Welcome back to the blog, Joe.
I’m thrilled to be back. I love your blog. And my grandnieces loved your mouse books!
Aw! Thank you. Last time you told us about your acting career, including starring with Holland Taylor in the ABC-TV movie, My Mother Was Never a Kid, and working with other stars like Bruce Willis, Nathan Lane, Rosie O’Donnell, Charles Keating, and Jason Robards. You also discussed PAPER DOLL, the first Jana Lane mystery. Why did you write the second novel?
As a child I loved child stars like Shirley Temple, Hayley Mills, and Patty Duke, seeing their movies over and over. So I created a heroine who was the biggest child star ever until she was attacked on the studio lot at eighteen years old. In PAPER DOLL the secret behind that attack is exposed. The reviews were raves. Here are a few of the quotes:
“Paper Doll is a superbly crafted mystery with an eclectic cast of characters that will engage you and elicit some very emotional responses as you are completely caught up in the events that unfold in these pages. Everyone has secrets and the people in Paper Doll have them in spades!” Fresh Fiction
“Joe Cosentino knows how to keep his readers’ interest with every page.” Universal Creativity Digital Magazine
“Mr. Cosentino has produced a masterpiece of mystery” “The story gripped me from the start and there were enough twists and turns, with a bit of romance thrown in for good measure, to keep hold of me until the end of the book.” “Great book, can’t wait for book 2.” Readers’ Favorite
So I wrote another Jana Lane mystery. In PORCELAIN DOLL (The Wild Rose Press), it is 1982 and Jana is thirty-nine years old, living in a mansion in Hyde Park, New York. Jana makes a comeback film and uncovers who is being murdered on the set and why. Her heart is set aflutter by her incredibly gorgeous co-star, America’s heartthrob Jason Apollo. The other suspects include Jana’s James Dean type young co-star, her older John Wayne type co-star, her children’s Eve Harrington type nanny, the film’s gossipy makeup and hair artist, a local reverend trying to stop the film’s production, and Jason’s agent.
Did you use your background as an actor to write PORCELAIN DOLL?
Definitely! As one reviewer of PAPER DOLL wrote, I used my knowledge of show business to devilish ends. Actually, I used my background in each of the Jana Lane novels, since I know the ins and outs on a movie set. Thankfully nobody was murdered on my sets.
Who is your favorite character in PORCELAIN DOLL? And why?
Jana’s agent, Simon, is my favorite character for five reasons. He is amazingly resilient, old world Hollywood, incredibly funny, loyal to Jana, and most importantly, I want to play him in the movie version!
Which character was the most fun to write?
Jana’s James Dean type young co-star is a sexy rebel without a cause.
Is it difficult writing a series?
It’s like visiting with old friends. I love Jana and all the characters. I do need to keep a notebook with copious details on the characters and environments—especially every room in Jana’s mansion.
How have the reviews been for PORCELAIN DOLL?
Amazing. Here are two examples:
“Porcelain Doll is Joe Cosentino at his finest. We are drawn back to the fashions and attitudes of the 1980’s in a character-driven story full of intrigue and passion.” Kirsty Vizard, Divine Magazine
“Beautifully written and intensely detailed, Porcelain Doll is one not to be missed. Flirtatiously decadent with a strong moral undertone, set in a decade of extraordinary social change this is a story of its period that is as poignant today as it was then. Joe Cosentino controlled the emotions that the book encouraged with a deft but delicate touch. Suspenseful and mysterious, Porcelain Doll is a masterful creation, one that was impossible not to be affected by.” Carol Fenton, BooksLaidBare Reviews
Why did you set the books in the 1980’s?
I love the music, hair styles, clothing, and decadence of that era. I had great fun writing about Jana’s mansion, wardrobe, makeup, and hairstyles. I was also able to incorporate some of the music, films, television shows, Broadway shows, and political and social events of the era.
Will more Jana Lane mystery novels follow?
