HOLIDAY TALES FROM FAIRYLAND
the second Tales from Fairyland e-book novella
by JOE COSENTINO
$3.99
It’s holiday time in Fairyland. On Halloween, Ichabod Crane, a young schoolteacher, has a boner over sexy and muscular farmer Brom Bones. When the residents of the homophobic Sleepy Hollow aren’t happy about it, the headless horseman rides into town. Will Ichabod fall off his horse into Brom’s strong, rescuing arms, teaching the townsfolk a lesson in acceptance they’ll never forget? On Christmas, hunky Cavalier P.I. receives a visit from a new client, handsome young Fritz. Somebody strangled Fritz’s sister Clara with the ribbons of her toe shoes, and Fritz is the top suspect. But he seems more interested in the bulge in Cavalier’s tights than in getting himself off the hook. When Cavalier turns sweet on Fritz, it’s time for the private investigator to question his old dance partner the Sugar Plum Fairy, Clara’s husband the Nutcracker, Fritz’s other sister Louise, and Fritz’s Godpapa Drosselmeyer to save his intended and find out: Who Killed Clara? At Winter Solstice, young Vasily falls in love with a mysterious, handsome man who rides by his orphanage each morning, noon, and night. Upon following him, Vasily discovers the man is a prince under the powers of Baba Yaga. Can Vasily rescue his tortured Prince Anton from the witch’s conversion therapy and dance around his pole on May Day?
http://mybook.to/HolidayTales
and
THE TALES FROM FAIRYLAND ANTHOLOGY
The Naked Prince and Other Tales from Fairyland and Holiday Tales from Fairyland paperback
by JOE COSENTINO
$12.99
http://mybook.to/FairylandAnthology
Welcome to Fairyland, a magical place where your favorite fairytale characters come out on the other side of the rainbow. Poor and beautiful Cinder offers his clothes to a naked prince in the woods in a twist on the classic Cinderella tale. Eighteen-year-old Gideon Golden, after being thrown out of his home by his homophobic parents, breaks into the cottage of three irresistibly burly men on Bear Mountain. Romance ensues between that stringy guy with a growing appendage and the character with a thing for giants. A handsome but cold-hearted prince bewitches young Kieran into being his captive. Can Gaelen thaw the ice palace and save his love?
Then it’s holiday time in Fairyland. On Halloween, Ichabod Crane, a young schoolteacher, has a boner over muscular farmer Brom Bones. When the residents of Sleepy Hollow balk, the headless horseman rides into town teaching the townsfolk a lesson in acceptance they’ll never forget. Somebody strangled Fritz’s sister Clara with the ribbons of her toe shoes, and Fritz is the top suspect. When hunky Cavalier turns sweet on sweet Fritz, it’s time for the dancing private investigator to question everyone involved with Clara and the Nutcracker to find out who killed Clara? At Winter Solstice, can orphan Vasily rescue a tortured prince from Baba Yaga, releasing him from the witch’s conversion therapy, and dance around the prince’s pole on May Day?
Praise for The Naked Prince and Other Tales from Fairyland, the first Tales from Fairyland novella, published by Dreamspinner Press:
“This is a brilliant work, filled with imaginative twists and sly asides. This is adult literature, overflowing with sometimes gentle but often biting humor, and these fairy tales take on a new edginess without ever losing the morality underpinning each story. The Naked Prince and Other Tales from Fairyland gets my highest recommendation! If I could give it more than 5 Stars I would. Bravo, sir, bravo!” GGR Reviews
“Sometimes you are lucky enough to find an author that ticks every box you want as a reader, today I’m that lucky reader….a great saucy, fun collection and highly recommended.” Three Books over the Rainbow
“the stories are all well done and smart, engaging, funny and sweet.” Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words
“The Naked Prince and Other tales from Fairyland is a fun, hilarious collection of stories. Joe outdid himself taking old favorites from our childhood and putting a grown-up spin on them….If you like gay princes, sexy bears, giants, reporters, fairy tales, comedy, suspense, and, sweet, fun man-sex, this is for you.” Cathy Brockman Romance
“If you haven’t read anything by Cosentino, you don’t know what you are missing. His humor and penchant for drama bring these old favorites a new life as he ventures deep into Fairyland….If you love fairytales, you’ve got to read the naughty versions – they are even better!” Joyfully Jay Reviews
“I was most surprised by the author’s sense of humor and his ability to get me to not only laugh out loud, but actually to “belly laugh.” I highly recommend this to audiobook lovers, and especially to those who loved fairy tales in their childhood.” Hearts on Fire Reviews
