Q&A with Kess Costales

 By Elisa Houot 

• Who is your favorite poet and/or writer?

Do I have to choose one? I’m obsessed with Nikita Gill and Yrsa Daley-Ward. I love Warsan Shire and Andrea Gibson. When I’m real romantic, I swoon over Pablo Neruda’s work. John Keats wrote one of my favourite poems, La belle dame sans merci. Emily Dickinson was my highschool ob

I want to write a book like Catherynne M. Valente’s Deathless and dream of writing a collection of fairy tale retellings like The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter. I want to be Roshani Chokshi and V.E. Schwab, especially the latter’s jump across age categories. My friend (humblebrag all the time), June Hur, is truly one of my favorite writers because she’s so good at doing atmospheric. Like I hate her so much that I adore her. I want to write romance like Alisha Rai, Courtney Milan, and Tessa Dare. Helen Hoang is also incredible. 

• Do you think there was room for two on the closet door to save Leonardo in Titanic?

Maybe there was room on the door, but would it float? Does it matter? That movie scarred me for life and I never want to go on a boat or ship or cruise, especially at night. 

• What is the poem that moved you the most?

UGH I hate choosing. I think I was just holding my breath the whole time I read TEACHING MY MOTEHER HOW TO GIVE BIRTH by Warsan Shire. The whole book was phenomenal and stabs you right in the heart.

To my daughter I will say,

'when the men come, set yourself on fire.'

• What is one thing we will never hear you say?

You will never hear me say that empathy isn’t one of the most important things to me. It’s something that everyone should have for so many reasons, but especially for how it impacts the way we perceive and treat people.

Mental health and inequality were my areas of focus while I was in university and while I’m not really in that field, my passion remains. When we have empathy, we’re able to look at what people might be experiencing. It’s essential as a storyteller to understand the complexities of people and life as a whole. 

• What is the last music you’ve listened to?

I listen to music all day while at work. Usually you can catch me listening to some chill pop. Music for chilling. Pop is fun. I like fun and catchy. I’ve listened to Taylor Swift’s Folklore more times than I can count. I like Billie Eilish’s earlier songs, but also vibing with Hozier, Tate Mcrae Lennon Stella, Kina Grannis, Halsey, Julia Michaels, Ariana Grande, etc.

• What is your current writing project? Can you tell us a bit about it?

The best way to describe my writing this year is one word: chaotic. You could also say I am starting over and trying to rediscover my love for writing stories, after the big realization in 2019 that a piece of my heart will always belong to poetry.

Right now, I am pants-ing a teen rom-com that’s a mashup of my favourite romance tropes. I’ve tried and failed with YA contemporary novels but I think this might be the one that gets done.  Oh god I hope I didn’t jinx it with that. 

Note: I did not run this by my agent, Lesley, yet and I hope she’ll like it because she’s liked everything else I’ve thrown at her so far. Hi Lesley, I can’t wait to bury you in an overwhelming amount of new books I plan to write.

• Are you a dog person, or a cat person?

I am an animal person in general. I am the person who follows several animal instagrams, gets excited about going to the zoo or the aquarium. A lot of Torontonians have a love/hate relationship with raccoons, but I LOVE them and I got to pet one after a family of chubby baby raccoons surrounded me, looking for food. I washed my hands right away, of course, but only after squealing about how much I love the little babies.

I have a cat and a dog though. The cat, Kingslee, is my adorable baby/old man who just turned 12 this past summer. I tell everyone he will live to thirty because I cannot handle imagining otherwise. My baby. Forever. Always. I pull out my baby talk just for him. 

• Are you a good cook? If yes, what is your specialty? If no, what is the dish you wish you were able to cook?

I’m more of a baker than a cook! I like that baking is more specific, especially with measurements. I have the hardest time with the vagueness of meal recipes, especially my mom’s, where the amount of an ingredient is “to taste”. I do make some Filipino dishes though, like beef mechado or our version of spaghetti (which typically involves banana ketchup).

I mostly bake cookies, but I also make cakes, with hopes of making my own wedding cake one day! The oven in my home is very small though, so I don’t bake much anymore. I do, however, make lots of mug cakes, especially ones with lots of sprinkles. One thing that I should actually make again (because it’s been forever and I love them so much) are oreo cheesecake cupcakes, where the oreo cookie is the crust. It’s so good. My mom is also forcing me to make a few different types of cookies for Christmas this year. How she thinks we’ll finish it all (since it’s unlikely we’ll have a big Christmas party like we usually do), I don’t even know!

