The Naked Prince and other Tales from Fairyland by Joe Cosentino #LGBT #Interview #RGRGiveaway

We want to thank Joe Cosentino for stopping by on Rainbow Gold Reviews to spotlight his brand-new book with a character interview, excerpt and giveaway. Please leave a comment for the author, if you enjoyed the post and good luck in the giveaway. More info below.

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.

Buy Links: Amazon | Dreamspinner Press | Barnes & Noble | ARe | Kobo | iTunes | Add to Goodreads

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Character Interview with Kieran from “Ice Cold” in Joe Cosentino’s

THE NAKED PRINCE AND OTHER TALES FROM FAIRYLAND

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I am happy to have with me today, Kieran 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 Kieran?

I have thick dark hair and hazel eyes. I’m pretty muscular from working outside our cottage. Since we live in Frost Village, there is lots of shoveling to do.

How old are you?

Eighteen 

Both your parents and Gaelen’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 surrogate mother. I was frigid until Gaelen and I had that first glorious night in front of the fire. 

Tell us about Gaelen.

Gaelen has auburn hair, violet eyes, a sweetly crooked nose, and golden freckles. When Gaelen and I sit by the fire at night, he smells like fresh-baked bread. He is so sweet, caring, warm, and terrific.

But things grew frightening again when you accepted a ride on a beautiful sleigh from Prince Isidore.

I’ll say! Prince Isidore was so enticing. He had milky white skin, crystal-blue eyes, a strong jaw, and a princely figure. He rode on a large gold sleigh with fluffy white blankets in it. Gaelen had to search through quite a few kingdoms to find me, melt my heart, and bring me back home. He risked his life to save me from Prince Isidore’s cold, calculating clutches!

And along the way Gaelen 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 action 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 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. But here’s where guys like Gaelen 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 Gaelen, 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 (that’s me) 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 Gaelen’s best.

Will you be starring in more of Joe Cosentino’s books?

This is it for Gaelen and 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 2^nd 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 NineStar 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 Gaelen?

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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Excerpt from THE NAKED PRINCE AND OTHER TALES FROM FAIRYLAND

Once they arrived at Isidore’s castle, the handsome young man led Kieran inside to an enormous white room with elaborate white furnishings. He beckoned Kieran to join him on a huge chaise, and Kieran obeyed.

“This room is so beautiful,” said Kieran.

Isidore handed Kieran a glass of blue liquid.

Kieran took a sip. It felt like swallowing ice. He noticed a mirrored wall opposite them. “What an odd mirror. I don’t see our reflection.”

Isidore smiled. “That is the Mirror of Memory. It holds the memories of every young man who has stayed with me.”

“Where are these young men now?”

“Gone. I live here alone.”

“Where are your parents?”

“Gone as well—in the great ice storm.”

“Mine too.”

Isidore moved closer to Kieran. “Let’s talk about you.”

Kieran laughed. “There isn’t much to say about me.”

“There is much to say about everyone.”

Kieran told Isidore about his childhood and his newfound family at the cottage without mentioning he and Gaelen were lovers.

Isidore took Kieran’s hands, sending a shock of cold through the boy’s body. “You are very beautiful, Kieran.”

“Thank you.” As hard as he tried, Kieran couldn’t stop looking at Isidore. “You are very handsome too.”

Isidore wrapped his arms around him. “Do you like me, Kieran?”

Unable to stop himself, Kieran nodded.

“Do you want to please me, Kieran?”

Again Kieran found himself nodding.

Isidore covered Kieran’s mouth with his own. Kieran winced as his lips turned numb from the cold. As Isidore leaned over Kieran, resting Kieran’s back on the chaise, Kieran thought about Gaelen.

“I should get back home. My family will be worried about me.” Kieran slid out of Isidore’s grasp and rose from the chaise.

“It is still quite early. Why not stay for lunch?”

“I really shouldn’t. Can you please take me home?”

Isidore reached for a small pearl-white box on the end table next to the chaise. He opened it and carefully placed a tiny silver sliver onto his index finger.

“What is that?” Kieran asked.

“Come closer, and I’ll show it to you.”

Unable to resist, Kieran moved closer to the box.

“This gem is one I collected from the great ice storm. It is very tiny. You’ll need to come even closer. Peer into it, so you can witness its beauty.” When Kieran did as Isidore asked, Isidore flicked the spec into Kieran’s eye.

Copyright: Joe Cosentino

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Comment on this post for your chance to win a backlist eBook by Joe Cosentino

You need to be 18 years or older to participate. Void where prohibited. Etc.

This giveaway will end on February 7th, 2016 at 11:59 PM CST. Good Luck!

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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 2^nd Place for Best MM Author of the Year in Divine Magazine’s Readers’ Choice Awards for 2015.

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Website: http://www.JoeCosentino.weebly.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JoeCosentinoauthor

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