Byrd Koto | Updates

New book release: Our Funny Love Story

Byrd Koto — Mon, 2 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

My debut novel is out!

A novel that was first conceived in the back of a taxi when a popular song played on the stereo. In that moment, all I could see was twilight reflecting off a glass-and-concrete landscape.

One year later, it has moved from the recesses of my brain and into your hands.

One misdelivered package. Two men hiding behind very different masks. Three stories that bind them together in a megacity of millions.

OUR FUNNY LOVE STORY is out today.

🔍 Literary Mystery 🏠 True Grumpy/Fake Sunshine 🇯🇵 Set in Tokyo

It’s Book 1 of a duet—a darkly ironic Achillean mystery for those who like their banter hot, their protagonists outrageous (at times!), their burn simmering, and their prose introspective.

WHERE TO PURCHASE

Available now in print and digital on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo (free to read on Kobo Plus!), Apple Books, Google Play, Smashwords, Blackwell's, Bookshop.org, and most places where books are sold. Visit https://byrdkoto.com/books/our-funny-love-story for the full set of shop links!

If you're in Asia, my book is also available for purchase on major bookstore websites, including Kinokuniya (Japan, Singapore) and Eslite (Taiwan).

As always, if you'd like to support an indie author's debut, please consider making your purchase on my online shop (Byrd's Bookshop) at https://payhip.com/ByrdKoto (if shipping isn't too costly!). You get better bang for your buck: better quality than KDP paperbacks :0), cheaper than retail, more goodies! You'll also find stuff that you won't find anywhere else ;-)

By removing the middleman, I'll also earn a larger cut, which will be used to fund future projects. They are coming!

Byrd's Bookshop (All prices in USD)

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A (new) indie author's pesky conundrum: eyeballs or creative peace?

Byrd Koto — Sat, 21 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Welcome to my little corner of the Internet, where I share my thoughts on all things book- and writing-related, from the perspective of an ESEA (East and Southeast Asia) indie author based in Singapore.

Ahead of the launch of my debut novel, Our Funny Love Story, I've been thinking a lot. More than usual, actually, especially with my writing soon to be released to a wider audience internationally. What was personal is no longer just mine, but yours, yours, and yours.

I will always wonder: how are you, the reader, interacting with the text? Are you engaged? Are you bored? Are you swimming between the layers? Are you pleading for the characters to smooch? Or holding a shovel and excavating earth to hit the heart of the truth?

On top of these, I've been pondering how I can engage with the world more meaningfully. Can I balance the fun with introspection? There is an urge to dive more deeply into topics I feel strongly about, but I often find myself constrained by the demands of social media and what draws eyeballs, and, even more painfully, held back by the luck of the draw when it comes to having my content seen. A common complaint, as you're sure to see.

As a cave-dwelling troll who recently emerged into the blinding world of social media (please note that I'm the kind of person who only updates personal socials twice a year), I have come to dislike, yes, dislike, that I'm subconsciously reshaping my thoughts into trendy soundbites when I should be digging my heels into my novel, clumsy and fragmented however the words are. I did feel that, for a period of time, my writing lacked clarity, and I wonder if that was because I wrote hurriedly, chasing after some invisible timeline so I could quickly move on to other tasks. Which includes steamrolling into Canva and making pretty posts to promote my book launch.

Writing this a week from launch (March 2nd), this feels deeply ironic.

Indie authors are invisible unless they shout about their work and pray the algorithm takes a fancy to them; that is the inevitable tragedy of being a creative in the modern era. It can easily turn into a content hamster wheel if we aren't careful. It's all fun and games until you realize, does this pretty graphic with 1,000 likes sell a single copy?

You start calculating. Your time versus the measurable value you receive in return. Time that can be spent writing. Reading. With your family. Out in the sun. Instead, you're using Canva to batch content from templates, which, while it saves you time, makes your work no different from anyone else's. It's loud, and getting louder.

The human need to compare with others and think, if I do that, maybe I can succeed too, is placed in a petri dish under a terrifying microscope once you log into the app.

Attention is a scarce resource, and the flashiest tend to win, as measured by whatever metrics of the week the social media overlords deem ideal for keeping eyeballs scrolling on the app. Content generation is rewarded with dopamine hits—the feeling of being liked, admired, or even respected by fellow scrollers. Dopamine keeps the monkey brain happy and willing to pump out even more content. It can seem impossible to step off the wheel, because how else can one measure their marketing efforts to push their work into view for others? What other free platforms are there? It's either you pay with cash (run ads) or time (social media soapbox).