Yes, in SATIN DOLL (not yet released from The Wild Rose Press), Jana and family head to Washington, DC, where Jana plays a US senator in a new film, and becomes embroiled in a murder and corruption at the senate chamber. She also embarks on a romance with Chris Bruno, the ex-professional football player detective. In CHINA DOLL (not yet released from The Wild Rose Press), Jana heads to New York City to star in a Broadway play, enchanted by her gorgeous co-star Peter Stevens, and faced with murder on stage and off. I am currently writing RAGDOLL, where Jana stars in a murder mystery TV series and again life imitates art. Through the course of the books, Jana not only solves the mysteries, but also reclaims the courage and fortitude she had as a child. This is an important message for all of us. As one reviewer wrote, she starts out as a wounded bird, and ends as tiger.
Do you have another mystery series besides the Jana Lane mysteries?
Yes, the Nicky and Noah comedy mysteries published by Lethe Press. Each novel is loaded with wacky humor and romance in a fast-paced whodunit. Since I am a college theatre professor/department head, and theatre departments are havens of mystery, secrets, romance, and high humor; the series takes place at an Edwardian style New England college. In DRAMA QUEEN (Divine Magazine’s Readers’ Choice Awards for 2015 winner for Best Mystery, Best Humor, Best Crime, Best Contemporary) theatre college professors are dropping like stage curtains. With the inept local detectives, it is up to Directing professor, Nicky Abbondanza to use his theatre skills (including playing other people) to solve the murders, while he directs a murder mystery onstage. Complicating matters is Nicky’s intense crush on Assistant Professor of Acting, handsome Noah Oliver, the prime suspect in the murder (whose tenure application was not supported by the first victim). In DRAMA MUSCLE Nicky and Noah have to use their theatre skills to find out why musclemen are dropping like weights in the Physical Education department while Nicky directs the Student Bodybuilding Competition. In DRAMA CRUISE (not released yet), Nicky and Noah go on a cruise to Alaska, and discover why college theatre professors are going overboard like lifeboats while Nicky directs a murder mystery dinner theatre show onboard ship.
As a college professor/department head, how do you have the time to write?
I write at night after my spouse has gone to bed. I have a beautiful cherry wood study with a fireplace, huge desk, bookcases, and window seat. My mother asked me, “Don’t you have anything better to do than write at night?” I wonder if Stephen King’s mother asked him that? Hah.
How can your readers contact you?
I love hearing from readers. They can contact me at http://www.JoeCosentino.weebly.com.
Excerpt
1982.
Jana Lane, America’s most famous ex-child star, ran on the grounds of her estate. The forty-year-old kept up a quick pace as someone, or something, followed closely in the woods just out of sight. Her heart pounded, and sweat dropped down her neck, arms, and legs. As she turned to avoid falling into the lake, Jana raced past a large oak tree. A hand reached out from a branch. Jana screamed.
Waking with a gasp, Jana rested her head on her silver satin pillow, and took in some deep breaths. Then, she sat up in bed and tried to shake away the nightmare.
Keep it together, girl. Don’t go off the deep end like before.
Thinking that music might help, she flipped on the radio, perched on her white and gold French provincial night table.
As Diana Ross crooned “Mirror Mirror,” Jana rose then stood in front of her floor-length oval mirror. Staring back between the white and gold molding was a forty-year-old woman with porcelain skin, sky-blue eyes, a button nose, deep dimples, ruby red lips, and velvety strawberry-blonde hair. (Yet all Jana could focus on were her newly acquired crow’s feet, laugh lines, frown lines, and three gray hairs. After giving birth to three children, the figure underneath her pink satin nightgown was still shapely and petite, but Jana only noticed the tiny belly and unwelcome stirrings of cellulite.) Moving to the red satin canopy bed with its gold circular headboard, Jana slipped on her silver satin robe and fluffy pink slippers. Feeling a man’s strong hands around her, she screamed.
PORCELAIN DOLL, a Jana Lane mystery
by Joe Cosentino
published by The Wild Rose Press
http://www.wildrosepublishing.com/maincatalog_v151/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=6684
Is art imitating life in 1982? Jana Lane, ex-child star, is doing a comeback film about murder. When a crew member is killed on the set, it looks like Jana could be next. Thickening the plot is Jana’s breathtakingly handsome and muscular leading man, Jason Apollo, whose boyish, southern charms have aroused Jana’s interest on screen and off. Will Jana and Jason stop the murderer before the final reel, or end up on the cutting room floor in this fast-paced whodunit with a shocking ending?
