Cover Design: Fred Wolinsky
Release date: August 1, 2018
Interview with Cal Cozzi the leading character in
Cozzi Cove: Happy Endings, the fifth novel in the Cozzi Cove series
By Joe Cosentino
Welcome, Cal Cozzi. You must be tired. This is your fifth Cozzi Cove novel.
Cal: I’m game for five more.
How does Joe Cosentino, the author, feel about that?
Cal: He writes what I tell him to write.
You are described in the books as tall, muscular, in your thirties, with auburn hair, green eyes, and a wide nose.
Cal: I’m on the book cover of book one. My husband Michael joins me on the cover of book two.
Who’s on the other covers?
Cal: My brother George is on book three. My ex-houseboy Billy Dean is on book four, and my current houseboy Carlos is on the new cover.
How come your first houseboy, Connor, was never featured on a cover?
Cal: Speak to his agent.
What led Joe Cosentino to write a fifth novel in the series? Was it you whispering in his ear at night?
Cal: Partially. My legs get stiff living inside a book. But mostly it was the readers. Joe received messages on Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter, and his web site begging him to write another Cozzi Cove novel. One reader wrote that she misses me more than her family! They also said they missed the quirky characters, mystery, drama, sweet romance, plot twists and turns, beautiful locations, and happily ever after endings. I missed them too!
What was it like for you having another Cozzi Cove adventure?
Cal: It was amazing as usual to revisit the old crew: my hot husband Michael, my legend in her own mind sister Taylor, Taylor’s wife Carla who owns the restaurant in town, and my bald and muscular tattooed buddy Tommy at his bar. It was also great fun meeting the new guests this summer and finding out their stories. As usual, their stories are full of humor, secrets, and shocking surprises. And of course, lots of hot romance!
In case anybody hasn’t read the Cozzi Cove series so far—
Cal: They should!
—Tell us about the series.
Cal: Cozzi Cove is a magical place on the New Jersey Shore where nothing is what it seems, and romance is always in the sea air. In each of the novels, you get my story, and four additional interwoven stories about the tantalizing guests in my bungalows.
Give the readers the order of the novels.
Cal: They are Cozzi Cove: Bouncing Back, Cozzi Cove: Moving Forward, Cozzi Cove: Stepping Out, and Cozzi Cove: New Beginnings, and now Cozzi Cove: Happy Endings.
Is Cozzi Cove a real place?
Cal: It is to me. It’s my home. Actually, Joe made it up. But it’s based on a spot at the New Jersey Shore that he visited every summer as a kid. His family had a bungalow near the beach, bay, and a private cove that formed when soft rocks were worn away by the sun and salty water faster than the harder rocks surrounding them. This created a stunning bay of turquoise water shielded by large rocks in the distance and smaller rocks near the water’s edge. Every summer Joe swam and made sandcastles at the beach, waded in the bay, played miniature golf, ate salt water taffy, and jumped up and down on trampolines. We get to do the same things in Cozzi Cove.
How did Cozzi Cove become a gay resort?
Cal: My great-grandfather built the town and all the bungalows on the resort. My father, sensing his son’s orientation, decided to run it as a gay resort. I took control after my folks passed away.
What’s the story in book five?
Cal: I’m thirty-four years old. My husband Michael and I enjoy sharing the cove with our one-year old son, C.J., Cal Junior. When I worry about our financial future, Kevin Donovan, my old football buddy from high school, appears at Cozzi Cove offering to buy the resort for a hefty fee. Of course, my top one-percenter sister, Taylor, is ready to call a moving company. However, Michael does some investigating and finds out Kevin’s offer isn’t exactly what it seems. I also hire a new houseboy and nanny and romantic sparks fly. Carlos is an exhibitionist who believes he is the reincarnation of Adam, the first man. Alfred has Mormon paraphernalia is his bureau. However, this is Cozzi Cove. Nothing is actually what meets the eye. Nobody knows that better than me. Also, a professional matchmaker, Gilead, checks in with his clients: Marine Master Sergeant Matt Pummel, young businessman from Hawaii Keone Paoa, and young writer Luis Lui. Two matches are made, but who ends up with whom will surprise you. Finally, another guest, Nyx believes he was abducted by aliens in the woods. When he meets Kurt, who believes he is a sexy werewolf, the two share some tantalizing moonlit nights leading to a shocking climax that could affect the whole world.