• What do you love most about writing?

Just… the creation of it all—the world, the characters, the relationships. There is so much you can do and the only limits to your imagination is you. There is so much growing we can always do to create and create and we only stop creating when we just do. 

• What is your favorite movie from your childhood?

The Princess Bride. I’ve seen it so many times, I don’t even know the number. My earliest memory of watching it is asking my mom to put it on and her saying I’ve already seen it. I watch it every year! And I know all the lines.

• What was the hardest poem to write in SO SAYS THE HEART? And in SPEAK YOUR DARKNESS?

The thing about SO SAYS THE HEART is that it’s my recovery book, following a major breakup. I got out of a relationship that was about to get to its 6th year. I had been living with my partner and we were talking marriage. We kept trying to convince each other that we would always be together, there would never be anyone else, etc etc.

But when something isn’t working, that’s what you have to accept. Coming to terms with that was pure agony, but since the beginning, I told my partner that if there are any doubts about being with me, we couldn’t be together. And so it ended. 

That meant SO SAYS THE HEART was painful. I cried writing half of the book. That first half? It’s bitterness and heartbreak and wondering what happened and why. The second part was when I started accepting it. Here’s the thing though: I wrote both parts at the same time, because some day were good, others were bad, and you can grieve a relationship, and grief isn’t some linear path. I was grieving, trying to heal, still grieving, and healing. Back and forth. 

Some line that will always stick out are these, from Father (pg 41 in SSTH):

We are not who we were.

You are not who I loved.

And I am not what you wanted. 

For SPEAK YOUR DARKNESS, it might be Prayer (pg 35).

For context, I was raised Catholic and went to Catholic elementary and secondary school. I went to church every week, went to confession, read the Stations of the Cross every Good Friday. There was always a rosary in my family’s car. I always believed in god until I was a sixteen and falling into depression. I still cry thinking about sitting on my bedroom floor, wondering why I would feel this way and why god would do that to me. I still grapple with religion and when I am at my worst, I always wonder about god.

I stopped looking for angels in the sky.

Don’t press my palms together in prayer.

When I whisper under my breath,

I no longer call out to my god.

If he’s out there, if he’s real,

Then why won’t he hear me?

That is all I can ask of him now. 

• If you watched the show, who is your favorite F.R.I.E.N.D ?

I grew up watching this show but I don’t really care about it, tbh. Unpopular opinion: I don’t think Netflix needed to spend soooo much money to keep the rights to having the show on the platform.

I’ve always liked Rachel’s outfits though.

• Can you tell us more about your next writing projects, both novel and poetry?

Novel-wise, I’ve been revising a fantasy manuscript with con artists and witches, and that’s always been the project of my heart. It’s been so fun working on it again! I’ve also been working on a ghostly YA novel in verse, which should be interesting and hopefully very creepy. I have another project in the works that’s my teen rom-com with a massive trope mashup. And a new YA fantasy set after a revolution. I want to get back to writing romance soon though! Maybe something set in Casa Loma, a castle-styled mansion in Toronto. 

For poetry, I haven’t started on a big project yet, but I’ve been working on short collections that will be Kindle exclusives! The first of the series, LOVE LIKE INSECTS, came out on November 1st and has about 60 pieces.

Romantic poetry has always been my favourite to write and I’m sticking to themes to challenge myself instead of reusing the same metaphors.! For those with Kindle Unlimited, it will be free. 

• What is on the top of your bucket list?

It used to be going to the Philippines, but I actually accomplished that in September 2019! Now, I’m not entirely sure what I would want to before I die. 

I want to see castles. Maybe Versailles? Or Neuschwanstein, the sleeping beauty castle in Germany that inspired Walt Disney. I want to see the tourist-y side of the Philippines with its beaches. 

Wait omg I want to touch a snow leopard and hug a red panda. Is that crazy? Whatever.

• What is your all-time favorite book?

UGH I can never choose. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. I have read it a million times. As mentioned earlier, Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente is iconic. So is The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter. I think I might always love Roshani Chokshi’s The Star-Touched Queen. 

