Jem Spears/Jacquelyn Merrill
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jackiijackii.bsky.social
Jem Spears/Jacquelyn Merrill
@jackiijackii.bsky.social
24 followers 82 following 130 posts
Writer, reader, sleeper. She/they/he. Poetry under Jacquelyn, romance under Jem. "Starlight and Cinnamon" has been released! Find this sapphic romance at books2read.com/starlightandcinnamon and find me at https://linktr.ee/jmerrillruiz
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jackiijackii.bsky.social
They exist!

Come pick up a signed copy of A Courtship in Quarantine at Bell, Book & Comic on Dec 16 between 6:30 and 8pm! Or preorder the kindle book now at Amazon! Or hop online Dec 9 to order a paperback copy because my distribution is all messed up so there are no pb preorders lol!
A photo of the stacked spines of seven paperback copies of Jem Spears' upcoming contemporary queer romance novel, "A Courtship in Quarantine." The spines are a solid peach color, with the title and author name in dark blue. Bookending the spine text are illustrated pieces of paper that look like handwritten letters.
November 26, 2025 at 7:39 PM
jackiijackii.bsky.social
Three weeks until my launch event at Bell, Book & Comic!

A Courtship in Quarantine is available for preorder as a kindle eBook. The paperback will be ready from Amazon on December 9, and from other bookstores later in the month. It's a long story. The wonky distribution, not the novel, lol.
A poster for Jem Spears' author signing event on December 16, 2025. The poster background is the colors of the bisexual flag. There's a photo of the author, a white woman with purple hair; and the book cover for "A Courtship in Quarantine," which features a man and woman on opposite sides of a shared wall, reading letters. Information about the event: takes place between 6:30pm and 8pm at Bell, Book & Comic at 458 Patterson Road in Dayton, OH 45419. "Pick up A Courtship in Quarantine, get a Pride ribbon, and grab your comic book file."
November 22, 2025 at 5:07 PM
jackiijackii.bsky.social
I have a launch party date for A Courtship in Quarantine!

Tuesday, December 16, 6:30pm to 8pm! I'm back at Bell, Book & Comic in Dayton, OH, who decided I'm cool enough to invite for another signing. I think it's because I gave them candy and Pride ribbons last time, but hey, I'll take it.
A poster for Jem Spears' author signing event on December 16, 2025. The poster background is the colors of the bisexual flag. There's a photo of the author, a white woman with purple hair; and the book cover for "A Courtship in Quarantine," which features a man and woman on opposite sides of a shared wall, reading letters. Information about the event: takes place between 6:30pm and 8pm at Bell, Book & Comic at 458 Patterson Road in Dayton, OH 45419. "Pick up A Courtship in Quarantine, get a Pride ribbon, and grab your comic book file."
November 14, 2025 at 8:54 PM
jackiijackii.bsky.social
"A Courtship in Quarantine" is a month out from pub day! It's only available for preorder from Amazon right now, but more shops will have it soon. And! The GoodReads Giveaway for it just started, and you have until Dec 8 to enter for a chance to win an ebook copy. www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sho...
The cover of Jem Spears' "A Courtship in Quarantine" pictured on an iPad. The cover is the color of sunset and features a white woman with brown hair sitting and leaning against a wall in the center of the picture, and a biracial man with dark brown hair standing and leaning on the other side of the wall. Both are holding hand-written letters sent by the other. In the background is the sliding doors of their hotel rooms, looking out onto a grove of tree outlines tinted pink by the sun. Besides the title and author, text on the cover says "an International Love and Misadventure novel." Below the image of the iPad is the text "Available December 9, 2025!"
November 11, 2025 at 1:46 PM
jackiijackii.bsky.social
Time to switch over to A Courtship in Quarantine! This contemporary queer romance features two bisexual leads, doesn't shy away from the Covid pandemic, and embraces the idea that someone could still find love when their life (and the world) gets turned upside-down. Buy link to come! Out Dec 9.
A trope map for the upcoming novel, "A Courtship in Quarantine" by Jem Spears. The book cover shows a red-haired woman sitting against a wall and a brown-haired man leaning against the other side of the wall, each reading the letters they wrote each other. The tropes listed are actually acknowledges covid, secret identity, found family, I'll help you slay your demons, forced proximity, celebrity romance, and they're both bisexual. The publishing date for the book is December 9, 2025.
November 1, 2025 at 4:09 PM
jackiijackii.bsky.social
Aha, my next author event is scheduled! Mulberry St. Books in Lebanon, OH is hosting a big author meet-up on November 8, and you all should come support them, me, and my fellow local authors. At the very least, stop by and give Winnie the shop cat some skritches.
An event flyer for an author meet-up at Mulberry St Books in Lebanon, Ohio on Saturday, November 8, 2025 from 4 to 7pm. The flyer features author Jem Spears and her four books: Starlight and Cinnamon, A Year Without a Season, The White Stairs, and The Fish, The Twins, The Ram.
October 29, 2025 at 11:08 PM
jackiijackii.bsky.social
The first full-color fan art for Starlight and Cinnamon, sketched by the talented and inestimable @veggiesaurus.bsky.social
A full-color sketch of Daphne "Starlight" Redgrave, from the contemporary queer romance novel "Starlight and Cinnamon," a white woman with white-blond hair in a bob and blue eyes, dressed as Mucha's The Moon in a draped teal dress and a dusty rose flower crown. Behind her is a scene of shining stars and a crescent moon.
October 26, 2025 at 7:21 PM
jackiijackii.bsky.social
Trope map for A Courtship in Quarantine! This one is a little different in mood, spice level, and form. It's a little heavier, and it's got more spicy scenes than Starlight and Cinnamon. And the first half is epistolary.

