HEY GUYS, I AM REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS WHAT WHO WRITES IS READING POST! I HAVE JOE COSENTINO HERE TO TELL US ABOUT HIS FAVE SERIES! THIS IS A GREAT POST FRIENDS, ENJOY!!!
Tribute to Armistead Maupin’s tales of the city books by Joe Cosentino
We are soon approaching the forty-year anniversary of Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City, the first of nine tales of the city novels, a fabulous (and I mean fabulous!) series taking place in San Francisco from the late 1970’s to the present. The books started as a witty and wonderful newspaper series (published in the San Francisco Chronicle) loaded with plot twists and turns and shocking revealed secrets. While I am too young to know about such things (hah), I read about people lining up each week to buy the newspaper, desperate to find out the fate of the quirky and endearing Michael, Mary Ann, Mrs. Madrigal, DeDe, Dor, Brian, and all the other captivating and loveable characters. The characters represent every type of gender, race, sexual orientation, gender identify, and culture. What also makes the tales of the city books (Tales of the City, More Tales of the City, Further Tales of the City, Babycakes, Significant Others, Sure of You, Michael Tolliver Lives, Mary Ann in Autumn, and The Days of Anna Madrigal) so special are the comical, romantic, and bizarrely wonderful plots that keep you guessing until the last page. The nostalgic San Francisco locations, political and social events of the eras, and important themes of equality surge through the books like wildfire.
I remember receiving the first book as a gift and thinking I would read Chapter One before bed. In what seemed like a few minutes later, the sun rose and I had finished the first novel, desperate to get my hands on the second. And on it went, until the series ended just recently with book nine.
Rereading the novels, tears still come to my eyes at the letter from Michael (based on Armistead Maupin) to his mother (who lives in a red state and supports the anti-gay crusade of Anita Bryant) in book one. http://armisteadmaupin.com/blog/?p=574
Through the right’s attack after attack on gay people and gay families (which unfortunately still continues) and the devastation from AIDS being ignored by our political and religious leaders, these books kept gay people and their supporters connected, entertained, and empowered to fight back.
When readers tell me my novels remind them of the tales of the city books, while I am incredibly grateful and honored, my response is always the same, “There is only one Armistead Maupin.”
TOLD YOU IT WAS A GREAT POST!!! HERE IS A LITTLE INFO ON JOE WITH LINKS:
Bestselling author Joe Cosentino won Divine Magazine’s Readers Poll of 2015 for Best LGBT Mystery Novel, Best LGBT Humorous Novel, and Best LGBT Contemporary Novel for Drama Queen, the first Nicky and Noah mystery, which was followed by Drama Muscle (Lethe Press). He also wrote the heralded Cozzi Cove beach series Cozzi Cove: Bouncing Back & Cozzi Cove: Moving Forward (NineStar Press); In My Heart/An Infatuation (Divine Magazine’s Readers Poll of 2015 Second Place for Best LGBT Romance Novel) & A Shooting Star, A Home for the Holidays, The Naked Prince and Other Tales from Fairyland (Dreamspinner Press); Paper Doll, Porcelain Doll, Satin Doll, and China Doll Jana Lane mysteries (The Wild Rose 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 Drama Cruise and Drama Luau Nicky and Noah mysteries (Lethe Press), Cozzi Cove: Stepping Out in the Cozzi Cove beach series (NineStar Press), and Rag Doll a Jana Lane mystery (The Wild Rose Press). Joe was voted 2nd Place for Best LGBT 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
Amazon: Author.to/JoeCosentino
I LOVE JOE'S WORK, AND HERE ARE THE LINKS FOR THE REVIEWS I HAVE WRITTEN OF JOE'S BOOKS:
CHECK THESE LINKS OUT GUYS, YOU WILL LOVE THESE BOOKS!! THANKS FOR JOINING ME FOR THIS WHAT WHO WRITES IS READING POST, I CAN'T WAIT FOR YOU TO SEE WHO WE HAVE NEXT WEEK!
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