Reading MM books on KoboPlus

I’ve been getting multiple requests recently to share a list I crowdsourced last year for MM authors on Kobo. 

Click here for the Google Spreadsheet “MM Authors on Kobo”. 

I haven’t hand-checked everything. The sheet is open for other people to add authors as they find them. Email me at ciaradarren@gmail.com if you find an author has left Kobo and is incorrectly listed.

Also, Kobo has the Kobo Plus reading and listening subscription program. And services MORE countries than Amazon. Here’s the linked for the U.S: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/plus

For unlimited ebook and audio book listening, Kobo+ is $9.99 in the U.S.A. I’m not seeing Canadian and Australian prices, but if you’re from that region, search “Kobo Plus (insert region)” in a search engine and you should find it really easily. 

Kobo+ is in so many more countries and offers books in so many more languages: Do you see your flag below? Then Kobo+ is available in your region. 

And for those who need text based: Kobo Plus is available in: Canada, United States, India, South Africa, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Mexico, and Peru. 

Pros of Kobo+: 

  • Affordable
  • Does not stop authors from publishing their books elsewhere. Yay!!
  • Serves a wide range or regions and languages. 
  • The Kobo reading app combines ebooks and audio books in one place. Very easy to use. 
  • The app will remember your books, let you make lists, and helps you find new books. 
  • Kobo has their own e-reading device. You don’t have to get it but it’s well liked. 

Cons of Kobo+

  • If you’ve only been in KU, your favorite authors will probably not be here. You will need to find additional favorites. 
  • Most big FB author groups are full of readers who only read in KU, and therefore only recommend KU. This can make you feel socially isolated as a reader. 
  • The web store for Kobo is not as granular as Amazon, so finding books organically is harder. 
  • With fewer readers than Amazon, there are fewer reviews. Most services to help authors get reviews are Amazon-focused, so Kobo can feel like the frontier. Dig back into the old days of reading fanfic and never knowing if it will be good or crazy, or just plain odd. But with a subscription, it doesn’t matter too much. You can just send it back after a page or two. 

Helpful new habits: things I learned after going 11 months in Kobo+ and not using KU. 

  • Sign up for book deals on sites like Bookbub, and BookCave AND change your store preferences to Kobo. This means when you get offered deals, you can actually buy/borrow them. 
  • Join the baby groups on FB like MM Books for Kobo Readers to share and talk to other Kobo readers.
  • You will miss your favorite authors. So:
    • Write them and tell them where you are reading. Most don’t believe they can leave KU and still afford to write. 
    • Buy your favorite authors that are stuck in KU in paperback on other stores, direct from their websites, and sign-up for their newsletters if they are willing to offer direct sales of their ebooks for a week or two before publishing onto Amazon. 
    • Work on finding new favorites while still supporting your already favorite authors. 
  • Recommend Kobo published books to others  and direct fellow readers there. The more people read on Kobo, the richer the environment gets.

Kobo has real people behind the scenes. If enough readers ask for something, like nuanced search abilities, it can happen. So don’t be afraid to reach out and ask Kobo to change things or improve your experience. 

Do use the app. It does make reading Kobo books and starting to create a curated recommendation list of Kobo published books so much easier. 

And remember, you have this whole list of over 300 MM authors on Kobo to explore, just to get your started.

Writing in the “After”

I love reading the works of authors with deep backlists, going back through time with them and seeing how their work changes, turns, and flourishes. Sometimes it contracts for a while, and then new life or new ideas suddenly flare, or they dig deep into a theme. Even though we, as readers, don’t know the author like a personal friend, we know them, in a way. We read the ripples at the top of their souls. 

There are stories that can only be written in the after. Whatever that after is for the author. After growing older. After losing a loved one. After surviving. After witnessing something. After falling in love. After falling out of love. 

Each story that I’ve ever written has only been possible because of an after. And many stories can only be written in a certain way as long as they are before whatever is coming. Sometimes I write with speed to capture something before I’m no longer the person that can pen those words. Words are said to make us immortal, but the formulation of words, the painting of stories, has made me acutely aware of existing in a river of life that flows through the ever-changing landscapes of oneself. So as I read the words of authors, I appreciate those words were caught in a moment and held still long enough for me to meet them. 

Collin, my first serial in The Residency Boys Universe, was the result of so many afters. I love him as he was the moment he met Mr. Reevesworth in that cafe, confused and anxious, quietly desperate in a way he didn’t even recognize because it was his normal. I love him in every stage of his pain and confusion as he’s offered a place and a home, a dom and a sir, and lovers. I love him in his beautiful HEA. Collin is a love letter, to him, to myself, to my readers. 

When I finished his arc and knew that the next cycle belonged to Damian and Jun, there was a little sadness, but also an understanding that I needed a few more afters to understand Collin’s next steps. I’d written myself dry and given him everything I had. But he’s growing again. There will be more love letters, woven into all the stories in which Collin appears and into his own episodes as they come. 

