Guest Post by Joe Cosentino, author of "Paper Doll."


WRITING A FIRST NOVEL IS LIKE GIVING BIRTH
by Joe Cosentino


The experts tell us to write what we know about, so I began my first novel by writing an outline (with actual paper and pencil) for a mystery/romance entitled Paper Doll. Since I watch old movies, my heroine, Jana Lane, is America’s most famous child star of the 1960's, attacked on a Hollywood studio lot at eighteen years old.  Twenty years later, as a thirty-eight-year-old mother of two living in a mansion in Hyde Park, New York, her flashbacks turn into murder attempts. 
Given my love for the Hudson Valley, the novel includes locations like the FDR Home, Vassar College, and Hyde Park Elementary School. 
In honor of my favorite authors, my novel has numerous suspects and clues with the murderer discovered at the conclusion a la Agatha Christie. As in Armistread Maupin’s Tales of the City books, my characters are quirky but believable and likeable. The suspects include Jana’s down-on-his-luck husband, Jana’s sister and Jana’s male best friend (who both have eyes for Jana’s husband), Jana’s has-been show business father, her deranged loyal fan, and Jana's young Guy Friday who covets her fame and shares an uncanny resemblance to Jana. Like Mary Higgins Clark’s, my novel is a romantic page-turner. So Jana embarks on a romance with the son of her old studio producer, a handsome filmmaker planning Jana’s comeback professionally and personally. 
Given my background as an actor, Jana visits her old Hollywood movie studio to investigate her attacks (past and present) and unmask the murderer. In the process, she uncovers a web of secrets about everyone she loves.
I wrote the outline in a few days, and the first draft in a month. The characters took on a life of their own, as they told me what they wanted to do and say. After I showed the first draft to a trusted reader, my rewriting commenced for months until the book was completed. 
Holly McCabe designed a beautiful book cover, and Gerald Fierst and Jeff Walt reviewed the book (both raves) before publication and distribution on Amazon.com. Promoting the book on Facebook and Goodreads brought sales and good customer ratings. Interviews on blogs helped spread the word.
Bitten by the novelist bug, my second book, An Infatuation, (releasing by Dreamspinner Press in February) is a humorous and touching gay romance novella set in my hometown. With my background in children’s theatre, I wrote a children’s book, Nick the Nerd, chronicling a nerdy kid’s transformation into the legendary Santa Klaus. Finally, using my experience in college academia, I am currently writing, Drama Queen, a comedy/mystery/romance novel set in a New England college town. 

Writing a novel is a bit like giving birth, incredibly difficult, but amazingly rewarding.




Joe Cosentino is the author of Paper Doll. 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. He has written and directed many musical plays for family audiences (toured through Encore Performing Arts of NY, and one published through Eldridge Plays and Musicals). His one-act plays, Infatuation and Neighbor were performed in New York City. Another one-act, Swing, was performed by Stageworks of NY and published in the Marquee Literary Journal. He wrote The Perils of Pauline, available on CDROM (through Prentice Hall Publishers). Joe received his MFA from Goddard College in Vermont, and MA from SUNY New Paltz. He is currently Head of the Department/Professor at a college in upstate New York. His upcoming novels include An Infatuation (Dreamspinner Press), Drama Queen, and Nick the Nerd (for children). JoeCosentino.weebly.com.

Would you like to know more about this author or connect with them? You can find Joe Cosentino on Goodreads or on his Website for further information. 






Jana Lane was America’s most famous child star until she was attacked on the studio lot at eighteen years old. Now a thirty-eight-year-old beauty and mother of two living in a mansion in picturesque Hudson Valley, New York, Jana’s flashbacks from her past turn into murder attempts in her present.
The local suspects include Jana’s down-on-his-luck husband with a dislike for living off the fruits of his wife’s young labor, Jana’s sister and male friend (who both have eyes for Jana’s husband), Jana’s show business father, her deranged loyal fan, and Jana's young Guy Friday who covets her fame and shares an uncanny resemblance to Jana.
            Forced to summon up the lost courage she had as a child, Jana visits the California movie studio she once called home. This sends her on a whirlwind of visits with former and current movie studio personnel. It also leads to a romance with the son of her old producer—Rocco Cavoto—the devilishly handsome filmmaker who is planning Jana’s comeback both professionally and personally. With Rocco’s help, Jana uncovers a web of secrets about everyone she loves, including the person who destroyed her past and threatens to snuff out her future.

“Joe Cosentino has utilized his keen knowledge of show business through shrewd celluloid eyes with tight twists, wicked turns, and one stunning surprise after another!”
            ̶  Jeff Walt, author of “Hex”

“Paper Doll is a delicious concoction of suspense and nostalgia with all the trash of the tabloids and all the style of classic film noir.  Romance, glamour, lust, and murder, make a page turning mystery. I can’t wait for the sequel; I can’t wait for the movie!”
            ̶  Gerald Fierst, storyteller and author of “The Heart of the Wedding”


Where can you buy "Paper Doll" by Joe Cosentino? Click Here