“In this wickedly entertaining take on classic fairy tales, Joe Cosentino gives us four short stories full of all the characters you remember from storybooks – Cinderella, Pinocchio, Goldilocks, Captain Hook, Jack and the Beanstalk, Prince Charming and many more – but fair warning: This ain’t your childhood Cinderella. Welcome to a world where it isn’t Pinocchio’s nose that grows when he tells a lie. Goldilocks discovers three sexy daddy bears in the woods and ‘someone’s been sleeping in my bed’ takes on a whole other connotation. Jack is ‘very nimble’ but sadly also ‘amazingly quick’ and Prince Charming dons ‘palace protection’ for hot sex with Cinder. Extra bonus points for this wonderful quip: ‘I always suspected he had more down his throat than a frog.’” Gay Book Reviews
Joe Cosentino is the author of six novellas published by Dreamspinner Press: The Naked Prince and Other Tales from Fairyland (Open Skye Book Reviews Audiobook of the Month); the In My Heart series: An Infatuation & A Shooting Star; and the Bobby and Paolo Holiday Stories: A Home for the Holidays, The Perfect Gift, and The First Noel; the Nicky and Noah mysteries: Drama Queen (Divine Magazine’s Favorite LGBT Mystery), Drama Muscle (Rainbow Award Honorable Mention), Drama Cruise, Drama Luau, Drama Detective, Drama Fraternity; the Cozzi Cove series (NineStar Press): Cozzi Cove: Bouncing Back (Rainbow Award Honorable Mention/TBR Pile Book of the Month), Cozzi Cove: Moving Forward, Cozzi Cove: Stepping Out, Cozzi Cove: New Beginnings, and Cozzi Cove: Happy Endings; and the Jana Lane mysteries: Paper Doll, Porcelain Doll, Satin Doll, China Doll, and Rag Doll (The Wild Rose Press). 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 professor/department chair residing in New York State. http://www.JoeCosentino.weebly.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoeCosen
Amazon: Author.to/JoeCosentino
Excerpt from Holiday Tales from Fairyland/Tales from Fairyland Book 2:
Comfortable as always in my white tights and gold jacket, I leaned back in my chair and focused on my captivating young caller. He spoke in a velvety smooth voice. His eyes seemed to penetrate my soul. Believe me, the decorated Christmas tree next to my gold fireplace wasn’t the only thing rising. “I’m sorry about your sister.”
“Me too. The Dance Village Dance Captain thinks I did it.”
“Did you?”
“I want you to prove my innocence.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
He sighed. “It doesn’t matter what I say. Nobody seems to believe me.”
I rested my elbows on the desk lined with figures of ballet dancers doing pirouettes. “I’d like to believe you.”
His handsome face softened. “And I’d like you to save me.”
I wanted to wrap my arms around him and protect Fritz from the world. “Then how about you tell me everything you know about this?”
“That may take some time.”
“I have nowhere else to go.”
“On Christmas Day?” He smirked. “Don’t you have anyone in your life, Cavalier?”
I met his gaze. “I could ask you the same question.”
“My parents are dead, and my sister has just been killed. What’s your excuse?”
“I pry into other people’s lives. It doesn’t leave me much time for a life of my own.”
“Lucky for me.” He smiled.
I’d never been that attracted to anyone before in my life. “How old are you?”
“Old enough to be tried in the Dance Village Square as an adult.”
“Meaning?”
His ruby lips parted, forming an intoxicating smile. “I’m legal, Cavalier. Twenty-one next month. And you?”
“I’m a decade older than you. So behave, or I’ll have to put you over my knee.”
“You’ll have to catch me first.” He winked. “And I’m not easily caught.”
The kid was driving me crazy. I wanted to assemblĂ© over the desk and have my way with him. Trying to maintain my professional persona, I said, “Let’s start with you telling me about this from the beginning.” Readying a pad lined with dancing snowflakes, I wrote on top, “The Case of: Who Killed Clara?”
Fritz tented his long thin fingers—and I wanted to devour them. “As kids, my sisters and I lived in a mansion. My parents weren’t around much, so the three of us spent most of the time in the playroom with our toys.”
I couldn’t resist. “Which was your favorite toy?”
“My soldier doll. He was strong and courageous. I slept with him every night.”
I couldn’t believe I was jealous of a doll. “And your sisters?”
Louise fussed over her Madame Charette doll, obviously exhibiting early lesbian tendencies. Clara loved her Nutcracker doll. Our godfather, Judge Drosselmeyer, gave it to her.”
Writing, I asked, “Can your godfather, the judge, assist you with your case now?”