Will each couple have a HEA?
Cal: Of course! This is Cozzi Cove.
What’s the theme of this book?
Cal: We all need to feel special, love, and be loved.
Why do you think the readers love the Cozzi Cove beach series so much?
Cal: Cozzi Cove is a magical place, where anything can happen.
Which other character do you enjoy the most?
Cal: That’s like asking a parent the name of their favorite child. Though my parents would have no problem answering me.
How come?
Cal: You’ve seen my sister Taylor in the books. She’s quite a character. Of course, my favorite character is my young husband, Michael. He’s handsome, sexy, devoted, honest, and true. As for the new characters in this book, they’re all quite entertaining and interesting. My new houseboy, Carlos, is a nudist who believes he was famous nudists in his past lives. His relationship with my new nanny, Alfred, has lots of surprises. Oh, Gilead the matchmaker made me laugh out loud. I love his outlook on love and life.
Which character didn’t you like?
Cal: Kevin and I have a strange relationship.
How so?
Cal: You’ll have to read the book to find out. It’s quite a story with lots of emotional peaks. Just when you think you’ve figured it out, there’s a game changer.
And you’ve won Favorite Book of the Month at The TBR Pile and Rainbow Award Honorable Mention.
Cal: But Joe got all the accolades.
Your books are quite cinematic.
Cal: Joe’s written a teleplay pilot. Hear that, producers! Make him an offer! I’m ready for the screen.
Will there be more Cozzi Cove novels?
Cal: There will if I have anything to say about it.
Readers have compared the books to Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City series. How do you feel about that?
Cal: Incredibly humbled and thrilled.
What frustrates you?
Cal: People who demean and attack the rights and self-worth of others, including those who hide behind their religious or political beliefs to do so. Religious freedom means freedom to practice your religion, not discriminate against others. We all need to stand strong against intolerance and hate. And I do in my books.
Tell us about Joe’s gay novellas published by Dreamspinner Press.
Cal: I’m not in them. But you should check them out anyway. In My Heart/An Infatuation & A Shooting Star are loosely based on Joe’s high school and college years respectively. They were so popular as individual e-books, Dreamspinner Press published them together in one paperback.
In the Bobby and Paolo Holiday stories, Bobby, an American law student, takes a trip to the romantic and gorgeous island of Capri, Italy, where he embarks on a relationship with his captivating third cousin, Paolo, in A Home for the Holidays. In The Perfect Gift, Bobby and Paolo move to Philly, marry, and adopt a child.
The Naked Prince and Other Tales from Fairyland is Joe’s hysterically funny gay take on his favorite beloved fairytales like Cinderella, Goldie Locks and the Three Bears, Pinocchio, Jack and the Beanstalk, and The Snow Queen.
Joel Leslie did the incredible audiobooks.
The Cozzi Cove novels have mysterious elements, but Joe also has two mystery series.
Cal: Again, I’m not in them. But they’re still pretty terrific. Joe’s Nicky and Noah mystery series are farcical, gay, cozy, who-dun-its. In Drama Queen theatre college professors are dropping like stage curtains. With the inept local detective more interested in getting into Nicky’s pants than solving the murders, it is up to well-endowed Directing professor, Nicky Abbondanza to use his theatre skills (including playing other people) to solve the case, while he directs a murder mystery onstage. Complicating matters is Nicky’s intense crush on Assistant Professor of Acting, gorgeous Noah Oliver, the prime suspect in the murder, and Nicky’s eventual lover. 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 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. In Drama Luau, muscular male hula dancers are dropping like grass skirts as Nicky directs the Luau show. It’s up to Nicky and Noah to figure out whodunit and why. In Drama Detective, Nicky and Noah do a musical Sherlock Holmes play and actors drop faster than hammy actors at a curtain call. Once again it’s up to Nicky and Noah as Holmes and Watson to save the day. The games’ afoot! In Drama Fraternity, Nicky and Noah shoot a slasher film movie on campus, and life imitates art. It’s up to Nicky and Noah to catch the murderer before they end up on the cutting room floor.
