iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

so so excited to be working with Fab and Ki Agency!

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

so so excited to work with Sunyi - 2026 is going to be great 😎

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

when your tattoo artist says "I think this might be my masterpiece" and then DOESN'T INCLUDE YOUR TATTOO IN THEIR YEAR-END ROUNDUP 😒😒😒

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

2025 reading stats 📚 Read: 26 (all ebook, as I generally borrow from the library then purchase if I think I'll read it again) Purchased: 25 (15 physical, 11 ebook, 7 indie) TBR (aka purchased but not read): 11 😅 a lotta horror 👻 a lotta romance 💞 a lotta gay 🌈

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

sometimes, writing challenges your own biases male character: My wife... me: hold on 🤔 male character: My HUSBAND me: better

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 28/12/2025

me: I'm going to finish the draft of this book by the end of the year! narrator: she did in fact finish the draft, if we ignore the fact that the final ten chapters are just bullet points

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 26/12/2025

50 degrees in Salt Lake City and my rose bush is still going strong snow where are you 😭

A red rose blooms on December 26 in Utah

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 24/12/2025

my thoughts on the Avatar movies: can I tell you the plot of any of the movies? no can I name any of the characters? no can I tell you why mr man is special to one group and wanted by the other? no can I quote any line beyond "BRO!"? no can I tell you how the whales got all pierced and tatted up? no

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

how are things going? well, three indicator lights are currently on in my car, if that tells you anything

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

as my family says, it's easy to know things if you make them up

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 15/12/2025

[ ] man [ ] woman [X] feminist marxist whore

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

every day I wage war against the machines (the automatic faucets and soap dispensers in my office)

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 08/12/2025

straight women: the romance genre is important because it centers women's pleasure! also straight women: I like MM romance because I like dick also also straight women: I don't like FF romance because it's yucky

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

consumerism and IG ads got me good this week 😩 I bought: - $200 pillow - mason jar vacuum sealer - fancy tens unit - quilted velvet jacket someone delete my credit card info from my password manager plzzz

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

me: I'm going to finish the first draft of this book by the end of November! narrator: she did not finish the first draft by the end of November

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 30/11/2025

I think I am one of the few people in Utah who LOVES when it snows in the valley I live somewhere with 4 distinct seasons and I want to experience each season to the fullest, dammit!

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 29/11/2025

the haircut I had vs the haircut I wanted vs the haircut I got

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

just learned that my 27yo coworker didn't know Wicked has anything to do with the Wizard of Oz... AND he's also never seen the Wizard of Oz

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 23/11/2025

inversion season starting off strong

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 22/11/2025

I... 🤢 proof that both dirty talk and writing smut are skills not everyone has

“Yr open mouth awaiting my harvest,” Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is now the Secretary of Health and Human Services, had written to my then-fiancé. “Drink from me Love.”

He continued, “I mean to squeeze your cheeks to force open your mouth. I’ll hold your nose as you look up at me to encourage you to swallow. ‘Dont spill a drop’. I am a river You are my canyon. I mean to flow through you. I mean to subdue and tame you. My Love.”

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

had to make a PPT for my friend to teach him about the book drama on Threads this week and the discourse has already moved onto something new 😅

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

my brother asked to borrow my (thrifted) copy of ACOTAR but couldn't find it on the shelf... ...because he was literally looking for a book titled "ACOTAR"

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 18/11/2025

my male coworker who unfortunately knows I'm a writer: Do I get to read your book? me, thinking about the explicit lesbian strap on scene I wrote last night: Mmmm, probably not

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

the salt flats is a much better and cooler location for the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives opening than the muddy puddle they tried to glam up last season

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

why do some coconut body products smell like summer in a bottle and others smell like cheese

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

If you love a "punch your feelings out" lesbian... ...then meet Cass, who is: A dozen mommy issues in a trench coat (2 moms=twice the issues) The family disappointment A contract fighter Looking for revenge 1 of 2 POVs in the #A adult #S speculative lesbian #R romance I am #Q querying #QuestPit

Adora from She-Ra says "I'm the punch your feelings out" guy

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

If you finished Arcane wishing for a Sevika spin-off... ...then you should meet Vaniya: Bodyguard➡️assassin➡️the Butcher Rebel leader So scary it's 🔥 1 of 2 POVs in the #A adult #S speculative lesbian #R romance I am #Q querying #QuestPit

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 01/11/2025

An #agentguide to 🐦‍⬛WHITE RAVEN, WHITE LILY🐦‍⬛ an adult lesbian #romance told through #dualPOV and set in a no-magic second world with #fantasy vibes #amquerying #lgbt #ownvoices #speculative #litagents #writingcommunity

Freedom above all
WHITE RAVEN, WHITE LILY
Speculative lesbian Romance
125K

PITCH
In a city suffering under the boot heel of invaders, a woman fighting for the freedom of her people is confronted with her past when the daughter of the fascist leader she murdered comes looking for revenge.