I also LOVE romance books, especially when they make me cry. I think I fully sobbed through Hate to Want You by Alisha Rai and The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang. On the YA side, I think I could read To All the Boys I Loved Before by Jenny Han a hundred times. 

• What is the song you know by heart that you can’t help but sing every time you hear it?

Wannabe by the Spice Girls. That’s my anthem.

About Kess Costales:

Kess Costales (she/her) is a queer Filipino-Canadian author and poet represented by Lesley Sabga of the Seymour Agency. She holds an Honours Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Criminology and works at a receptionist at a non-profit organization in Toronto when she isn’t writing or daydreaming. Since 2019, she has self-published three poetry collections, and has had short stories published online and in print. You can follow her Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Wordpress (@kesscostales).

Meet Lauren Connolly and Her Characters

 By Elisa Houot

Lauren Connolly is a contemporary and paranormal romance author and librarian. She is the author of Rescue me, and took part in the Only One Bed anthology. You can find her on her website. 

Lauren majored in Professional Writing for her undergraduate degree, but never felt like she was truly pursuing a writing career until she started writing every day. The only reason she could stick with her daily writing practice was because she found the genre she loves to write: romance. For years, she avoided admitting how much she adores love stories because of the stigma the romance genre often faces. But when she embraced what she loved to write, that's when getting words on the page became easier.

Lauren’s favorite part about writing is when she elicits an emotional response from herself. This could be making herself cry, but she loves it even more when she makes herself laugh. She figures if she thinks the joke is funny, some reader will, too!

Here is Lauren’s advice for emerging authors: you don't have to write every day, but if you want to finish a project you will have to write during times where you have no inspiration. I believe it is unrealistic to expect bursts of inspiration to get you through an entire manuscript. Take advantage of those times when they come, but don't completely forget about your writing when your ideas feel flat. Keep working on your craft, until you learn how to inspire yourself!

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome! We are delighted to offer you a VIP ticket for our very special show today, starring our equally very special author, Lauren Connolly… and her characters.

Please give a round of applause to our guests…

Paige and Dash, from Rescue Me

Olive and Theo, from The Bed Hierarchy (available in the Only One Bed anthology)

Holly and Ben, from You Only Need One

Hannah and Nathan, from Love and the Library

 

Round One

Paige, Olive, Holly and Hannah sit on a large couch near Lauren while Dash, Theo, Ben and Nathan stay behind the scenes. 

Ladies! We will give you a scenario, and you will have to determine which of these gentlemen over there will be the best to have by your side. You can take your time and discuss it before giving an answer. Lauren will help you if you can’t reach a unanimous decision. The gentleman picked will earn five points.

First scenario. Who is most likely to prepare a grand gesture moment for your birthday? (And, for the utter romantics in the audience, tell us what he would do) 

Hannah – “Nathan definitely would. But he already named a slice of pie after me. Is there a way to top that? Can the guys hear us?” Hannah taps her mic. “Hey, Lucifer, I think you peaked early.”

Paige – “He named a pie after you? Is that an option that exists in this world? Dash, are you taking notes? Oh, sorry, I’m supposed to be on your side. Which I totally am! Um, yeah, so Dash is great at planning fun dates. He always tries to take me somewhere I haven’t been before. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of exploring with him.”

Holly – “Ben and I don’t really do grand. He’s more likely to get me a bunch of small things that would make me happy. My favorite snacks, a new book, a fun board game. I’d rather have all those little gifts than some grand gesture. Plus, we just started a small business together, so money is kinda tight.”

Olive – “Okay, you all are sweet, but I’m warning you now: I’m here to win. Theo would crush a grand gesture. My guy is expected to pull out all the stops on my birthday. We’re talking video slide show of every picture we’ve ever taken together set to the sappiest love song in existence. He’d probably make me a crown, to alert everyone that they are in the presence of a badass. Then there’d be a dinner out on the town, cause he’s a shit cook. I still love him though. At some point during the day he’d find an adorable animal for me to pet, then there’d be a surprise video chat with my family because you do not leave out the Buchanan clan. And since I don’t know the age of our audience, I’m not going to give too much detail about birthday bedtime. But trust me, there’d be plenty of grand stuff happening then, too.”

A silent beat.

Lauren – “Wow, okay. That was a lot, Olive. And that does sound like an awesome grand gesture. But… I think I have to go with Hannah’s Nathan, only because he’s already proved he’s up for a grand gesture with that pie-thing.”