In the Jana Lane mysteries (the Wild Rose Press), with straight leading characters and gay supporting characters, Jana Lane was the biggest child star ever until she was attacked on the studio lot at eighteen years old. In Paper Doll Jana at thirty-eight lives with her family in a mansion in picturesque Hudson Valley, New York. Her flashbacks from the past become murder attempts in her future. Jana ventures back to Hollywood, which helps her uncover a web of secrets about everyone she loves. In Porcelain Doll Jana makes a comeback film and uncovers who is being murdered on the set and why. In Satin Doll 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. In China Doll Jana heads to New York City to star in a Broadway play, where she is faced with murder on stage and off. In Rag Doll Jana stars in a television mystery series and life imitates art on the set. The novels are full of mystery, romance, humor, and theatricality. Since they take place in the 1980’s, Jana’s best friends are gay, and Jana is somewhat of a gay activist, the AIDS epidemic is a large part of the novels.
How can your readers contact you?
Cal: Through Joe. We love hearing from readers! They can contact us at: http://www.JoeCosentino.weebly.com
So grab your Speedos, suntan lotion, and shades and head back to Cozzi Cove. I have a bungalow waiting just for you. I hope to see YOU there!
COZZI COVE: HAPPY ENDINGS
The fifth novel in the Cozzi Cove series
by JOE COSENTINO
http://mybook.to/CozziCove_HE
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/835400
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/cozzi-cove-joe-cosentino/1128860553?ean=2940155279358
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It’s summertime, the perfect season for another trip to Cozzi Cove: the magical place where nothing is what it seems and romance is always in the sea air. Welcome back to hunky Cal Cozzi’s seven guest bungalows on the New Jersey Shore. This summer Cal is visited by Kevin Donovan, a handsome man from his past who makes Cal a tempting offer to buy Cozzi Cove and provide financial security to Cal and Michael’s baby. Cal’s Wall Street sister, Taylor, has hopped aboard Kevin’s green wagon. However, Cal’s husband, Michael, and Taylor’s wife, Carla, aren’t convinced, sensing something much deeper in Kevin’s offer than meets the roving eye. Cal’s exhibitionist new houseboy, Carlos, is smitten with Cal’s sweet-faced nanny, Alfred, who carries a shocking secret in his magic Mormon underwear. Middle-aged matchmaker Gilead has matched guests Marine Master Sergeant Matt Pummel and much younger businessman Keone Paoa to the chagrin of cute young lawyer Luis Lui. As skeletons come out of their closets, the bears and cubs search for their true honey. Woodsy guest Nyx Oberon meets a sexy werewolf at the cove and they share a howling moonlit night. Nyx believes his newfound lover could be part of a much larger plan that would change his life and the world forever. Will Cal, his family, and his guests have happy endings? It’s Cozzi Cove after all.