THEMES
A critique on colonialism, capitalism, and classism, this novel examines the generational cycle of violence and what it takes to end the cycle. The romance explores how to build an equal partnership when there are power imbalances, on both sides.

AUDIENCE
For fans of queer romance that’s a little dark but not too dark, speculative fiction lovers who like light fantasy and dystopian, readers looking for second-world settings not based on European societies, those who enjoy their fiction with a large helping of societal critique, and anyone who enjoyed the television series Arcane.

A comparison of media and WHITE RAVEN, WHITE LILY that notes what elements they have in common. Media includes: The Starving Saints, Arcane, The Unbroken, Fable for the End of the World, Blood Over Bright Haven.

FIRST PAGE
Cass had just knocked the other fighter out to the roaring cheers of the crowd when she saw her.
In a box seat, surrounded by pipe smoke and velvet suits, a woman leaned forward, elbows on her knees, head cocked.
A woman Cass had not seen in over a decade. The woman she had come to this cesspool to find. The woman she had spent the past six months searching for.
The woman she was going to murder.
The woman met her eyes and smirked.
Copper tinged the air, the blood on Cass’s knuckles hot and wet. Her fists clenched as she imagined whacking away that smirk. Walloping and walloping until the woman could never smirk again, never blink again, never breathe again. Pummeling until her hands were stained red.
The woman had blood on her hands, too. The blood of Cass’s parents.
After the fights ended, Cass snagged her jacket from the locker room and darted back down the tunnel to the pit. Concentric rings of ancient concrete walls circled the pit. Stairs in each ring led from the arena floor at the bottom to the street level several stories above. Cass dashed up the stairs two at a time, hoping she hadn’t missed her chance.

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

I knew this one was mine 😅 maybe I'll just label it as "genre bending" lol Thanks @nicolefrailedits.bsky.social for your helpful feedback and thanks @reviseresub.bsky.social for organizing #10queries!

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

Laughing because the project I got the most engagement on for #GhostPit yesterday is currently 7 messy pages of dialogue and half a plot in my brain

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

ARCANE X THE UNBROKEN = WHITE RAVEN, WHITE LILY In a city suffering under the boot heel of invaders, a woman fighting for the freedom of her people is confronted with her past when the daughter of the fascist leader she murdered comes looking for revenge. #A #RF #LGBT #OWN #Q #GhostPit

A threads post that reads: "a hickey mark from her is temporary, a stab scar from her is forever"

A threads post that reads: "I am a woman who leans in doorways. Relaxes against the counter. Drapes across a couch. Sprawls over an armchair. My spine isn't straight and by gods neither am I."

A threads post that reads: "an older man won't save you but that older lesbian will"

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

WILLOW X SHE-RA What happens when the chosen one is no longer chosen? 🕌 Arabic and Aztec inspired fantasy ❤️ Lesbian romance + rivals with benefits 👶 What tf do we do with this baby 🪬 Fate vs. free will #A #RF #LGBT #OWN #W #GhostPit

The words "Chosen or forsaken?" atop an image of a warrior in leather armor and a cloak, holding a sword

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

IN OUR LOVELY DESERET: end-of-the-world lesbian mobster romance In a post-apocalyptic Salt Lake City, sparks fly when a fixer for the ruling criminal family must protect her boss’s daughter from assassination Featuring cannibal Mormons and my religious trauma! #A #Spec #LGBT #OWN #W #GhostPit

A blonde butch in a leather vest and holding a crossbow embraces a brunette femme in a flowing blue dress. Lesbians! Yearning! Romance! Art by me!

