iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

ray stoeve (they/them) @raystoeve.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

If there’s one thing I love doing it’s flirting with the idea of being active on Bluesky and then logging off for months.

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ray stoeve (they/them) @raystoeve.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Saw someone ask if anyone has ever done an EGOT but with LGBTQ and that’s how I know you’ve never met a trans person 😂 hi, winner winner right here 🖐️

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ray stoeve (they/them) @raystoeve.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

I may have made a mistake starting my gamer journey with Baldur’s Gate 3, followed by Expedition 33 and Dragon Age: Inquisition 😂 My expectations for games are now very high and specific.

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ray stoeve (they/them) @raystoeve.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

I picked up Dragon Age: The Veilguard for my first attempt at the franchise as a new gamer, and very quickly jumped ship for Inquisition because Veilguard’s storytelling was just…not good. The two games are a perfect example of showing vs telling, so I wrote abt it for my newsletter!

us18.campaign-archive.com

Ray Stoeve's Newsletter, June 2025

Spotlight on a trans YA book starring an agender character, plus a short story collection recommendation and a call to action for Texas subscribers against book bans!

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Lee Mandelo @leemandelo.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

I think it’s an (understandable!) error to frame the way bigots talk about trans people as “invalidating” or as thinking we’re “not real” They know we exist! The point is that they want to exterminate us, in whatever ways they can, because they’re seeking a world where that’s no longer the case

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ray stoeve (they/them) @raystoeve.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

A weirdly positive side effect of living in this fascist hellscape is that I have been reading a lot more and I think it is actually helping me stay sane right now. And fueling my writing, which also helps me stay sane. Soooo…yeah. There’s that, I guess.

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ray stoeve (they/them) @raystoeve.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

I’m reading Kushiel’s Dart for the first time and Joscelin has entered the chat……I see this will be an enemies to lovers arc and I can’t WAIT But also, Guy 😭

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Seanan McGuire @seananmcguire.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

Something I wish we were currently better at grasping is that sometimes bad characters will do bad things. Not every villain has to be a rapist who eats baked babies, but they will be racists, bigots, assholes, and violent bastards you want to see lose. That doesn't mean I, the author, agree.

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ray stoeve (they/them) @raystoeve.bsky.social · 16/08/2025

If you like interactive fiction I just published this short piece based on the fetch (no relation to Mean Girls), a figure in Irish folklore, with a trans spin on it. I’ve been getting into video game writing & narrative design and this is the first attempt I’m sharing. I’m quite proud of it!

westernhemlock.itch.io

The Fetch Speaks by western hemlock

Your friend has something to tell you.

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ray stoeve (they/them) @raystoeve.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

Baldur’s Gate 3 literally made me a gamer. I did not play video games before that game. I was so looking forward to another one from Larian, but now… Beyond disappointed. Especially as an author who has had their work stolen to train genAI.

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the Mountain Goats @themountaingoats.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

Primary them all and block anybody who comes with the “at this crucial juncture the most important thing is that we win.” if they believed that they wouldn’t do this and with friends like them nobody needs enemies

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ray stoeve (they/them) @raystoeve.bsky.social · 13/12/2025

In recent author life news, WORST-CASE SCENARIO got a starred review from School Library Journal! They loved my portrayal of OCD and of diverse teens with full, rich lives and romance in the midst of mental health struggles 🥰 And called the book a “safe environment” 🥹

slj.com

Worst-Case Scenario

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ray stoeve (they/them) @raystoeve.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

I’ll be talking to my agent today about this and I suggest all authors in tradpub do the same. We can play a role in helping our publishers fight this.

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ray stoeve (they/them) @raystoeve.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

I always wonder with stuff like this why publishers aren’t just…honest. Like, why not just say “Hey y’all, most book printers are overseas and backed up but we are working as hard as we can to get you more copies of this book.” The industry is allergic to transparency to a self-defeating degree.

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ray stoeve (they/them) @raystoeve.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

My cat loves sleeping on my lap and I can always feel the moment that she really falls asleep because the full weight of her head relaxes onto my leg and it’s the best feeling in the entire world 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹

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ray stoeve (they/them) @raystoeve.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

LET’S GOOOOOOOOO!!!!! Ready to pledge more years of my life to another Larian game!!!!!!

