iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

do you like poetry? i have some! available online in both digital & physical forms, are my two poetry chapbooks, "trauma bone" & "kept streets" see below for linkage!

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

"Braiding A Rope From Hair" Part 2:

"I am not hanging over the pit. I am sitting back to the wall but I am still besides it, that pit. I am braiding my hair, the hair that kept me from falling, I am braiding the strands that have grown in these two years, I am braiding the pieces that fell out and scattered all around. I am making a rope, a bridge, a ladder, to get away from the pit.

It has been two years.

For far more time I lived with his abuse."

"I've talked about financial/emotional/mental things but there are far worse stories I've never spoken of. My nervous system is still activated when I have to hear his voice, when his name comes up. When I see photos of him.

The panic, the fear. The stab in the guts. My heart races, my face gets hot, my hands clammy. My god, let me die before I have to be in the same space, share the same air as him ever again.

Or give me claws & teeth. Turn me wild so I can return to him the ruin he gave me."

"My thoughts, my wishes, my curses, are all too beautiful for him. They are wasted on him. It is a joke of the universe that someone as insignificant and undeserving as him has scared me so much.

But he has. And it has been two years.

It takes a long time to come back from destruction. It takes a long time to braid a rope from your hair.

The book.

Midnight Rooms came out during a time of crisis."

"This summer, The Sunken The Adored releases. I would like to not be in crisis. And for that to be the case, I need help. I would like to not have to worry about the rent or losing my belongings in storage. I would like to be able to function and not beg the electric company to keep my shit on. I need help, I need support.

So, if you can, please help me enjoy my accomplishment.

Help me braid this rope."

Support a queer Black woman & horror author by tipping on ko-fi:

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

I'd like to share an essay written by my beloved cousin, @okokno.bsky.social who is a fantastic author of horror through the lens of a queer Black woman "Braiding A Rope From Hair" Part 1:

"Braiding A Rope From Hair," an essay by Donyae Coles, author of Bram Stoker award-nominated novel "Midnight Rooms"

(cw: abuse, housing crisis)

~

"I have a book coming out and summer is difficult.

Midnight Rooms came out on July 2, 2024. I received an eviction notice the next day, the day of my actual book launch. So first thing in the morning on the day that I'm supposed to celebrate this achievement, I am losing my house.

I was in crisis the. Entire. Time."

"During the time I told stories about what was happening. I'm very good at telling a story, so I told a story about my life, what was happening to me and why it was happening. Some of that was very much out of anyone's control. His mother did die. Our landlord did sell the house.

But the real reason I was in the situation I was in was because I had an abusive husband who didn't want me to succeed. Because if I did well I would leave him.

And so, the crisis.

The endless crisis."

"And the reality. That I did not have any joy for my book release. There was no space for it. I could only survive. I could only focus on survival. I showed up at my (very few) book events, smiled, signed, went home back to survival. Back to figuring things out.

People asked me, a lot, if I was doing events. What my plans were and my plans were figuring out how to keep my kids off the street.

It has been two years."

"I am still healing from that. I am not In Crisis. Not like I was then, that constant dangling above the pit, the single strand of hair by which I keep hold threatening to break at every movement. This is not the fable of Damocles and his sword; there are no riches to be had.

If I fall it is forever.

It has been two years and I think I must be a fraud. That I should be over this, that I should be better. That my life should be as though that time never happened. But it's not."

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

it's almost my pub'versary for CAT'S GOT YOUR HEART!! come Sept 10, my snarky-but-sweet, hijinksy pet store romance will have been out for a year. interested in two nerds dragging out the interpersonal drama of adopting a single fluffy cat? CHECK IT OUT: books2read.com/catsgotyourheart

cat's got your heart is turning one
rivals to lovers (a contentious cat adoption)
slow burn
grumpy trans mc vs snarky artist
hurt/comfort
borrow or buy [link]

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 12/08/2025

Vesper is a desert rosy boa! she is one of the most chill babies I've ever had. rosy boas are pretty rare and hard to find in the pet trade but i loooove them

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 06/08/2025

me: (trying to focus on writing a work email) my boss, @keiralekseii.bsky.social, DMing me weird shit:

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 21/07/2025

y’all i accidentally made the alt text rhyme (curls up on the floor) 😭🫶🏻

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 21/07/2025

just LOOK at this fucking UNIT

a very solid-bodied bengal cat sitting on a bathroom mat

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 21/07/2025

me turning thirty and becoming obsessed with werewolf/wolf shifter lore despite thinking vampires were way cooler while in high school hello i'm jem & i have deeply normal opinions about dudes who turn into some form of wolf

club sam reid @popstarlestat
me age 13: been getting really into vampires lately me age 18: can't remember the last time i've felt genuine happiness me age 26: been getting really into werewolves lately

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 20/07/2025

i haven't been able to hold Vesper for a few days but mum is very kindly wiping down her enclosure so we get to cuddle a bit. she loves the soft blanket 💕✨ recovery is difficult but I'm hanging in there with support from my family 🥰

selfie of a white transmasc lying in bed looking up at the camera. there is a snake curled up on their chest.

