Happy Tuesday readers. Please join me in welcoming back multi-published author,
Joe Cosentino as he presents to us his newest Jana Lane Mystery, China Doll, and gives us a glimpse behind the scenes.
Broadway
Baby
Writing
the Fourth Jana Lane mystery, China Doll
by
Joe Cosentino
published
by The Wild Rose Press
There’s
something that happens when you walk onto a stage. It’s sheer magic. The
lights, sets, costumes, actors, and audience all come together for an almost
religious experience. There is nothing else like it. In recalling my acting
years on stage playing opposite stars like Bruce Willis (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) and Nathan Lane (Roar of the Greasepaint), I realized the fourth Jana Lane mystery
would take place in the exciting, glamorous, and stimulating world of Broadway
theatre. A world I know very well.
As
you remember in Paper Doll, America’s
most famous ex-child star Jana Lane is thirty-eight and living with her family
in picturesque Hudson Valley, New York. Flashbacks from the attack on the
studio lot that ended her career collide with murder attempts in her future.
Jana ventures back to Hollywood to uncover 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.
Now in China Doll, after winning an Academy
Award, Jana is offered the leading role in a Broadway mystery. It is old home
week and nepotism in action as the play is produced and written by the same
producer (Stanley Rothman) and author (Katrina Wright) who produced and wrote
Jana’s first Broadway play when she was five years old, Sweet Nothings. Jana’s co-star from Sweet Nothings, the aging but still gorgeous and mysterious
Savannah Stevens, is co-starring in China
Doll, along with Savannah’s incredibly handsome and muscular son, Peter
Stevens, in his Broadway debut. Rounding out the cast are Rothman’s
granddaughter Bella, Jana’s nephew Brad, and Jana’s youngest son B.J. And the
play is directed by Katrina’s new and much younger husband, the studly Tony
Cuccioli. Also in the cast are Sally Chen a recent Tony Award winning actress,
and Tate Moonglow a transplant from Off-Broadway.
Attractions
come to the surface between Tony and Sally, Brad and Bella, Tate and Gary
(B.J.’s new nanny), and even Jana and Peter. Art imitates life as members of
the production team of China Doll are
murdered, personal secrets are revealed, and Jana once again uses the skills
she learned as a child star to solve the crime. Also, Jana and her husband go
through a personal crisis, however, her son B.J. is bitten by the acting bug
and has the time of his life.
It was great
fun writing the comic characters like Jana’s old world and loyal agent Simon
Huckby, and Tony Cuccioli the director from the Bronx. Detective Douglas, the
Broadway musical buff detective, was also fun to write. I was able to use my
knowledge of theatre to create the first read through, blocking rehearsal,
rehearsals, and performances for the play within the novel that I call China Doll.
Though China Doll is a fictitious play, I was
able to place the theatre between the marquees of real shows playing at the
time: Hurlyburly starring William
Hurt and Christopher Walken and The Rink
starring Chita Rivera and Liza Minelli. Since the book takes place in 1984, I
included a great deal of history, music, and fashion from my favorite era. Layered
hair, parachute pants, shoulder pads, lace gloves, leggings, and scrunchies are
all there along with music like Bruce Springstein’s “Cover Me.” New York City
is prominently featured in the novel with its luxury hotels, Central Park,
Washington Square Park, Little Italy, and of course the theatre district. I was
also able to include, the still new AIDS epidemic and the devastation it caused
when ignored by our political representatives, as once again Jana sponsors a
benefit for AIDS research.
As in every
Jana Lane mystery, the clues are there in China
Doll, and so are the plot twists and turns, and white knuckle shocking
ending. So grab your program and take your seat. The house lights are going
down and the stage lights are coming up on China
Doll, a Jana Lane mystery.
Jana
Lane is back on Broadway in 1984—starring in a murder mystery. Life imitates
art when members of the company are murdered. As Jana investigates, it’s clear
she may be the next victim. Complicating matters is Jana’s uncontrollable
infatuation with her leading man, gorgeous and muscular Off-Broadway actor
Peter Stevens. Will Jana find the murderer before the curtain comes down on
her?
Excerpt from China Doll a Jana Lane mystery by Joe Cosentino
published by Wild Rose Press:
Jana came face to face with Stanley. “If Tate and Gary go, so do I.”
“Don’t do it for me, Jana,” Tate and Gary said in unison.
Stanley grinned. “Listen to your deviant friends, Jana.”
Tate held Jana’s arm to stifle her from replying to Stanley.
Stanley glared at Sally Chen. “And if anyone doesn’t like the size of her role, I’ll accept your resignation.” Then staring at Savannah and Jana, he said, “And if any of you regrets signing a contract with me for this show, let this be a business lesson for you. Lawyers enforce contracts.” Stanley clapped his hands again. “Tony, Tate, and Gary, you are released. Kat, please take a seat in the house. Jose, back to your stage manager’s console please. Everyone else, please make a circle around me, and I will lead you in some acting exercises.”
As everyone moved around Stanley onstage in a state of shocked pandemonium, the bookcase set piece teetered back and forth then crashed down on top of the producer.
CHINA DOLL, a Jana Lane mystery by Joe Cosentino
published by The Wild Rose Press
Author Bio:
Bestselling
author Joe Cosentino won Divine Magazine’s awards for best mystery novel, best
humorous novel, and best contemporary novel of 2015. He is the author of the
Jana Lane mysteries: Paper Doll,
Porcelain Doll, Satin Doll, and China
Doll and the upcoming Rag Doll
(The Wild Rose Press); the Nicky and Noah mysteries: Drama Queen, Drama Muscle, and the upcoming Drama Cruise (Lethe Press); the Cozzi Cove beach series: Cozzi Cove: Bouncing Back and Cozzi Cove: Moving Forward (NineStar
Press); and the romance novellas: In My
Heart anthology (An Infatuation
& A Shooting Star), A Home for the
Holidays, and The Naked Prince and Other Tales from Fairyland (Dreamspinner
Press); and The Nutcracker and the Mouse
King (Eldridge Plays and Musicals). As an actor, he has appeared in
principal 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. http://www.JoeCosentino.weebly.com
Web site: http://www.JoeCosentino.weebly.com
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/JoeCosentinoauthor
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/JoeCosen
Amazon: Author.to/JoeCosentino
Praise for SATIN DOLL, a Jana Lane mystery:
“A book that will captivate any reader! A page turner that won't let you go! This is one author you can always depend on to publish a good read!!” Stormy Nights Reviewing
“Joe Cosentino is a brilliant mastermind when creating the perfect mystery series. In each novel in this intriguing series of his, Jana Lane Mysteries, readers are blown away by his writing. The instant readers jump into Joe Cosentino's fictional world, the danger feels real, the suspense is killing, and the plot moves so fast. Action, lights, camera!” “A fast-paced murder mystery that readers will easily fall in love with...and one they can't live without. Overall, I highly recommend this new title in the Jana Lane Mysteries and look forward to the next best adventure from Joe Cosentino.” Danielle Urban, Universal Creativity Inc.
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
“Murder, mystery, and suspense are high inside of this brilliant masterpiece by Joe Cosentino.” “Every page fills the readers with intrigue.” “Edge of your seat mystery that lures readers instantly.” “Once you read it, you can't put it down.” Danielle Urban Universal Creativity Inc.
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
"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
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