Olive – “Bullshit.”

Hannah – “Score!”

Five points for Hannah and Nathan.

Second scenario. You just fought with your love interest over something stupid, and neither of you is willing to admit they’re wrong. Who would be the most likely, between the four gentlemen, to reach out and apologize? 

Paige – “Dash! We’ve gotten so good at communicating, but also, he’d probably worry I’d tell my parents about our fight. I think my dad scares him. I mean, Dash isn’t really scared of him. Just a little. He may or may not have compared him to the Grim Reaper.”

Olive – “First off, I now want to meet your dad. And second, Theo would have to apologize because I’m never wrong. Just depends how long it takes him to figure that out.”

Hannah – “I’ve got to be honest, I’m not sure Nathan would. Arguing with each other is our thing. We’d probably have to settle the dispute by playing Mario Cart. Loser apologizes!”

Holly – “Ooo, I like that idea. Board game battle would be my choice! But Ben would definitely apologize before we got that far. I mean, I gave the guy my kidney. That pretty much means I win all arguments for the rest of eternity. Not that I’d hold that over him…” 

Lauren – “Good points all around, but Holly is definitely right about Ben. The guy just can’t stay mad at her.”

Five points for Holly and Ben.

Third Scenario. Who is most likely to prepare you a Sunday breakfast after you spent the Saturday night out late with your friends?

Olive - “Theo would make the best breakfast you could ever imagine!”

Hannah – “Didn’t you say he was a shit cook in round one?”

Olive – “Damn it. You weren’t supposed to remember that.”

Hannah – “Sorry. And anyway, Nathan isn’t much better. The guy lives off Kraft mac-n-cheese. But he would kindly escort me to the dining hall and offer to hold my tray for me!”

Holly – “Ben and I cook together all the time, so you can bet he’d have pancakes ready and waiting for me. Plus, my favorite green tea. He might even run to a bakery and grab some almond croissants. Crap, now I’m drooling. Does this game show have snacks?”

Paige – “Dash always makes sure I wake up to the smell of coffee, and after a late night out, I’d need that. Cooking breakfast, though? He’d might try. More likely he’d buy a dozen bagels or grab some beignets.”

Lauren – “Oh gosh, almond croissants versus beignets? That’s a tough one, but I think I have to give it to Dash. That idea of waking up to the smell of fresh coffee really sells it.”

Five points for Paige and Dash.

Lauren – “So that means Hannah and Nathan have five points. Holly and Ben have five. Paige and Dash have five. Then Olive and Theo have zero.”

Olive – “No points? How did we get no points?! This game is rigged!” 

Round Two

This round is called “Prove me you know me…” and this time, we invite Dash, Theo, Ben and Nathan to join their partners on stage. Before coming in front of you, Paige, Olive, Holly and Hannah answered a few questions about themselves. Now, we will test their significant others to see who know his lady best. Each good answer brings three points to the happy couple.

Ladies, when you met your love interest:

1-You were attracted to him but waited for him to prove himself to you before giving him a chance 

2-There was no chance in hell you would ever agree to a date with him

3-It was love at first sight

Ben – “Well, when we met, Holly was all about keeping things above board so nothing went wrong with the kidney donation. So, I’m going to go with option two, no way in hell.”

Holly – “That’s what I said!” Holly shows her whiteboard with the number two written on it. “I mean, I never expected him to be so hot, but I was still set on us only being friendly, nothing more.”

Ben – “But I wore you down.”

Holly – “You did. Weren’t happy with just a kidney, were you?” Holly sticks her tongue out at Ben.

Nathan – “I’m also going with number two. Shorty hated me when we first met.”

Hannah – “Well you called me Shorty! But he’s right. I thought he was Lucifer come to torment me. Still think that, only I fell for his devilish ways.” She holds up a board with number two.

Dash – “Uh, well, Paige had just gone through a bad break up, so I’m also going to say option two.”

Paige – “Dash! You dope! You’re the sexiest man I’ve ever seen, and you were working at a dog shelter. What straight woman wouldn’t have wanted to jump your bones immediately? Honestly, I was waffling between option one and three, but yeah, that break up was bad and I wasn’t ready to trust another man just because the sight of him set my panties on fire. Anyway, I said number one. Just waiting for you to prove I could trust someone again.”

