The Naked Prince and Other Tales from Fairyland
by Joe Cosentino
M/M Fantasy/Fairytale retellings
Dreamspinner Press
Amazon | BN | Allromance | Dreamspinner
Cinder, a poor and beautiful young man who designs clothing, makeup, and hair for his stepmother and stepsisters, offers his clothing and slippers to a naked stranger in the woods who turns out to be none other than Prince Charming. Follow Cinder and Prince Charming in this twist on the classic “Cinderella” tale, as they discover their inner strengths and find their very own happily ever after.
Enjoy “The Naked Prince” and three other reimagined Tales from Fairyland, each with a unique spin on stories we all know and love, including “The Golden Rule,” where eighteen-year-old Gideon Golden, after being thrown out of his home in Fairyland by his homophobic parents, breaks into the cottage of three burly men on Bear Mountain.
“Whatever Happened To…?,” in which friction ensues between a celebrity with a growing appendage and the reporter who has a thing for giants, and “Ice Cold,” where young Gaelen must save his love Kieran after a handsome but evil prince freezes Kieran’s heart and bewitches him into being the prince’s slave.
Praise for Joe Cosentino’s books from Dreamspinner Press:
“unbelievably beautiful” “a masterpiece” Lovebytes Reviews
“as Joe Cosentino proves time and time again, with his wonderful writing and storytelling ability, love will prevail, and you will smile from ear to ear." Kathy Mac Reviews
“Like an onion, Joe Cosentino's stories have layers.” “For those readers looking for something a little bit different - dare I say unique? For those readers who like to laugh. For those readers who appreciate the nuances of people and the way each character is different. For those readers who want to read a damn good story - check out this author. I'm glad I did.” “A truly fabulous read.” Boy Meets Boy Reviews
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Interview with Gideon from “Ice Cold” in Joe Cosentino’s
THE NAKED PRINCE AND OTHER TALES FROM FAIRYLAND
published by Dreamspinner Press
I am happy to have with me today, Gaelen from “Ice Cold” in Joe Cosentino’s new novella from Dreamspinner Press, THE NAKED PRINCE AND OTHER TALES FROM FAIRYLAND. Since the readers can’t see you, what do you look like Gideon?
I have auburn hair, violet eyes, a slightly crooked nose, golden freckles, and I’m pretty muscular from working outside our cottage. Since we live in Frost Village, there is lots of shoveling to do. When Kieran and I sit by the fire at night, he tells me I smell like fresh-baked bread.
How old are you?
Eighteen. I was frigid until I met Kieran and we had that first glorious night in front of the fire.
Both your parents and Kieran’s parents died in the great ice storm. How did that make you feel?
Terrified. We didn’t know where to go. Thankfully the old woman who lived nearby took us both in and became our mother.
But things grew frightening again when Kieran accepted a ride on a beautiful sleigh from Prince Isidore.
I’ll say! I had to search through quite a few kingdoms to find him, melt his heart, and bring him back home to me.
And along the way you had quite a few adventures. Tell us about them.
You’ll have to read the book. All I can say is they were full of adventure and romance.
Why haven’t we seen gay fairytale characters in mainstream fairytales or movies?
Joe Cosentino wondered the same thing! As a kid Joe’s older sister read him fairytales in bed every night before sleep. Joe was entranced by the riveting stories of peasants becoming princes and princesses and finding true love. The stunning locations, wonderment, humor and tragedy, and happy endings filled his young mind like peanuts in an elephant’s sack. Joe wanted to be a character in those stories, live in those palaces, dine with the charming princes, and bring happiness to everyone in the kingdoms.
Later as an adult, he wrote musical plays based on fairytales for professional theatre companies: Princess and the Pea, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, Aladdin, The Emperor’s New Clothes, and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. But here’s where guys like Kieran and me came into the picture. Joe recently reread many of his favorite fairytales, and he was upset to see no openly gay characters in any of them! So he asked himself, ‘Why aren’t there gay people in fairyland? Why can’t a peasant boy fall in love with a handsome prince (or a frozen queen)? Wouldn’t a homeless blond boy seek refuge in a house with three hunky bears? What was Pinocchio’s growing appendage really all about?
