FEARLESS FRIDAY
Please welcome Joe to Discover Yourself.
On
Fearless Friday, I am pleased to have Jana Lane with me, the leading character
in Joe Cosentino’s SATIN DOLL, a Jana Lane mystery, published by The Wild Rose
Press. It’s an honor to interview an Academy Award nominated actress.
It’s my pleasure to be here.
It’s nice to leave Joe Cosentino’s head for a while.
Jana, what was it like being the
biggest child star in America?
I felt
like God’s special child. A lot of people’s livelihoods depended on me. I
worked hard learning how to do things like steer a motorboat, swim for hours at
a time, ride my horse Ginger. People really believed that I was the girl in the
movies who could outsmart the villains, perform acts of bravery, and save those
she loved from every evil fate.
What was it like going to movie
premieres?
Once
we arrived at the movie theater in the limousine, a red carpet led us inside.
Camera flashes went off in all directions. Hundreds of people screamed and
cried out my name, as I smiled and waved. Once inside the theater, I saw my
face on that screen as large as a billboard. I was not only the central
character in my own life, but in everybody’s life in that audience. I
felt so loved and protected, until it
all went away when I was eighteen in 1960 and left the business.
Why?
I was attacked at the studio.
In
PAPER DOLL twenty years later you
went from your mansion in Hyde Park, New York back to Hollywood and used the
skills you learned as a child star to figure out who attacked you. In the process you uncovered a web of secrets about
everyone you loved. Can you tell us more about that?
Toward the end of the novel, my
family and I are in incredible peril. That gave me the strength and courage to
do all of the things I did to catch the killer and turn the tables.
Tell
us more about that final confrontation.
I’d love to but Joe Cosentino
would prefer you buy PAPER DOLL. It’s an amazing story.
And
your reviews were amazing. “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
"Mr.
Cosentino has produced a masterpiece of mystery (Paper Doll)" "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
They liked me. They really liked
me.
Next
in PORCELAIN DOLL you made a comeback film, His Obsession.
In the process of filming, I
uncovered who was being murdered on the set and why. My heart was also set
aflutter by my incredibly gorgeous co-star, America’s heartthrob Jason Apollo.
The other suspects included my James Dean type young co-star, my older John
Wayne type co-star, my children’s Eve Harrington type nanny, the film’s gossipy
makeup and hair artist, a local reverend trying to stop the film’s production,
and Jason’s agent.
You
had an incredible struggle and confrontation scene at the end of that novel too
with a shocking ending. Again you received terrific reviews. “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. And
you were nominated for an Oscar for His Obsession.
I didn’t win, but I was more
pleased to save myself and my family.
And
now in SATIN DOLL, you and your family head to Washington, DC, where you play a
US senator in a new film, and become embroiled in murder and corruption at the
senate chamber. Tell us about some of the people you encounter in SATIN DOLL.
There are some familiar faces
like my old world, loyal, and hysterically funny agent, Simon Huckby, who
produces the AIDS benefit I host at the Ford Theatre. And my best friend and
lawyer, Congressman Jackson Mitchell and his partner Adam, who host my family
at their rustic home on a lake. And there are some new faces too like Senator
Maxmillion, the Republican majority leader of the Senate, and Benjamin Topower,
Maxmillion’s wealthy super pack contributor. And of course there is Senator
Cassie Castle, the Democrat senator touted to run for Vice President.
Is
she like Hillary Clinton?
Cassie is a smart, strong woman
who is deeply involved in protecting the environment, women’s rights, gay
rights, education, and creating jobs, like her father before her. She is also
quite charismatic. So in some ways she’s very much like Hillary. In many ways
she is different.
In
which ways?
Cassie is dating the Republican majority leader of the
Senate. Cassie seems to wear her heart on her sleeve.
Jana,
have you always been interested in politics?
Jana: I’ve always found
politicians like Maxmillion and Cassie fascinating. How they can speak to
someone and make him/her feel as if he/she is the only person in the room. I
also marvel at Cassie’s will to serve others and to make the world a better
place. The issues I am concerned with are Cassie’s issues, so I am clearly on
the liberal bent. However, I believe all the political characters in the story
are treated equally in showing their good points and bad.
In
the novel you are interviewed on the radio by a Christian host for your
upcoming AIDS benefit. Do you think Christians would be offended by that
character?