Praise for the COZZI COVE series:
“I loved this story. It carries you through the full range of emotions, from joy to sadness, from happiness to anger. The characters are beautifully written…I look forward to a return visit to the Cove.” TBR Pile Book of the Month
“In true Joe Cosentino style, this book is packed full of drama! This cast of characters will have you laughing out loud one minute before ripping your heart out the next.” Joyfully Jay
“Joe Cosentino has the amazing ability to combine heartwarming, feel good moments with droll, sometimes biting humor, along with insights into the frailties and peccadillos of being human….Cozzi Cove: Bouncing Back is the very finest in literary fiction with a romance theme, yet it’s more than just that—it’s about human connections and empathy and finding a way out of the fear and inertia faced by so many. It’s also about courage and strength, about respect and coming to terms with all that life has to offer, and it’s about letting go. I loved this book and look forward to the next in the series. This is a highly recommended read, well-deserving of Five Stars.” GGR Reviews
“Who knew that 7 bungalows set surrounding a beautiful cove, could hold so many secrets, love and intrigue?…The humour, whether subtle or not-so-subtle was superb, the timing delivered with perfection, Joe Cosentino is a natural comedian and another reason why I love reading his books. He is also very clever, he weaved moral messages throughout the entire storyline….Great fun entwined with the Cosentino romantic magic that brings his books alive, I loved it.” Three Books Over the Rainbow
“Oh, Cozzi Cove, you are fast becoming a favorite vacation destination with your action and excitement! Joe Cosentino once again wins his way into your heart and soul with this fun, flirtatious romance. Love, laughter and smoldering intimacy await all who dare to venture to the clear blue waters of the Cove.” 3 Chicks After Dark
“Imagine a beautiful getaway where the hot, sexy, and wealthy gay men go…it’s a place where there’s never a dull moment. Every page of this new title brings readers nothing but excitement, intrigue, and an intensity that will burn away the night’s quiet. Most novels offer readers one journey in which readers travel upon, however, readers are brought not one but several journeys that will leave them breathless and hooked. As with all of Joe Cosentino’s novels, humor comes in abundance and fits in perfectly with all of his stunning characters….Joe sweeps his readers into his characters’ lives by creating realistic characters with real issues. The book automatically captures your heart from page one and forever holds it. After reading the story, readers will be begging for the next grand adventure. Funny, heart melting, and swoon worthy, readers will finish reading this in one sitting. I loved reading this riveting tale, and I highly recommend it to readers everywhere.” Urban Book Reviews
“Spending a week in the sun with the permanent and transitory residents of Cozzi Cove makes for a superb, unputdownable, read. There are laugh out loud moments, lots of chuckles, some very heartwarming as well as heart wrenching moments, lots of gorgeous men and women, love, lust and even some tears. Joe Cosentino has a brilliantly unique sense of humour, and a masterful way of writing stories containing farce, larger than life men and women, and often over the top characters you’ll fall in love with. For all that his characters come across as completely relatable and realistic. His books are one of a kind and utterly addictive. I have yet to read a Joe Cosentino book that was less than 5 Stars, and this book is no exception. Do yourself a favour and grab this book with both hands. I guarantee you’ll be very glad you did.” Divine Magazine
“There is plenty to feast upon within each sudsy storyline, including intrigue, deception, desire, romance, and sex….As the pages turn quickly and events unfold, the ensuing antics are irresistibly entertaining, but more importantly the characters are likeable and deserve our genuine interest and concern as some of their relationships are put to the test. Cozzi Cove: New Beginnings is clearly just that — the beginning — for Cal and Michael, and this highly engaging, enjoyable novel examines both their past and present history as proof that they were destined to be together.” Edge Media Network
“I adore this series so much. I adore it partly because of the setting, the writing, the romance, but also because each one of the guests at Cozzi Cove has a story beyond their face value….There is so much packed into this book’s short 174 pages and I loved every single one of them!” Alpha Book Club
Bestselling author Joe Cosentino won Divine Magazine’s Readers Poll for Best LGBT Mystery Novel, Best LGBT Humorous Novel, and Best LGBT Contemporary Novel of the Year. He wrote the Cozzi Cove beach series: Cozzi Cove: Bouncing Back (TBR Pile Book of the Month/Rainbow Award Honorable Mention), Cozzi Cove: Moving Forward, Cozzi Cove: Stepping Out, and Cozzi Cove: New Beginnings (NineStar Press); the Nicky and Noah mysteries: Drama Queen (Divine Magazine’s Readers’ Favorite), Drama Muscle (Rainbow Award Honorable Mention), Drama Cruise, Drama Luau, Drama Detective, Drama Fraternity; the Dreamspinner Press novellas: In My Heart/An Infatuation & A Shooting Star (Rainbow Award Honorable Mention), the Bobby and Paolo Holiday Stories: A Home for the Holidays and The Perfect Gift, The Naked Prince and Other Tales from Fairyland; and the Jana Lane mysteries: Paper Doll, Porcelain Doll, Satin Doll, China Doll, Rag Doll (The Wild Rose Press). 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. Joe is currently Head of the Department/Professor at a college in upstate New York, and is happily married. Joe was voted 2nd Place Favorite LGBT Author of the Year in Divine Magazine’s Readers’ Choice Awards! Upcoming novels and novellas are Drama Castle, Drama Dance, and Drama Faerie, Nicky and Noah mysteries; The First Noel, Bobby and Paolo Holiday Story Book 3 (Dreamspinner Press); and Holiday Tales from Fairyland, Tales from Fairyland Book 2.