Hopefully I wasn't too clever for my own good.

Out December 9, 2025! #booksky
The cover of Jem Spears' "A Courtship in Quarantine:" The cover is the color of sunset and features a white woman with brown hair sitting and leaning against a wall in the center of the picture, and a biracial man with dark brown hair standing and leaning on the other side of the wall. Both are holding hand-written letters sent by the other. In the background is the sliding doors of their hotel rooms, looking out onto a grove of tree outlines tinted pink by the sun. Besides the title and author, text on the cover says "an International Love and Misadventure novel." Surrounding it are arrows pointing out the tropes: forced proximity, celebrity romance, they're both bisexual, actually acknowledges covid, secret identity, found family, and I'll help you slay your demons. At the bottom of the image, text reads "A Courtship in Quarantine, by Jem Spears. Available December 9, 2025."
October 21, 2025 at 4:25 PM
jackiijackii.bsky.social
Releasing three books three months apart may have been a little ambitious of me. I'm still doing things for Starlight and Cinnamon, but I had to share the cover for the next in the series, A Courtship in Quarantine. You all are gonna love Mattie and Raph.
The cover of Jem Spears' "A Courtship in Quarantine" pictured on an iPad. The cover is the color of sunset and features a white woman with brown hair sitting and leaning against a wall in the center of the picture, and a biracial man with dark brown hair standing and leaning on the other side of the wall. Both are holding hand-written letters sent by the other. In the background is the sliding doors of their hotel rooms, looking out onto a grove of tree outlines tinted pink by the sun. Besides the title and author, text on the cover says "an International Love and Misadventure novel." Below the image of the iPad is the text "Available December 9, 2025!"
October 8, 2025 at 12:25 PM
jackiijackii.bsky.social
Gonna boost my debut novel, Starlight and Cinnamon, contemporary sapphic romance that comes out September 9! books2read.com/starlightand...
Paperback of Starlight and Cinnamon in the middle of a trope chart. The cover is a white woman in a green dress and a Chinese woman dressed in a red warrior costume embracing under a San Francisco night sky. The tropes around the book are messy lesbians, masquerade meet-cute, spies, monkey heist, interracial romance, and wanna upset some tech bros. Text also reads "available september 9, 2025."
September 1, 2025 at 2:09 PM
jackiijackii.bsky.social
Bell, Book & Comic in Dayton, OH is hosting a book signing for Starlight and Cinnamon! It's on release day, Sept 9, from 6:30-7:30ish. I'll have pride ribbons that represent the characters and some treats to share. It's gonna be super casual because I'm a recovering Type A. Hope to see you there!
A poster for an author signing event for Jem Spears' debut novel, Starlight and Cinnamon. The background is a purple-bluish cloud with white stars. The text reads "Author Signing Event with local romance author Jem Spears: Contemporary Queer Romance with a side of vengeance. Tuesday, September 9, 6:30pm to 7:30pm at Bell Book and Comic, 458 Patterson Rd, Dayton OH 45419. Pick up Starlight and Cinnamon, get a Pride ribbon, hang out with a bunch of queers, and grab your comic book file." There is a QR code on the poster that links to linktr.ee/jmerrillruiz.
August 15, 2025 at 1:13 PM
jackiijackii.bsky.social
I know I know, my profile is all Starlight and Cinnamon but that's the way I like it.