He shook his head, and golden shafts formed a halo around his face. “He thinks I did it too. The patch over Godpapa’s eye isn’t the only thing keeping him from seeing clearly.”
“Let’s go back to the playroom when you were kids. How did the Nutcracker come to life?”
He did a double take. “You know about that?”
“I ran into your sister and the Nutcracker Prince when they were on their honeymoon in the Land of Sweets.”
“How sweet.” His dimples were like craters of honey.
I wanted to lick them dry. “I’m waiting for an answer to my question.”
“It’s quite a story. If I tell you, I doubt you’ll believe me.”
“Try me.” I moved my legs into third position to conceal my obvious arousal.
Giveaway: Post a comment about why you love fairytales and leave your contact info. The one that sets us off into Fairyland will receive an Amazon gift code for The Naked Prince and Other Tales from Fairyland/Tales from Fairyland Book 1 audiobook, by Joe Cosentino, published by Dreamspinner Press, performed by Joel Leslie. (winner of favorite audiobook of the month on Open Skye Reviews)
http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/The-Naked-Prince-and-Other-Tales-from-Fairyland-Audiobook/B01M667L7A/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srImg?qid=1477080276&sr=1-1
http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/The-Naked-Prince-and-Other-Tales-from-Fairyland-Audiobook/B01M667L7A/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srImg?qid=1477080276&sr=1-1
An Interview with Fritz, a character in Joe Cosentino’s Holiday Tales from Fairyland, the second Tales from Fairyland e-book novella and Tales from Fairyland Anthology paperback
Since the readers can’t see you, what do you look like Fritz?
I’m twenty-one, tall and lean, with blond wavy hair and violet eyes.
Where do you live?
In my parents’ mansion in Dance Village, Fairyland. My father was the village doctor.
How does it feel to be out (no pun intended) of the new novella, Holiday Tales from Fairyland, by Joe Cosentino?
It’s great to bend over and stretch my legs (no pun intended back at you).
Were you in Joe Cosentino’s popular The Naked Prince and Other Tales from Fairyland published by Dreamspinner Press? And how did the new stories come about?
No, mine is The Nutcracker Ballet story. That first novella was Joe’s comic gay take on Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Pinocchio, Goldie Locks and the Three Bears, and The Snow Queen. I, and the readers who loved The Naked Prince and Other Tales from Fairyland, kept whispering in Joe’s ear, and Holiday Tales from Fairyland was born. Also, Joe told me he missed Fairyland and couldn’t wait to come back. I don’t blame him. My home is a wonderful place. LGBT people aren’t represented in traditional fairytales. Joe changed all that in his tales from Fairyland.
Your story takes place on Christmas. What is it that you love about that holiday?
I like watching Santa cavorting with his favorite Elf, Scrooge and Marley carrying on, and Rudolph and Prancer falling more and more in love each December. I also like our beautifully decorated Christmas tree in our old playroom. It actually grows, like the bulge in my tights when I hire sexy Cavalier as a private investigator to find out who killed my sister, Clara.
Tell us about your story in Holiday Tales from Fairyland?
It’s loosely based on The Nutcracker and the Mouse King by E.T.A. Hoffman. At Christmastime, I find my sister, Clara, strangled with the ribbons of her pink toe shoes. I’m the Dance Captain’s chief suspect. So I hire Cavalier, a hunky private investigator to get me off (no pun intended). The suspects are Clara’s husband the Nutcracker, our sister Louise, the Cavalier’s old dance partner the Sugar Plum Fairy, and my Godpapa Drosselmeyer. Cavalier interrogates all the suspects and finally uncovers who killed Clara. But not before he and I fall in love.
Tell us about Cavalier.
He’s the man of my dreams. When I see him, I want to do pirouettes in the air. He’s tall, and very muscular from spending all that time lifting the Sugar Plum Fairy. His hair and eyes are exotic sienna, skin olive-colored, and his bulge has caused many guys to do a demi-plea. At thirty-one, an older man, he’s also loyal, honest, and a terrific private investigator. He’s also in need of love.
Who are the other characters in your story?
My brother-in-law the Nutcracker is quite vain. My sister Louise and the diva Sugar Plum Fairy seem to have a sweet tooth for each other. And my Godpapa Drosselmeyer is a leather queen.
What are the other stories in the novella?