I sure hope not. I’m a Christian
who prays and goes to church on Sundays. I try to love my neighbor as myself,
not judge others, and help the downtrodden and outcasts. The radio hosts who
interview me use their wealth, power, media chops, and religious affiliations to
demean others and try to take away their rights. So I stand up to them and
protect the people they are persecuting.
As
in the first two Jana Lane mysteries, you are tempted by a gorgeous man, this
time Detective Chris Bove.
Read how Bove is described in
the book. Can you blame me?
Frankly,
no. And your husband goes through a major personal event.
I love that part of the story.
It still brings tears to my eyes when I read it.
I
love your comic banter with Jackson, and with Bove.
Jana: They’re both good guys.
Since
the book takes place in 1983, you get to dance to songs like “Flashdance…What A
Feeling” and “Maniac.” You also wear layered hair, shoulder pads, and lace
gloves. I loved that period!
And we also experience a number
of historical events like Karen Carpenter’s passing, the still new AIDS
epidemic and the devastation it caused when ignored by our political
representatives, and dangerous proposed legislation by conservatives like the
Protect the Children Act, which was a disguise to try to make gay people second
class citizens.
Like
in all the Jana Lane mysteries you are a champion fighting for funding for AIDS
research, protecting victims when nobody else would.
I’ve always believed it is our
duty to take care of the less fortunate who need our help.
There
is also a sexy young senator in the book, Senator Sancho Ramirez from New York.
How does he play into the story?
Like everyone in the story,
Sancho has secrets that are eventually revealed.
Can
someone read this story before reading your previous two mysteries, Jana?
Yes, each Jana Lane mystery is
it’s own story. Readers get a complete mystery with each novel full of revealed
secrets, plot twists and turns, and a white knuckle ending leading to a
shocking conclusion. Through
the course of the books, I not only solve the mysteries, but also reclaim the
courage and fortitude I had as a child. As one reviewer wrote, I start out as a
wounded bird, and end as tiger.
But
you play fair in your mysteries, meaning the clues are there. And again toward
the end of SATIN DOLL you have a physical and verbal confrontation with the
murderer.
Thankfully after the shocking
ending, all is resolved.
What’s next for Jana Lane?
In China Doll (releasing late May), I head to New York City to star in
a Broadway play, co-starring the gorgeous Peter Stevens, and I’m faced with
murder on stage and off.
And
after that?
RAGDOLL, where I’m offered the
leading role in a new television mystery series. And again life imitates art.
How
does Joe Cosentino think up all these terrific storylines and surprise endings?
I’m in his head helping him.
Thank
you. It’s been a pleasure. Keep fearlessly catching the bad guys and gals,
heroine Jana Lane.
You got it!
purchase links:
Blurb:
Murder, corruption, and scandals rock Washington, D.C....
America’s most famous ex-child star, Jana Lane, is playing a US Senator in a
1983 film. Just as she and her family arrive in DC, two Washington power
players are murdered, and Jana is caught in the web of intrigue and political
scandal. Jana falls under the spell of the breathtakingly handsome detective
assigned to the case, ex-professional football player and food aficionado,
Chris Bove. Will Jana and Bove uncover the murderer’s identity and
shocking secrets before Jana and her family become the Capitol’s next
victims?
Author’s Bio:
Bestselling author Joe Cosentino wrote Paper Doll the first Jana Lane mystery, Porcelain Doll the second Jana Lane mystery (The Wild Rose Press), Satin Doll the third Jana Lane mystery
(The Wild Rose Press), Drama Queen
the first Nicky and Noah mystery (Lethe Press), Drama Muscle the second Nicky and Noah mystery (Lethe Press), An Infatuation, A Shooting Star, A Home for the Holidays, & The Naked Prince and Other Tales from
Fairyland (Dreamspinner Press), Cozzi
Cove: Bouncing Back & Cozzi Cove:
Moving Forward (NineStar 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, and
Jason Robards. Joe is currently Head of the Department/Professor at a college
in upstate New York, and is happily married. His upcoming novels are China Doll the fourth Jana Lane mystery
(The Wild Rose Press) and Drama Cruise
the third Nicky and Noah mystery (Lethe Press). Joe was voted 2nd
Place for Best Author of the Year in Divine Magazine’s Readers’ Choice Awards
for 2015.
Web site: http://www.JoeCosentino.weebly.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoeCosen
Amazon: Author.to/JoeCosentino
Good to meet you here, Joe and Jana. I always love your interviews, Joe!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping in, Barbara.
DeleteAwesome interview! She's a heck of a girl.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Linda.
Delete