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 18/07/2025

palate cleanser: my cat came in to snuggle me this morning and now she is doing this

a sleeping bengal cat on her back stretched out the entire length of my leg

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 17/07/2025

turns out lying in bed doing fuckall gets boring pretty quickly

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 17/07/2025

cute lil reminder of one of my older digital pieces: gay seahorse mer mpreg 😇✨

two mer characters, one in orange with short hair and a seahorse tail fin. the other is green with long dark locs. they are embracing around the pregnant stomach of the orange mer

Just had a very pregnant seahorse reported in from the Plymouth area. He is heavily pregnant and a very lucky fella. He was accidentally caught by some very concerned people who phoned me yesterday for advice and I said take a quick photo next to a measurable object and get him back into the same spot where he was found and they did just that and sent the picture through to us (it has copyright and we have been given permission to use it). I am so pleased to say he is safely back in the water and about to give birth, judging by the size of his brood pouch. Thanks to Steph and everyone involved for doing all of this. By the way the picture gives us so much information and he was returned to the water within seconds, so safe and well.

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 16/07/2025

pronoun preferences are really wild because like, they change depending on who you're talking to and why, and who is talking about you and how. i used to use ze/zir exclusively but i softened up on that. now I'm used to they/them but he/him has been popping up more like a little treat.

jemzero 2h
jfc this was me in the hospital yesterday hahaha SO damn real
> tdawgtori NonBinaryThreads 3h "They or he, but NEVER she." a transmasc nonbinary pronoun poem

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 16/07/2025

i would like to offer some advice to the weeping HP adults: get offline. go outside. find another book to read. and GROW UP.

jemzero 07/04
i spent seven years of my life from high school into early adulthood obsessed w/ writing Naruto fanfic, getting further from the original plot into "fix-it" fic, babyfic, & pairings that god would never condone somehow i'm now in my 30s reading & writing books that did not originate as Naruto fanfic, bc i GREW THE FUCK UP and moved on from my childhood obsessions
that's WITHOUT any massive human rights violations associated w/ the work (unless you count Boruto an ethical failure, which it is)

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 08/07/2025

my greyhound loves air conditioning so much you'd never guess she came from a kennel in fucking Florida

senior greyhound with a silver muzzle sleeping in front of an AC unit

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 28/06/2025

our milkweed finally bloomed and we just saw the first monarch of the season!! so happy my mum is passionate about cultivating native plants for our local wildlife 🦋🌷🌺🌻

[all 3 images are a monarch butterfly on milkweed]

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

this is such an interesting emotional struggle bc pls

@coldifyyy
Do u ever sit back and realize ur not anybody's favorite person, ur just kinda there and then you get the sudden urge to distance urself from everyone and chill alone
Two things can be true at once.
वाावाण्डाषवाप @possumfan777
hahaha dude your friends only like you because you radiate joy and two minutes in your company is enough to brighten their day significantly lol. they only keep you around because they love you dearly and cherish the place you have reserved for them in your heart Imao
9:21 PM . Jun 172023 .3.9M Views

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 25/06/2025

hi can i share my silly book that has a giant mutant were-bear but the actual guy is a 5'4 trans man becauuuuse,, (pls excuse that it says release day, that was a few days ago and i don't have the remade graphic lol)

Werecreatures vs Shifters #1 - Alphas on the Rocks
text: Stalking is okay if you're a cat; when your tiny bf is also a giant mutant bear; holding out for a hero

link: books2read.com/wvs1

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 21/06/2025

my old lady is exhausted! she went to the vet to get her stitches out and then walked around the farmers market with us afterward. lots of action for those creaky bones!

a brindle greyhound sleeping on a duvet next to the air conditioner and a stuffed animal

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 20/06/2025

me when that cuntboy w/ a septum piercing walks into the roller derby rink

this TINY HOLE brings me
DEVASTATION !!!!

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 19/06/2025

delphine did a loaf so immaculate the other day i gasped audibly

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 18/06/2025

dis me!! our pride sale ends tomorrow (6/19) so snatch some of these up for .99c before they go back to full price! i would love to get higher up the 'zon ladder if anyone would be willing to share and/or pick up this queer trans romcom!

