. I also love how Noah’s father is an amateur sleuth like me. As they say, men marry their fathers. My mom’s gambling addiction is 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.
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?
Here’s my wish list: Matt Bomer as me, Neil Patrick Harris as Noah, Rosie O’Donnell and Bruce Willis as Noah’s parents, Valerie Bertinelli and Jay Leno as my parents, Joe as Martin Anderson (nepotism!), Nathan Lane as Martin’s husband Ruben, Wanda Sykes as Martin’s office assistant Shayla, and Luke McFarlane as my brother Tony.
How can your readers get their hands on the Drama Daddy audio book, and how can they contact you?
The purchase links are below, as are Joe’s contact links, including his web site. I love to hear from readers via Joe! He tells Noah and me everything you say about us! So drop me a line via Joe’s web site: https://JoeCosentino.weebly.com.
Thank you, Nicky, for interviewing today.
My pleasure. I’m more excited than a Republican legislator defending a criminal past president to share my new audio book with you. So take your seats for the fireworks. Not only Ben Franklin’s kite will rise as the men in the Continental Congress find romance, rollicking fun, and rousing murder!
DRAMA DADDY Audiobook
DRAMA DADDY (a Nicky and Noah mystery novelette)
Nicky and Noah mystery 17 by Joe Cosentino
now also an audio book performed by Brian Cheney
Formats: E-book, Paperback, and Audiobook
Release Date: eBook/July 1, 2023 & Audiobook/April 11, 2024
Length: 96 Pages / 2 Hours 28 Minutes
Cover Art: Fred Wolinsky
Language: English
Genre: MM, contemporary, mystery, comedy, romance, theatre, musical theater
🛒 Purchase Links
Listen to a sample on Amazon or Audible
As an Amazon associate, the owner of this site earns from qualifying purchases. Neither the buyer nor the seller is directly charged for this. The referral fee comes from Amazon’s deep pockets, and surely we can all get behind that!
Blurb
Summer stock, romance, and murder blossom at Treemeadow College on July 4th when theatre professors and husbands Nicky and Noah and their thespian cohorts stage an original gay musical adaptation heralding the signing of the Declaration of Independence entitled, I Do Declare. Nicky and Noah need to use their drama skills to catch the killer before the frills on their collars are tied in a knot—around their throats. You will be applauding and shouting Bravo for Joe Cosentino’s fast-paced, side-splittingly funny, edge-of-your-seat entertaining first-time novelette (mystery #17) in this delightful series. Take your seats. It’s Independence Day! The curtain and fireworks are going up on an enamored John Adams and Thomas Jefferson who raise Ben Franklin’s kite, Daddy John Dick-in-son, John Hand-cock, George Washington and his French squeeze Guy Raffleur, and murder!
Praise for the Nicky and Noah Mysteries
“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 the Author
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, 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 theatre professor/department chair residing in New York State.
Find Joe Cosentino on the Web
About the Narrator
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 Drama Christmas (the 11th Nicky and Noah mystery novel) by Joe Cosentino, Drama Pan (the 12th Nicky and Noah mystery novel) by Joe Cosentino, All the King’s Men by Scott Leddy, Swarm by Guy Morris, The Last Ark by Guy Morris, and Pressure by Barry Napier.
Find Brian Cheney on the Web