But attention also compounds. The more you put out something, the more likely it is to register in a person's mind.

At the end of the day, we are writers who use social media as a marketing tool to promote our work, form communities, and find our readers. Creative work and marketing are completely different creatures. Some writers have managed to maintain a balance. Some, like me, need to drop into a hole and forget that the world exists when I write. When you pick a side, you are choosing the trade-off. And it's not an easy answer to accept.

To write means to slow down and let my thoughts percolate and pour onto the page. When I write, I need to hear my voice, and being on social media drowns that out.

At the end of the day, I do prefer longer-form text over the quick, snazzy cuts that social media so favors. Visibility is so vital for a new author in the indie space, and being on socials less means I'd be sacrificing that aspect. Still, I guess the moment I've decided on what I want to write (Asian-centered stories with queer protagonists), I've made my peace with the fact that my books will almost always reach a limited audience.

I suppose this marks a new way for me to engage with greater intention.

I'll gradually shift toward posting longer pieces on my website and newsletter (crossposting from Substack), while keeping the fun, snappy updates on my socials at a reduced pace. Of course, I will always prioritize writing the best book I can write at that given point in time -- and write more deeply, I shall.

And I hope you stick around for more.

My debut novel, Our Funny Love Story, launches on March 2nd. It's a story of two faces: MM screwball romcom meets queer literary fiction. An ode to complicated editor-author dynamics set against the backdrop of contemporary Tokyo, early readers have praised its lucid prose and striking semiotics, as well as its unexpected complexity in character dynamics.

Image from Dupe Photos.

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Our Funny Love Story: Now Available to Request on NetGalley

Byrd Koto — Sun, 18 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Good news -- if you'd want to read my debut Achillean literary mystery before it releases on March 2nd, here's your last chance to do so!

You can now request via NetGalley at this link: https://www.netgalley.com/publisher/title/780669.

There will be no more ARC runs after this, so grab your advance copy for review before February 2nd!

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Announcement: Preorder Campaign (through March 1, 2026)

Byrd Koto — Fri, 19 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Guess what?

I'm launching a preorder campaign for Our Funny Love Story through March 1, 2026!

With every order of Our Funny Love Story, you will receive two high-res digital wallpapers - featuring Ran and Eizo in two incredibly classic scenes, illustrated by xiehuajun (cover art) and Ferilily87 (fight! art). No, I'm not trying to make you stare at these two nerds for longer than necessary.

The eBook is currently available for preorder, and I'm working to get the paperback listed for sale by the middle of February. More updates to come on that!

Preorder Our Funny Love Story today:

Payhip (Byrd's Bookshop) | Amazon | All other retailers

Here's how you will receive your preorder gifts:

For preorders on my Payhip store, you will receive an email from Payhip to download the wallpapers after your purchase is confirmed. If you have already preordered on Payhip before this announcement, please click 'Download Now' in your Payhip email to download the updated files.
For other platforms such as Amazon, Kobo, Apple Books, Smashwords, etc., please fill in the Tally form here. Preorder gifts will be emailed directly to you from hello@byrdkoto.com by March 15, 2026.
A note on preorders: All eBook files will be delivered to you on March 2, 2026. For Payhip, it will be delivered by BookFunnel. For other platforms, they should be added to your library immediately and downloaded on the publication day, depending on their practices.

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Advanced Reader Copies for Our Funny Love Story are now available

Byrd Koto — Fri, 31 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

My debut novel, Our Funny Love Story, is now open for ARC sign-ups!

What is it about?

Our Funny Love Story is the first book in a duet and is part of the Resistance series—a LGBTQIA+ contemporary romantic genre-blender set in Tokyo.

This tale is perfect for readers craving a book that combines the intimate dynamics of love and social class found in Sally Rooney's work and the humor of Alexis Hall's romcoms into a literary whodunit (no dead bodies here, only wounded hearts).

Or if you enjoy danmei crossed with contemporary fiction, my book could totally be up your alley ;-)

What can I expect from this book?

Genre-blender (romance, comedy, mystery, literary fiction)
Dual third-person POV
Asian/BIPOC-centered stories
Enemies-to-lovers
Editor x Author dynamics
Slow-burn Achillean romance
Barbed banter meets bawdy wordplay (with five-star insults!)
Neurotic characters who need a hug
Complicated family relationships
Amateur sleuth type of mystery
Stories that twist and turn like puzzle boxes

If the above interests you and you'd like to nab an early copy to read, sign up at this link (Google Forms) by December 4.

[Update: Signups have now closed.]