The Grooming

The Making of a Collector

Advance Reader Copy

Genres

Dark Fiction, Coming of Age, Gay Fiction, Literary Fiction, Psychological, LGBT Fiction, and Novellas

Trigger Warnings

Sex and Abuse

Type of Ending

AI Usage^Beta

Series

Second or higher in series

Series Read Order

Reading prior books is recommended, but not required

Author Prefers A Review On

Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, or Apple Books

Reader Spots Remaining

Number of days to read

Publication Date

Dec 15, 2026

Page Length

116 pages

Available Formats

ePub and PDF

The Grooming

The Making of a Collector

Advance Reader Copy

Blurb

He survived by becoming the very thing that destroyed him.

A young man believes he has found mentorship and belonging in the arms of a powerful older man. What begins as seduction slowly reveals itself as a meticulous system of control disguised as care.

As the illusions crack, the boy learns the rules of the game. He learns how to serve. How to wait. How to watch. And eventually, how to collect.

A chilling literary prequel to Married Men, which is not required to be read first.

Content Notes: The Grooming explores adult grooming (adults grooming adults), emotional manipulation, and psychological trauma. Reader discretion is advised.

Details

Genres

Dark Fiction, Coming of Age, Gay Fiction, Literary Fiction, Psychological, LGBT Fiction, and Novellas

Trigger Warnings

Sex and Abuse

Type of Ending

AI Usage^Beta

Series

Second or higher in series

Series Read Order

Reading prior books is recommended, but not required

Author Prefers A Review On

Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, or Apple Books

Reader Spots Remaining

Number of days to read

Publication Date

Dec 15, 2026

Page Length

116 pages

Available Formats

ePub and PDF

Author

Rory Calder writes autofiction of systems—power, hypocrisy, desire—in prose that stays detached even when the material does not. Married Men is the first: a cold look at British class and institutional facades, clinical and explicit. He writes at the colder edge of Hollinghurst and Greenwell, and leaves the apology out.