Dash blushes furiously as his eyes try to devour Paige from across the stage.

Theo – “Well—”

Olive – “You better get this right.”

Theo – “I was—”

Olive – “We have zero points. I do not accept zero points.”

Theo – “Olive—”

Olive – “Just look into my eyes and read my mind.”

Theo – “Three! Happy?”

Olive beams across the stage. “Hell, yeah I am.” She holds up a board with the number three. “I knew he was the one the second he boosted me out a bathroom window so the cops wouldn’t catch us at that frat party. You know you’ve got a good guy when they help you run from the police.”

Theo – “Of course. It wasn’t my personality, or my intelligence, or my looks. Just my willingness to act as your accomplice.”

Olive blows him a kiss. “Love you.”

Theo rolls his eyes even as he grins.

Ladies, what is your partner’s most annoying habit you wish you could change?

Ben – “I’m going to say my obsession with comedies from the nineties, probably. Half the time I talk in Chris Farley quotes.”

Holly – “That doesn’t actually bother me. You know what does?” She holds up her board.

Ben – “Dark night walking? What does that mean? Like, a batman thing?”

Holly – “No! The fact that you walk around at night without turning any lights on. It freaks me the hell out! I keep thinking our place is haunted.”

Ben chuckles. “Yeah, I should probably stop that seeing as how you chuck things at my head whenever I do.”

Holly – “It’s self-defense.”

Nathan – “I’m not sure this counts as a bad habit, but I’m going to go with claiming the chair in the library she likes.”

Hannah – “It does count!” She holds up a board that reads ‘stealing the chair’. 

Dash clears his throat. “I guess, Paige doesn’t like it when I skip meals. Sometimes I forget to eat during the day. You know, I get busy, then it’s time to clock out, and I haven’t had lunch.”

Paige – “Yes!” Paige holds up a board that says, ‘Not eating enough’. “I want to feed him all the time. I’m constant shoving food in his pockets hoping he’ll remember.”

Theo sits in silence, staring at Olive.

Olive – “Well? Are you going to give an answer?”

Theo – “Just waiting to hear if you have any pre-answer commentary.”

Olive – “Smartass.”

Theo – “You know it. I’m going to say, Olive hates when I work during vacation. Since I work remotely for the most part, it’s hard to shut off that part of my brain even when we’re supposed to be relaxing.”

Olive – “You sir, are the smartest of asses.” Shows her board with ‘Not respecting vacation time!’ “Often I have to use creative threats to get him to power down his laptop.”

Theo shrugs. “Not sure I mind.”

Ladies, what are your all-time favorite songs?

Ben – “Crap. We always listen to Preston and Steve when we’re in the car together, but that’s a radio show. Um, music you like… maybe Kelly Clarkson?”

Holly – “Not a bad guess. But that’s not what I wrote.” She holds up a board that reads ‘In My Blood by Shawn Mendes’. She shrugs. “Kinda reminds me of you. And me. And how we didn’t give up.”

“I like that song,” Ben says softly, and they share a smile across the stage.

Nathan starts singing off key, “I like me better when I’m you.”

Hannah sings back, “I like me better when I’m with you.” She holds up a board with the words ‘I Like Me Better by Lauv.’

Nathan – “She played that on repeat for week straight.”

Hannah – “Still love it!”

Dash – “Paige likes listening to country. There’s this one song she always plays when she’s driving her Impala on some backroads. I think it’s called My Church.”

Paige – “I can’t believe you remembered!” She holds up her board with ‘My Church by Maren Morris.’

Theo – “Just based off of what you sing in the shower I’m going with WAP.”

Olive – “Damn it! You’re right, I should’ve written that. Still, your guess was in the ballpark.” She holds up a board with ‘Pynk by Janelle Monáe.’ 

Theo – “Ah, no, you’re right. I should’ve known you go with Monáe. That’s my bad.”

Olive sighs in defeat. “Maybe we should stick to beer pong instead of trivia.”

And our winning couple tonight, with twenty points, is…

Hannah and Nathan!

Thank you so much for joining us tonight, and we hope this made you want to read more about our lovely couples and their stories.

Nathan crouches down so Hannah can latch onto his back for a piggyback ride. They then proceed to march around the stage, cheering in triumph over their glorious victory.