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 09/10/2025

100 years ago, invaders took over Vaniya's home. Vaniya has had enough. She is taking her city back, no matter what it takes— — as long as the woman out to kill her doesn't succeed— —and Vaniya doesn't get distracted by her new feelings for this assassin... #DVpit #A #F #R #LGBT

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

Cass wants revenge for her parents' murders, but inadvertently ends up a contract fighter. When the very woman she is searching for buys her contract, vengeance is attainable—if she can ignore the woman's annoyingly noble cause and her own feelings of attraction. #DVpit #A #F #R #LGBT

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

Vaniya has spent the past decade leading a rebellion against the military occupying her city. Freedom is within grasp, until she realizes someone on her side is working against the rebellion. #DVpit #A #F #R #LGBT

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

When Cass's parents are killed, she thinks vengeance will help her escape her role as the family disappointment. On her mission, she sees the scars her ancestors have carved into the city. Cass must decide: complete her revenge or help the people harmed by her own parents? #DVpit #A #F #R #LGBT

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

In a city suffering under the boot heel of invaders, a woman fighting for the freedom of her people is confronted with her past when the daughter of the fascist leader she murdered comes looking for revenge. #DVpit #A #F #R #LGBT

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 11/05/2025

what people think I mean when I say my book is an Arcane-inspired sapphic romance vs. what I actually mean

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

👭 Dual POV! Cass wants Vaniya dead. Vaniya wants to free her people...and she's going to use Cass to do it. #QuestPit #Q #A #F

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

For 100 years, Vaniya's city has suffered under the military rule of invaders. Vaniya has had enough. She is taking her city back, no matter what it costs. #QuestPit #Q #A #F

Three funny social media posts that have the same vibe as the book.
Post 1. a hickey mark from her is temporary, a stab scar from her is forever
Post 2. I am a woman who leans in doorways. Relaxes against the counter. Drapes across a couch. Sprawls over an armchair. My spine isn't straight and by gods neither am I.
Post 3. an older man won't save you but that older lesbian will

Reader reactions:
Pulling a Luigi.
Daaaaamn. Cold. Love it.
Goddamn this line gave me chills. She means BUSINESS
She needs to keep it in her pants
I love the dog

A03 tags this would be under: stabbing as flirting | wow much dystopian | fighting instead of talking about feelings | serious mommy issues | welcome to the rebellion | so much dishwashing | physically competent, emotionally inept | the toddler lives | and so does the dog

White Raven, White Lily
By Jay Burrell
Adult fantasy
115K words

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

10 years ago, Cass's mama was murdered. Six months ago, her other mother was also killed. Cass knows who is responsible... ...and she is going to get revenge. #QuestPit #Q #A #F

Writing sample that reads: “You're a traitor,” Cass bit out.
“Damn straight I am,” Vaniya said. “A traitor to you and yours, but a hero to the people down here. Your mama deserved to die.” She stubbed the cigarette out in an ashtray on the desk, folded her arms, leaned forward to peer into Cass’s eyes. “Why are you here, Cass?”
“What, work those muscles so hard they finally popped your brain?” Cass said. “Your goons brought me here.”

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

Revenge. Rebellion. Redemption. 💪 Buff morally gray lesbians who punch + kiss each other 🏦 Downfall of capitalism + colonialism 🗡️ 8 murder attempts 👶 Precocious toddler asking inappropriate questions #QuestPit #Q #A #F

White Raven, White Lily
Adult fantasy
Sapphic romance
Second world dystopia
Queer normative world

Pitch:
A woman sets out to kill her parents' murderer, who in turn tries to use her as leverage in a rebellion.

First line:
Cass had just knocked the other fighter out to the roaring cheers of the crowd when she saw her.

Comps:
Arcane: What if Sevika was the main character?
The Unbroken by C.L. Clark: Star-crossed sapphic lovers caught up in a rebellion
Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang: Wow this place sucks! Let's burn it all down!

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 05/05/2025

Big shout out to cabin leader @cullerpictures.bsky.social for making this a great experience for #CRPFireflies! And thanks to all that helped organize #CampRevPit! I was struggling with my WIP but because of this experience, wrote 15k in the past week!

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 03/05/2025

Seeking CPs for my Arcane-inspired adult fantasy: A woman sets out to kill her parents’ murderer, who in turn tries to use her as leverage in a rebellion. 115K 🗡️ Buff morally gray lesbians who punch + kiss each other 🗡️ Down with capitalism + colonialism 🗡️ Everybody's gay #CampRevPit #CRPFireflies

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Padma Stratton @grumblygoose.bsky.social · 03/05/2025

On my fourth manuscript and it's taken me this long to learn how to not get pulled out of the writing flow by the need to research something or come up with the perfect word. Future me might hate past me when I have to fill in those gaps, though 😂 #CampfireConfessions #CRPFireflies

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