The first story takes place on Halloween. It’s based on The Headless Horseman by Washington Irving. In Joe’s version, Ichabod Crane, a young schoolteacher, has a boner over sexy and muscular farmer Brom Bones. When the residents of the homophobic Sleepy Hollow aren’t happy about it, the headless horseman rides into town. Will Ichabod fall off his horse into Brom’s strong, rescuing arms, teaching the town folk a lesson in acceptance they’ll never forget? You’ll see! Finally, is a Winter Solstice story: Vasillisa, the Beautiful. Young Vasily falls in love with a mysterious, handsome man who rides by his orphanage each morning, noon, and night. Upon following him, Vasily discovers the man is a prince under the powers of Baba Yaga. Can Vasily rescue his tortured Prince Anton from the witch’s conversion therapy and dance around his pole on May Day? Story three spills the winter beans.
Fairyland is a very gay place.
The gayest. It’s Fairyland after all!
Tell us about the heroes in the other two stories.
Ichabod Crane is a young schoolteacher whose heart has been stolen by the town hunk, Brom Bones. Ichabod not only needs to win over the man he loves, but also win over the hearts and minds of the bigoted residents of Sleepy Hollow. Orphan Vasily gazes out his window watching a gorgeous man ride by on his horse three times a day. He follows the man and discovers he is a prince bewitched by the witch, Baba Yaga. Vasily has to use his smarts, creativity, and heart to save himself and his loving Prince Anton. Vasily is in for an incredible surprise at Baba Yaga’s cottage.
Any chance you’ll be pairing in the future with Ichabod or Vasily?
No. I’m a one-man man. And that man is Cavalier.
Are you excited about the paperback of the entire Tales from Fairyland Collection?
Totally! What I hope is that everyone reads and these funny, sexy, heartwarming, romantic, fairytales. They will no doubt bring you back to better, joyous times. I also hope the movie studio producing those amazing animated fairytales finally realizes that fairytales should include everyone—including me, finding love in the land of the nutcracker!
What other stories has Joe published?
I’m not in them, but they are still terrific. For Dreamspinner Press, In My Heart: An Infatuation & A Shooting Star (Rainbow Award Honorable Mention) are loosely based on Joe’s high school and college years. His popular, heartwarming Bobby and Paolo Holiday Stories are A Home for the Holidays (which takes place on the gorgeous and romantic island of Capri), The Perfect Gift, and The First Noel (releasing 12/7). There Joe goes again writing about the holidays!
And Joe has two award-winning mystery series with other publishers.
I’m not in those either. Reviewers called his Nicky and Noah mysteries “the funniest books ever written,” captivating mysteries,” and “The Hardy Boys meets Murder She Wrote meets Hart to Hart.” Adorable couple, college theatre professors Nicky and Noah, solve murder mysteries on their Treemeadow College (named about gay couple Tree and Meadow) campus and on tour in Drama Queen, Drama Muscle (Rainbow Award Honorable Mention), Drama Cruise, Drama Luau, Drama Detective, Drama Fraternity, Drama Castle (releasing 2/1/19). His popular Jana Lane mysteries (The Wild Rose Press) feature an ex-child movie star making a movie comeback and solving murder mysteries on set. Jana has a gay agent and gay best friend who provide lots of gay humor. The five novels are Paper Doll, Porcelain Doll, Satin Doll, China Doll, and Rag Doll.
Joe also wrote the Cozzi Cove series published by NineStar Press.
I’m not in those either! Cal Cozzi runs a gay resort on the New Jersey Shore. We get his story and the sexy, entertaining, and often surprising stories of his gay residents each summer. The novels are Cozzi Cove: Bouncing Back (Rainbow Award Honorable Mention), Cozzi Cove: Moving Forward, Cozzi Cove: Stepping Out, Cozzi Cove: New Beginnings, and Cozzi Cove: Happy Endings.
How does Joe, a college professor/department chair, find the time to write all these books?
Characters like me tell him what to write.
You have a hot love scene with Cavalier. How did you handle that?
I’ve had a few offers from characters like Aladdin, whose flying carpet gave me rug burn, but I’ve been saving myself for Cavalier. The expression of our love was beautiful and magical. We are a true Fairyland love story.
What frustrates you?
People who fear coming out of the closet. Like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, open that door and come into the colors and wonder of Fairyland. It’s a glorious place to live.
How can your readers contact you?
Through Joe. He loves hearing from readers. They can contact us at: http://www.JoeCosentino.weebly.com.
i love the world fairytales create...
ReplyDeletejmarinich33 at aol dot com
Fairy tales are fun and leave you with lots of dreams.
ReplyDeletedebby236 at gmail dot com
I love fairytales because there's always something to learn from it and usually they guarantee a good ending.
ReplyDeleteforgot my email: humhumbum AT yahoo DOT com
ReplyDeleteFritz’s interview was hilarious! Soooooo Joe Cosentino đŸ˜‰.
ReplyDelete