Queer romances for romantic queers
Queer joy is real, and our stories deserve better: contemporary queer romance where every good person gets the ending they deserve - and a future written by their own rules, not someone else's limits.
The International love and misadventure series
My first series is currently in production! Starlight and Cinnamon is out now, available online and at local retailers. A Courtship in Quarantine comes out December 9, and the third book will be ready for your eager eyes and hearts in March. These are three stories about best friends finding love in the most unexpected places: like in Auckland, while stealing a lab monkey, or right in the middle of a panic attack. These books are for anyone who’s ever needed to see queer love win—and win big.
Hi, I’m Jem (a.k.a. Jacquelyn Merrill Ruiz)
I’m a queer, neurodivergent writer with a Master of Professional Writing from USC, three poetry collections, and a soft spot for stories where love wins, and systemic bullshit doesn’t.
Under the name Jem Spears, I write contemporary queer romance full of found family, kissing, chaos, and the kind of endings we deserve.
Too many queer stories have been erased, sidelined, or stuck with tragic endings. I’m here to write something better. These books are resistance and softness, joy and fire—because we need to see ourselves in stories to believe we can live them.