Language: English
Length: 225 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1720665014
ISBN-10: 172066501X
ASIN: B07DGVLCMX
Excerpt of Cozzi Cove: Happy Endings, the fifth Cozzi Cove novel, by Joe Cosentino:
The porch door swung open to Carlos Araujo. The young man was in the buff with his large olive-toned muscles and club-like penis on display. “Good morning.”
Cal moved behind his desk in the living room, not quite believing his own eyes.
Carlos approached the desk. His dark eyes glistened in the morning sunlight emanating from the window. “I’m ready for a new adventure.”
“It seems you forgot to get dressed this morning, Carlos.”
He unleashed a row of white teeth. “One of the many benefits of working at a gay resort in the summer.”
“Not exactly.” Cal felt older than his years. “This isn’t a nudist camp. If you want to work here, you’ll need to put on some clothes—and keep them on.”
Carlos sighed. “You may want to rethink that, Cal.”
Cal did a double take. “Excuse me?”
“Many brilliant people were nudists, including some past presidents like Roosevelt, Adams, Johnson, Kennedy, and Richter. Though I wouldn’t want to have seen any of them naked, except maybe Kennedy. He was pretty hot.”
Cal stifled a grin. “Richter wasn’t president.”
Alfred said, “He invented the earthquake measuring system.”
Noticing someone else was in the room, Carlos flexed his huge biceps. “And Richter would have shaken like an earthquake if he measured these.”
Cal said, “Carlos, this is Alfred Castle, C.J.’s nanny.”
“Hey,” Carlos replied, checking himself out in the wall mirror.
Alfred put his hands in his pockets and looked down at his shoes.
Cal cleared this throat. “Carlos, how about you put some clothes on.”
Carlos said like an adolescent facing curfew, “Do I have to?”
“Yes, you have to,” Cal replied.
“You’re the boss.”
“Yes, I am.”
Carlos shrugged his large shoulders, sprinted out to the parking area, pulled some clothes out of his trunk, dressed, and hurried back into the main bungalow. With his pec, back, ab, thigh, and calf muscles bursting out of a lime tank top and white shorts, he spun in front of Cal’s desk. “Better?”
“Much,” Cal replied.
Cal looked out the window as Michael got into his sports car and drove off. The sun was already out in full force casting a golden ray over the bay.
Carlos followed Cal’s gaze. “This place is like paradise.”
“No argument here. My great-grandfather and Michael’s great-grandfather built it. My brother renovated it with my sister’s money, including the solar panels on the bungalow roofs.”
Cal noticed Carlos was combing his hair, clearly not listening. He sat and turned on his computer. “Any questions about your duties, Carlos?”
“No. They seem pretty basic, especially stocking the night table drawers with condoms.” His dimples appeared. “I’m accustomed to that.”
“It’s for the guests.”
“Speaking of the guests, I do have one question.” Carlos rested his palms on the desk and his pecs swelled like melons. “Can I take off my clothes when I make up the bungalows?” He grinned. “I imagine the guests would love it.”
This is the second in a series that features a sexy group of security men, each of whom have a nickname related of a suite of cards. This story highlights Red, a former Special Forces medical sergeant who suffers from PTSD after the loss of half of his group of brothers-in-arms while still on active duty. We first met Red in book one when he saved Laz, the equally sexy fashion photographer, who fell into Colton’s pool when his ex shoved him and he hit his head.
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 