Cat's Got Your Heart in the #7 slot on Amazon for 99 cents

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 17/06/2025

IT'S HERE! Alphas on the Rocks is a trans M/M PNR about forbidden lovers in a conflict between shifters, werecreatures, & the humans they once were. 🏳‍⚧ Trans man MC 😷 Chronically ill MC 🫂 Touch starvation 💞 Shifter dating app ✨ Alpha magic 🐻 My boyfriend is a giant mutant bear books2read.com/wvs1

[image is a blue PNR book cover with two figures and the following text:

Werecreatures vs Shifters #1
Stalking is ok if you're a cat
When your tiny bf is also a giant mutant bear
holding out for a hero

RELEASE DAY]

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 12/06/2025

i got a lovely ARC review for ALPHAS ON THE ROCKS!! “A fresh take on shifter romance that actually gets it right.” —booksnliftsdiary MM PNR OUT 6/17 PREORDER: books2read.com/wvs1

booksliftsdiary posts a photo of their kindle with the cover for ALPHAS ON THE ROCKS in black and white

booksnliftsdiary #AdvancedReaderCopy
Title: Alphas on the Rocks
Author: Jem Zero
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Pages: 276
Rating: 4.5
/5
"Is one hug worth being torn apart by another alpha?"
Avery Smith's life gets flipped upside down when a hookup leaves him infected with the werevirus, turning him into a were-bear with alpha powers that nobody takes seriously because they can't see past his size and the fact that he's trans. He drifts around until he lands on a farm with other packless were-creatures, where a dating app connects him to Sascha Madison-a sheltered cougar shifter from a fancy family who's already struggling with health issues. Getting involved with Avery could destroy Sascha's reputation, and their communities hate each other, but they can't help falling for one another. Together, they start dreaming of creating their own pack where love and trust matter more than old traditions and fear.

booksnliftsdiary
Alphas on the Rocks is a fresh take on shifter romance that actually gets it right. This book completely surprised me with how different it feels from typical shifter stories-instead of the usual alpha-dominance tropes, we get Avery, a trans were-bear whose powers mean nothing when everyone judges him first, and Sascha, a chronically ill cougar shifter heir already fighting an uphill battle-plus some great non-binary representation that feels authentic. What I loved most was watching these two figure out that real leadership isn't about fitting old molds but about playing to each other's strengths and covering each other's blind spots. They make such a perfect team & seeing them discover their purpose together was genuinely heartwarming. The ending had me grinning because you can feel how much they've grown & how they balance each other out & I'm already counting down the days until book two, because this is definitely the start of something promising that celebrates different kinds of strength!
A big thanks to Jem Zero for providing me with a digital ARC of this book!
Releasing 06/17/25 on Amazon, KU, and paperback.
E-book pre-orders are available NOW.

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 12/06/2025

my job is Not talking about stickers while @keiralekseii.bsky.social tries to read submissions, but it's 11pm and i have rights probably

jem's bluesky bio text: (he/they) autistic transmasc writing SFF romance / award-winning erotica / lover of monsters / proudly depraved /

[HIGHLIGHTED TEXT]: literary assistant to @keiralekseii

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 09/06/2025

everything is shit right now (including my stomach) but at least i’ve got these guys (& ginger ale)

two cats sleeping together on a small chair with a “HOME” pillow behind them

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 07/06/2025

AotR is a trans M/M paranormal romance about forbidden lovers in a conflict between shifters, werecreatures, & the humans they once were. 🏳‍⚧ Trans man MC 😷 Chronically ill MC 🫂 Touch starvation 💞 Shifter dating app ✨ Learning Alpha magic 🐻 My boyfriend is a giant mutant bear books2read.com/wvs1

two rejected alphas / desperate for connection / longing for acceptance / fighting for survival

Alphas on the Rocks Coming June 17
Preorder: books2read.com/wvs1

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 07/06/2025

she got surgery on Wednesday so i suppose she has a good reason to sulk. however, i think things could have gone worse. try telling her that tho regardless thanks to your suggestion she got a CBD chew

a greyhound with big excited eyes being offered a treat

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 07/06/2025

being dramatic today, are we? 🤣

a greyhound on a bed slumped with her nose pressed against the carpet

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 04/06/2025

doggy cyst removal tomorrow tell reyah good luck

reyah vs scalpel (she loses)
wed jun 4 8:30 am

me kissing my greyhound's very long nose

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 04/06/2025

deep approval of this dog's face here is mine

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 02/06/2025

never forget: from the river to the sea, #Palestine will be free 💖💔 one day this atrocity will be recognized for what it is: a genocide that history will be ashamed of. i only wish the thousands of martyrs would be alive to see a free Palestine.

a small car fragrance infuser reading “Palestine will be free!” in both Arabic and English

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 30/05/2025

being gay was a mistake :(

mohammed: {dick pic} you want to be my bitch?

me: jesus christ mohammed say hello first
m: hello
me: lol
m: you want to be my sex boy

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 26/05/2025

giving Vesper some natural sunlight 💕✨ she looks like precious metal also practicing actually looking like a guy 😂

straight vs gay
two images of jem with their wrist in different positions as they block their eyes from the sun

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 26/05/2025

y'all think ana mxrdoll still works for lockheed martin? 🫢

Google and Microsoft have cemented their
roles as industry Ieaders in building technology
for genocide. Through cloud and Al services,
Google and Microsoft have offered the Israeli
Military of Defense free reign over their
technology to power the surveillance,
genocide, and systematic slaughter of over
60,000 Palestinians and counting.