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ray stoeve (they/them) @raystoeve.bsky.social · 11/12/2025

Bluesky feels like the only social platform left that isn’t a hellscape of ads with a soul-crushingly opaque algorithm and never ending circular rage bait discourse. It’s nice here. Peaceful. I could get used to this…

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ray stoeve (they/them) @raystoeve.bsky.social · 11/12/2025

Oh my god so THAT’S how books are using Taylor Swift lyrics as titles without getting sued into the ground!!! I HAD NO IDEA

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ray stoeve (they/them) @raystoeve.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

I am once again asking for the ability to toggle off seeing other people’s reposts in my feed without having to mute the individual.

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Alex Brown 🇵🇸 (they/them) @bookjockeyalex.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

I'm running for president on the platform that anyone who writes a review of a YA book and says something to the effect of "it reads young" is forever banned off the internet.

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ray stoeve (they/them) @raystoeve.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

Got to add my pick, “KFC Santería” by Cain Culto, to this list for @xtramagazine.com! One of my favorite things about that song is the fact he sampled a squeaky chair for the beat 🪑

xtramagazine.com

The queer and trans songs we loved in 2025 | Xtra Magazine

From Amaarae to Rosalía to Ezra Furman, here’s what we had on repeat this year

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Anna 🌿👁️ @annacwebs.bsky.social · 22/09/2025

Gonna go even further: don't refer to it as "consuming media" when doing this. You aren't a consumer - it's not a product. You read books. You look at art. You watch movies and/or videos. Be careful about word choice. Reject "consume" and REJECT "CONTENT." IT IS ART. YOU ARE ENGAGING WITH ART.

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ray stoeve (they/them) @raystoeve.bsky.social · 22/09/2025

🩷💜💙 I’m doing a #BiWeek giveaway in honor of Talia, a bi autistic trans girl and bestie to Hayley in my YA romcom THE SUMMER LOVE STRATEGY! One winner gets a signed personalized HC copy of TSLS. TO ENTER: Subscribe to my newsletter! US only, open til 11:59pm 9/23. More deets on my IG 👀

mailchi.mp

Ray Stoeve’s Newsletter

YA author Ray Stoeve shares monthly spotlights of trans YA & MG books, updates on their own books and writer life, culture recommendations and advocacy opportunities.

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ray stoeve (they/them) @raystoeve.bsky.social · 29/08/2025

The “first trans YA” I talked abt last time actually WASN’T the first! How do we decide who is “first” in trans YA, anyway? Today I’m talking abt those elusive milestones, how we decide what qualifies, and what we learn when we ask that question.

raystoeve.com

How Do We Decide Who Is “First” in Trans YA?

One of the things we learn is that “first” is a moving target, because gender identity is a moving target.

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ray stoeve (they/them) @raystoeve.bsky.social · 17/08/2025

I finished Expedition 33 two days ago and I’m still thinking about that final choice. Absolutely brilliant writing and follow through on a theme until the very end. I’ve been learning a lot about what makes a meaningful choice in a video game and that one was a perfect example.

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ray stoeve (they/them) @raystoeve.bsky.social · 16/08/2025

AGENTS YOU BETTER BE LINING UP TO REP THIS!!!!!!!

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ray stoeve (they/them) @raystoeve.bsky.social · 16/08/2025

westernhemlock.itch.io

The Fetch Speaks by western hemlock

Your friend has something to tell you.

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ray stoeve (they/them) @raystoeve.bsky.social · 08/08/2025

For the entire time of knowing who he is, I have thought Gavin Newsom was gay, and I just learned he isn’t. Was it just me?? Is this some kind of Mandela effect?? I stg I remember reading that he was gay years and years ago and that was why he started marrying people before it was legal.

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ray stoeve (they/them) @raystoeve.bsky.social · 03/08/2025

So uhhhhh who else went from a BG3 obsession to a Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 obsession bc this game is GORGEOUS

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ray stoeve (they/them) @raystoeve.bsky.social · 02/08/2025

Chappell Roan was definitely listening to a lot of Cocteau Twins while she was writing and recording “The Subway” and I’m LOVING it

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ray stoeve (they/them) @raystoeve.bsky.social · 02/08/2025

If you want a crash course on the history of trans YA and middle grade books, I’m posting my newsletter archive one essay at a time on my blog starting TODAY with the first (or is it…?) trans YA book and what it says about where trans representation started!

raystoeve.com

Who Wrote The First Trans YA Novel?

According to my research, the first YA novel ever traditionally published about a trans character by a trans author came out only 12 years ago, in 2012. That book is BEING EMILY, by Rachel Gold, pu…

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ray stoeve (they/them) @raystoeve.bsky.social · 30/07/2025

And it’s never surprising to me when it’s the white cis gay men who do this. They consistently throw others under the bus to preserve their rights (to assimilate).