Did Jack enjoy his time with the Giant more than Jack ever let on? What’s the good of fairytales without any fairies?’ Miraculously Kieran, Prince Isidore, I and the other characters in The Naked Prince and Other Tales from Fairyland were born in Joe’s mind in four humorous, romantic, adventurous, touching, and gay tales. I feel so lucky to star in one of them!
What are the stories about?
“The Naked Prince” is a different take on the Cinderella story. Cinder, a poor and beautiful young man who designs clothing, makeup, and hair for his stepmother and stepsisters, offers his clothing and slippers to a naked stranger in the woods who turns out to be none other than me, Prince Charming. Will Cinder and I confront our manipulative mothers, bring equality to the kingdom, find ourselves, and find one another? I can give you a hint. We are still living happily ever after together in Fairyland.
In “The Golden Rule,” when he is caught with nimble Jack, eighteen-year-old Gideon Golden is thrown out of his home in Fairyland by his homophobic parents. With nowhere else to go, he breaks into the home of three men living on Bear Mountain. Bo and Butch enjoy having a young roommate, but Ben isn’t convinced. Will Gideon and Ben make vinegar or honey?
“Whatever Happened To … ?” takes place on Christmas Eve. A reporter living on Andersen Lane interviews a celebrity for the Queen Newspaper series, “What Ever Happened To … .” Friction ensues between the celebrity with the growing appendage who can’t tell fact from fiction, and the reporter who has a thing for giants. Eventually a romantic spark is lit between the two as Christmas Day arrives, and they realize they have more in common than living in Fairyland. Finally in “Ice Cold,” after losing their families during the great ice storm in the northernmost kingdom of Fairyland, young Gaelen and Kieran pledged their love for one another. When Isidore rides into Frost Village on his elaborate sleigh, Kieran follows the handsome prince to his castle in Arctic Kingdom, where Kieran becomes Isidore’s bewitched slave. This leads Gaelen on an amazing adventure to find his true love and melt his frozen heart. All four stories are terrific, but I like mine and Cinder’s best.
Who is your favorite character in THE NAKED PRINCE AND OTHER TALES FROM FAIRYLAND, besides yourself?
Kieran of course! Not only is he handsome and muscular with thick dark hair and piercing hazel eyes, he is so sweet, caring, warm, and terrific. How lucky I was to save him from Prince Isidore’s cold, calculating clutches!
Will you be starring in more of Joe Cosentino’s books?
This is it for me. However, all of his books are great. If you haven’t yet, also check out AN INFATUATION (Divine Magazine’s Readers’ Poll Award for 2nd Place Best LGBT Romance of 2015), A SHOOTING STAR, and A HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS from Dreamspinner Press. If you like mysteries, don’t miss out on DRAMA QUEEN (Divine Magazine’s Readers’ Poll Awards for Best Mystery, Best Crime, Best Humorous, and Best Contemporary Novel of 2015) and DRAMA MUSCLE Nicky and Noah Amazon bestselling mysteries from Lethe Press. And Joe told me he is working on a new series about a gay resort at the New Jersey shore, COZZI COVE: BOUNCING BACK and COZZI COVE: MOVING FORWARD coming soon from Nine Star Press. I wonder, is the New Jersey shore anything like Fairyland? Joe tells me it is quite different, but it does snow there in the winter.
How can your readers contact you and Kieran?
Joe will get any messages to us. He loves to hear from readers. It gives him a break from hearing from characters like me. They can contact him at: http://www.JoeCosentino.weebly.com.
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About the Author:
Amazon Bestselling author Joe Cosentino wrote An Infatuation, A Shooting Star, A Home for the Holidays, The Naked Prince and Other Tales from Fairyland (Dreamspinner Press), Drama Queen the first Nicky and Noah mystery (Lethe Press), Drama Muscle the second Nicky and Noah mystery (Lethe Press), Paper Doll the first Jana Lane mystery (Whiskey Creek 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, Charles Keating, 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 releases are Cozzi Cove: Bouncing Back, Cozzi Cove: Moving Forward (NineStar Press) and Porcelain Doll the second Jana Lane mystery (Wild Rose Press releasing March 15). 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
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