Right now, Google is formalizing its
partnership with Lockheed Martin, while
Microsoft has admitted to providing Al tools
to fuel Israel's genocide.

Both Google and Microsoft are making it clear
where they stand. We must now do the same, by
switching, replacing, and dropping these
companies and their services for as long as they
remain complicit.

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 25/05/2025

ARC OPPORTUNITY: Alphas on the Rocks (Werecreatures vs. Shifters #1) Two different species of alphas endeavor to find a pack that will accept them both. 🏳‍⚧ Trans man MC 😷 Chronically ill MC 🫂 Touch starvation ✨ Learning Alpha magic 🐻 My boyfriend is a giant mutant bear forms.gle/qCTF7hcXqqMp...

Seeing Avery’s bird bones
fills Sascha with the desperate
urge to protect him from
anything & everything

Alphas on the Rocks
Werecreatures vs Shifters #1

ARC Readers wanted! contact@jemzero.com

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

i got pics with my wife for the first time all year. i sure do like her a lot. our 6 year anniversary is coming up!! 🥰💍

a married couple, a Black trans woman with facial piercings and a white transmasc in a black hoodie

a married couple, a Black trans woman with facial piercings kissing her transmasc partner's cheek

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 17/05/2025

ALPHAS ON THE ROCKS (Werecreatures vs. Shifters #1)— Two different species alphas endeavor to find a pack that’ll accept them both. 🏳‍⚧ Trans man MC 😷 Chronically ill MC 🫂 Touch starvation 💞 Shifter dating app ✨ Alpha magic lessons 🐻 My boyfriend is a giant mutant bear PREORDER: books2read.com/WvS1

“Have you ever killed anyone?”
“No, but I would. For you.”
“Why?”
“Because you deserve to be protected for once.”

[graphic of the cover] Alphas on the Rocks, out June 17.

Left: Met on a dating app (like lonely nerds); Cougar shifter; Chronically ill & gay; Stalking is ok if you’re a cat; Two imperfect alphas

Right: They suck at one night stands; Were-ursine (a WHAT??); Tiny punk trans man; Holding out for a hero; Interspecies forbidden lovers

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

Announcing a new series: Werecreatures vs. Shifters, a paranormal romance in which our world is defined by the appearance of a werevirus turning humans into werecreatures, disrupting the peace between humans and shifters. Book 1: ALPHAS ON THE ROCKS PREORDER: books2read.com/wvs1

Available June 17! [cover for Alphas on the Rocks by jem zero, Book 1 of Werecreatures vs. Shifters]

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 11/04/2025

me: i am going to attempt some masculine selfies the evil fae who controls my hormones: the fuck you are, twink 🤣

selfie of a transmasc guy doing their best

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

fully thought this said NASCAR and was like “damn that’s fast” 🤣

DoorDash
NASAR is approaching with your order from
Bober Tea.

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 31/03/2025

thank you, thank you EVERYONE, who contributed, shared, donated, posted, tipped… you get the point. THANK YOU ALL for this amazing experience. i have never been in a bundle that got this much success and it feels wonderful to experience such support for trans creators. it’s been an honor 🫡

Stories for the Trans Rights Readathon

A bundle hosted by Robin Jo Margaret with content from 42 creators.
Buy up to 73 items starting at $20
Save 89% at $20 ($182.79 value) · Save 89% at $30 ($287.17 value)
RAISED
$17,099.69
GOAL
$15,000.00
113%
of goal
574
contributors
$29.79
average contribution
$100.00
top contribution
This bundle ended Today at 5:59 PM.

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 31/03/2025

15 MINUTES LEFT TO GRAB THE TRANS READATHON BUNDLE itch.io/b/2914/stori...

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jem z @jemzero.bsky.social · 31/03/2025

my award-winning scifi flash fiction about lesbian besties, nude drawing, and healing is now available on itch! itch.io/b/2914/stori...

A Study in Circuits & Charcoal
F/F erotic scifi flashfic; disabled artist; friends to lovers
jemzero.itch.io

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