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ray stoeve (they/them) @raystoeve.bsky.social · 30/07/2025

LET’S GO LESBIANS you have until tomorrow 7/31 to bid on my latest super-gay YA novel AND help Queer Liberation Network fund their programs for queer and trans financial empowerment in Texas and beyond!

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ray stoeve (they/them) @raystoeve.bsky.social · 30/07/2025

Tomorrow 7/31 is your LAST DAY to shoot your shot for an author visit from me AND help Queer Liberation Network fund their programs for queer and trans financial empowerment in Texas and beyond!

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ray stoeve (they/them) @raystoeve.bsky.social · 26/07/2025

Calling all sapphic YA romcom lovers! You can now bid on a signed & personalized copy of THE SUMMER LOVE STRATEGY! Hayley and Talia are BFFs who team up on a very neurodivergent Plan™️ to find their first girlfriends…but is love actually right in front of them?? www.32auctions.com/organization...

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ray stoeve (they/them) @raystoeve.bsky.social · 26/07/2025

Hey high school teachers and librarians!! I am auctioning off an author visit from me ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD! In-person for Seattle-Tacoma; virtually elsewhere. Proceeds benefit Queer Liberation Network’s programs! 💜 www.32auctions.com/organization...

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Aaron H. Aceves @aaronhaceves.bsky.social · 24/07/2025

My friend Garrett & I organized a bookish auction that benefits the LGBTQ charity Queer Liberation Network where we both serve on the board. There are so many great items so please check it out & buy yourself sumn nice for a good cause: www.32auctions.com/LitforQueerL... (& please boost!)

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ray stoeve (they/them) @raystoeve.bsky.social · 18/07/2025

I’m also so glad I’m not 17 anymore!! (With much tenderness and love for that teen!!)

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ray stoeve (they/them) @raystoeve.bsky.social · 18/07/2025

One of those is my debut, BETWEEN PERFECT AND REAL, about a closeted trans boy cast as Romeo in the school play. The past week, I’ve been researching where my books have been banned or challenged and I’m grateful to reporters like @heykellyjensen.bsky.social who cover the release of lists like this!

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ray stoeve (they/them) @raystoeve.bsky.social · 18/07/2025

The other day I was typing the one-sentence pitch of Between Perfect and Real for the millionth time and I noticed that autofill was completing the sentence. So that’s a milestone I guess 😂 (The pitch: “Between Perfect and Real is about a closeted trans boy cast as Romeo in the school play.”)

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ray stoeve (they/them) @raystoeve.bsky.social · 19/06/2025

I wrote for @bookriot.bsky.social abt my database of YA & MG books by trans authors abt trans characters! Some stats: 🏳️‍⚧️In 2020: 33 novels w/ trans MCs 🏳️‍⚧️Today: 95! 🏳️‍⚧️Racial rep remains abt 80% white, 20% POC 🏳️‍⚧️Gender rep lags too: only 11/95 feature trans femmes We’re here & we’re not going away!

bookriot.com

Trans and Nonbinary Voices are Growing in YA

Author and YA fan Ray Stoeve shares the inspiration behind their project to document and highlight all of the trans and nonbinary books hitting shelves each year for young adult and middle grade reade...

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kelly jensen @heykellyjensen.bsky.social · 19/06/2025

Absolutely honored to have @raystoeve.bsky.social write for "What's Up in YA?" this week talking about their incredible young adult and middle grade trans and nonbinary voices masterlist. Book lovers, librarians, and educators, get to know this resource. bookriot.com/trans-and-no...

bookriot.com

Trans and Nonbinary Voices are Growing in YA

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ray stoeve (they/them) @raystoeve.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

The regret that I didn’t go with a pen name has never been stronger

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ray stoeve (they/them) @raystoeve.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

Apparently yesterday was Int’l Asexuality Day?? I’ve got a book for that: ARDEN GREY, my YA novel abt a queer girl coping with her dysfunctional parents’ divorce, a rift with her trans boy BFF, & questioning whether she’s ace. Yeah, she’s got a lot going on 😅 She’s my least-read book but I love her!

bookshop.org

Arden Grey

Check out Arden Grey - Ray Stoeve's Arden Grey is an insightful, raw YA novel about a young photographer navigating toxic relationships and how they influence her identi...

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ray stoeve (they/them) @raystoeve.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

Idk why I keep giving Threads a shot. It is the Worst Place of all Bad Places.

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Kyle Lukoff @kylelukoff.bsky.social · 05/04/2025

I keep reading about elementary school educators doing more for their students than universities, and, of course they are.

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