Here’s a sneak peak into my very human process of writing and publishing.
1) Calm Momo (the cat that just scratched my chair right now and who wants treats.)
2) Write episodes and send them to my alpha reader. Incorporate feedback. Post to my subscription community on REAM once a month.
3) Revise a set of episodes into a volume. Write the front and back matter. (That’s all the extras like author notes, “also by” book list, a glossary of non-English words because I dip into other languages a fair bit, etc)
4) And then this step, OFFER TO BETA readers. What do beta readers do? They are readers who want to be part of the very human process of refining a work of art. They read the book before it’s gone to the copyeditor but after it’s been through a content edit and the author is pretty solid on the story and the language. This is where the author is seeking reader feedback, which is so, so different from professional feedback. Often there will be a list of prompts to help a beta reader easily give feedback. If an author is a soldier in the war of art, then beta readers are civilians and not expected to be trained for combat!
5) After beta reader feedback, I go back and make sure all the scenes are communicating what I intended and nothing got left in my head. It happens. Or in one particular case, right at the end, Appa (the other cat) erased one very important line that entirely changed the meaning of a scene and led to some feedback that made no sense at first!
6) Send to a professional copyeditor.
7) Format. Upload to all the distributers and storefront for pre-order.
8) Send out to ARC readers for reviews and buzz.
9) Make sure I’m very deep in the process of the next book so the pitchforks don’t catch me when everyone demands the next book.
So I am on STEP FOUR right now. Signups are now open for beta reading Prior Claim, Volume 1 of Sanctum.
MXM Dark Second Chance Romance
Start of a serial. There will be a cliff hanger and 1-3 months between books.
HEA by end of serial.
I am specifically looking for readers who have NOT read my The Residency Boys serials, as this is a spinoff stand alone and part of the beta reading feedback I will be asking for is that this serial reads strong on its own, even though the reading experience can be augmented by reading The Residency Boys. If you have read The Residency Boys, that’s fine. Feel free to reach out anyway, but I’m looking for a mix of beta readers.
Prior Claim
Sanctum: Episodes 1-3
A dark second chance romance
Sanctum Book 1 • MXM • Romantic Suspense • Second Chance Romance • International Crime • Found Family • Interracial Romance • Trauma • Hurt/Comfort
10 years ago: Ellisandre staggered out past their pile of kills. Blood seeped down their cheek, beneath the shattered bullet proof vest, and the wounds in their legs. Phone to ear, they spoke: “It wasn’t supposed to be this way.” This would be over soon.“Bal.”
“Yes?” Sevastyan’s voice came through the phone, strained, like he was trying not to cry.
“Remember what I told you in Berlin. No one has permission to kill you. No one but me.”
“I remember.”
“So if I’m dead, you’re not allowed to die.” Ellisandre laughed. It was simple. The world might keep the two of them apart, but as long as he followed that one rule, as long as their will was iron above him, he would survive. Even if Ellisandre did not.
Ten years ago, Ellisandre tore a hole through the Eurasian criminal underground and disappeared, presumed dead. Now that same underworld is reaching out again, threatening the lives and freedom of their new chosen family, and bringing back someone they had lost.
Born into the fall of the Soviet Union, Sevastyan didn’t so much learn to survive as to persist. Created as a hostage for his father’s loyalty and used as a pawn for his mother’s plans, he learned to manipulate the rich and powerful to sate her appetite. Shattered by Ellisandre’s death, he lost the last of himself to the darkness of the criminal underworld, trapped by an oath. Now as a grown man, what little power he holds has been bought with blood and the sacrifice of his soul. His greatest crime is also his greatest living love, the slave he rescued from fire and execution, Rei.
Rei has surrendered any hope of freedom. No longer a valuable slave because of his burns, his greatest desire is for the lines on Sevastyan’s face to ease. Bound together by a secret, all he can do is follow his master into the most dangerous rooms the world has to offer and plot with him to bring them down.
Sevastyan cannot forget what it meant to kneel willingly at Ellisandre’s feet. Rei cannot face the world without his master, and Ellisandre…
…Ellisandre was never going to be mere a footnote in the lives others. They bathed the world in blood once, for righteousness sake. How much further will they go this time, when they come to claim the man they lost, and the slave he saved?
This serial is a dark, modern MMM+ chosen family romance with strong noncon, dubcon, and consensual BDSM elements intended for mature audiences only. While Ellisandre, Sevastyan, and Rei are the central triad, this is a firmly polyamorous romance. There is no cheating. If you like your romance difficult and explicit, then this story is for you.
Trigger Warning for Full Serial as I know them now: This list cannot be exhaustive but it will give you an idea.
- On page page murder.
- Psychotic parents
- Noncon/dubcon
- Consensual power exchange (very different from line above)
- Consensual BDSM
- Triad and other multiple dynamics
- Ethical non-mongomy
- Blood play
- Knife
- Guns where guns shouldn’t be
- Bondage
- Human trafficking
- Disassociation
- Burn victim and depictions of fire in a dwelling
- The grayest version of a knight in cracked armor
- MC’s who’s pronouns have changed over time
- Suicidal considerations
- C-PTSD
- References (no on page) to s3xual predation of minors. (They get what’s coming to them)
I will screen potential beta readers and reaching out it not a garantee of being invited in. That’s partially because I can only handle so many beta readers and partially because, well, I’ve been doing this a while and I’ve seen things. *cue long, distance, dark stare*
That said, I am friendly and there will also be openings for ARC readers! Also, if you just want to talk books and romance, and process, I’m a real human. So, if you’d like to beta read Prior Claim, email me at ciaradarren@gmail.com.
Ciara Darren 