Call for BETA Readers

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.

Update after Long Hiatus

It’s been a long time since I wrote anything on this blog. In a world of AI, questions of authenticity, and widespread loneliness, it makes sense to come back and invest in that human connection we all need like water. 

Quick update on the last few years: 

2023

I started what I thought would be a small contemporary novella, just to see if I could write romance and write something short. It had been a rough year. I’m not yet ready to talk publicly about why. Sometimes, once you’re really safe, you break down the worst. My partner was amazing, but we were physically alone, far away from friends or family. Since I couldn’t pick up the book I’d been trying to finish, I wrote around twenty-thousand words of a story I called Collin for lack of any better idea and sent it off to a friend. 

She loved it. Demanded more. It took me a few months, but I found more and sent that to her as well. She demanded even more. There may have been threats. More became a full serial, fifteen episodes, five books, and my first completed serial. By the time 2023 finished, I was at my desk every day, writing towards deadlines, a full world unfurling around me. The question of whether or not I could write short had been decidedly answered. No. But long was good. 

2024

Finished publishing Collin and started work on the sequel serial, Damian & Jun. Each month, one new episode went up for advanced readers on Ream. My partner and I sold our house in Georgia and moved back to Chicago. I discovered Taylor Swift and started paying attention to more media that wasn’t the news. So much good music out there. 

    2025

    Damian & Jun was completed and published. Each new story challenges me in a new way. The content of that story has deep meaning for me. And I was brave enough to write song lyrics and include them in the text. 

    The plan after Damian & Jun was to go back to the fantasy world of UnChosen. I even wrote about forty thousand new fantasy words in August and September, but my heart was still with the world of The Residency Boys. So were the demands of my readers. The story of Ellisandre, Sevastyan, and Rei would not leave me alone. I started working on their love saga and the words flowed in earnest. In the end, the title became Sanctum (previous Sanctuary), as there was no way I was getting all three of the MC’s names  on a book cover. Episodes of Sanctum (under the working title Sanctuary that needs to be updated) have been going up on Ream for several months. 

      I’m so grateful to all the reviewers, ARC readers, beta readers, my alpha reader, my husband, and friends who have been supportive and encouraging. 2026 will see Sanctum coming out in book form.

      Mars Chastises Cupid

      Mars Chastises Cupid (image obtained from wikipedia.com and labeled for reuse.)

      When I turned around and saw this gorgeously colored work of art on the wall, I was rather surprised to see it hung in public. I can only suppose you know in what directions my thoughts were running. And evidently, I’m not the only one. It is large, at least five feet tall and three feet wide. The placard on the wall had some statement eluding to Mars pushing Cupid for making him have an affair with the woman in the painting. I had eyes only for Cupid and Mars, however. In person, the women in the left hand corner rather fades from sight, when compared to Cupid’s glowing skin and the raw energy of Mars.

      So, my dear readers, I ask you, what do you see? If you go over it carefully, does Cupid look like he is being punished? Is he struggling? Do you see his hand, nearly relaxed in Mar’s grip? Does Mars actually appear that angered or is he enjoying himself?

      I saw a piece of beautifully kinky homoerotic art.  What do you see? Do you agree with some viewers as quoted in the Chicago Tribune?

      Out of all the old paintings, this was definitely my favorite of the day.

      Do share if you have a favorite piece of old art that has been sanctified by time.

      Walk Away Girl, Walk Away

      Long Climb in China

      The moment of walking away stays with you forever. The emotions can be so pure and yet conflicted. Sitting on the back of a public bus driving towards the international airport in South Korea, I remember clear pictures, flashes of realizations. The blue seat of the bus. The blue sky with white clouds. The small Asian style trucks rushing by.

      I opened my purse and pulled out all the small change. It was useless to me. Too small to change at the currency counter. I held the coins in my hands, money I had worked and cried for, in tiny pieces, too small to be of any future use.

      They trickled through my fingers onto the blue seat.

      I stood up. I walked away. I left those tiny coins behind and I left behind a job that had torn me apart inside.

      It felt like laughter and it felt like weeping. I walked alone into the terminal, not flying home and not leaving home. Just walking away from something that had treated me wrong.

      There was terror. There was liberty. There was real danger and real joy.

      I was a just a girl with her suitcase, looking for a better life, willing to leave the dross behind.

      We Are…

      Edited Xi'an consort There is no monster as great as man. No vampire, no dark lord, no werewolf or dragon is as frightening as a human bent on his darker nature.  

      And there is no creature as beautiful. No elven image that does not borrow from the best of humanity, no goddess that is not displayed in all her glory as woman.

      Weeping, I acknowledge that both qualities, horror and beauty reside within in the human condition.

      We are the fantastical.