BUY LINKS:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/porcelain-doll-joe-Cosentino/1123368757?ean=2940157711948
https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-porcelaindoll-1979755-367.html
Praise for PORCELAIN DOLL, a Jana Lane mystery:
“Porcelain Doll is Joe Cosentino at his finest. We are drawn back to the fashions and attitudes of the 1980’s in a character-driven story full of intrigue and passion.” Kirsty Vizard, Divine Magazine
“Beautifully written and intensely detailed, Porcelain Doll is one not to be missed. Flirtatiously decadent with a strong moral undertone, set in a decade of extraordinary social change this is a story of its period that is as poignant today as it was then. Joe Cosentino controlled the emotions that the book encouraged with a deft but delicate touch. Suspenseful and mysterious, Porcelain Doll is a masterful creation, one that was impossible not to be affected by.” Carol Fenton, BooksLaidBare Reviews
Praises for PAPER DOLL, the first Jana Lane mystery:
“Paper Doll is a superbly crafted mystery with an eclectic cast of characters that will engage you and elicit some very emotional responses as you are completely caught up in the events that unfold in these pages. Everyone has secrets and the people in Paper Doll have them in spades!” Fresh Fiction
“If you like novels that are filled with new and old Hollywood, and a range of sub-plots, you are going to love this!” Saguaro Moon Reviews
“I liked that there was enough evidence for each of the suspects to keep me guessing until the very end.” Molly Lolly Reviews
“Joe Cosentino knows how to keep his readers’ interest with every page.” Universal Creativity Digital Magazine
“The setting, the characterization and the plot keep you turning the pages.” The Book Mistress
“Joe Cosentino has crafted an engaging tale of secrets, lies and deceit set in that crazy, ego driven scene called Hollywood.” Deb Sanders
“Mr. Cosentino has produced a masterpiece of mystery” “The story gripped me from the start and there were enough twists and turns, with a bit of romance thrown in for good measure, to keep hold of me until the end of the book.” “Great book, can’t wait for book 2.” Readers’ Favorite
ASIN: B01BA2705Y
Released: March 16, 2016
Pages: 260
Cover Artist: Debbie Taylor
Paperback: 978-1-5092-0603-2
Digital: 978-1-5092-0604-9
Heat Level: Sensual, PG-13
Amazon Bestselling author Joe Cosentino wrote Paper Doll the first Jana Lane mystery (Whiskey Creek Press), Porcelain Doll the second Jana Lane mystery (The Wild Rose Press), Drama Queen the first Nicky and Noah mystery (Lethe Press), Drama Muscle the second Nicky and Noah mystery (Lethe Press), An Infatuation & A Shooting Star & A Home for the Holidays & The Naked Prince and Other Tales from Fairyland (Dreamspinner Press), Cozzi Cove: Bouncing Back (NineStar Press), and The Nutcracker and the Mouse King (Eldridge Plays and Musicals). He has appeared in principal acting roles in film, television, and theatre, opposite stars such as Bruce Willis, Rosie O’Donnell, Nathan Lane, Holland Taylor, and Jason Robards. His one-act plays, Infatuation and Neighbor, were performed in New York City. He wrote The Perils of Pauline educational film (Prentice Hall Publishers). Joe is currently Head of the Department/Professor at a college in upstate New York, and is happily married. His upcoming novels are Satin Doll the third Jana Lane mystery (The Wild Rose Press), China Doll the fourth Jana Lane mystery (The Wild Rose Press), Drama Cruise the third Nicky and Noah mystery (Lethe Press), and Cozzi Cove: Moving Forward (NineStar Press). Joe was voted 2nd Place for Best MM Author of the Year in Divine Magazine’s Readers’ Choice Awards for 2015.
Web site: http://www.JoeCosentino.weebly.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JoeCosentinoauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoeCosen
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4071647.Joe_Cosentino
Amazon: Author.to/JoeCosentino
More about Virginia Wright go to Amazon.com
Copyright 2016 Virginia Wright
Great interview, Virginia. Congratulations to Joe. It sounds like a lovely book.
Thank you, Deanie. I appreciate you stopping by for Joe’s interview.
Great interview with my old friend, Joe. Being in a time travel movie, he is sort of my hero. Love the new book cover.
Thanks for stopping by my blog to check out Joe’s interview.