You can find the best place to pre-order at books2read.com/StarlightandCinnamon

ALSO! Kirkus Reviews said a bunch of nice things about it, and you can read the full review at www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews...
The spines of a stack of 10 copies of "Starlight and Cinnamon" by Jem Spears. The book is a dark blue, and there are little white flowers on either side of the title and author name.
August 6, 2025 at 9:55 PM
jackiijackii.bsky.social
IT EXISTS! It's been a long journey from the faint wisp of an idea to a physical tome. It's the f/f contemporary romance I wanted to read, so I wrote it.

Preorder it anywhere or here: bookshop.org/p/books/star...

Bonus Kitcat photobomb, wondering why her person is yelling and crying over a book.
A close-up of the book "Starlight and Cinnamon" in a person's hand. There is a tiny cocktail weenie of a cat in the background, looking at the person and book with a wary curiosity but is ultimately uninterested in why her person is yelling over a book.
July 31, 2025 at 1:28 PM
jackiijackii.bsky.social
Starlight and Cinnamon is available for pre-order! There are so many places to get it from. You can ask your library for it, ask your local indie bookstore to order it for you, or you can find it at your favorite online bookstore. I really like Bookshop.org. bookshop.org/p/books/star...
A trope arrow map for the romance novel "Starlight and Cinnamon." The book cover is a woman in a teal dress and a woman in a red Chinese warrior outfit embracing under a San Francisco night sky. The tropes listed are messy lesbians, masquerade meet-cute, monkey heist, spies, interracial romance, and wanna upset some techbros. It also lists the publication date as September 9, 2025.
July 19, 2025 at 2:13 PM
jackiijackii.bsky.social
COVER REVEAL!

My debut novel, Starlight and Cinnamon, comes out September 9 of THIS YEAR.

I'll share preorder links in a few days but I wanted to show you just the cover in all its glory first.

My newsletter subscribers saw this earlier, and you can sign up too, through the link in my bio.
The cover of the novel "Starlight and Cinnamon" by Jem Spears. A white woman in a teal dress and white flower crown and a Chinese woman in a red warrior outfit embrace against the backdrop of a night sky in San Francisco. The additional text on the cover reads "An International Love and Misadventure Novel."
June 28, 2025 at 9:07 PM
jackiijackii.bsky.social
Poopsmith with her adorable stiletto paws sitting like people
An overhead view of a tortie cat (brindled black, brown, and orange, with a tiny white fur bib and a white patch on her lower belly) sitting on a dark brown leather couch in a position like a human. The cat is named Poopsmith. Her tiny black back feets are too small for her round body, and one is pointed away from the couch and the other is pointed towards the arm of the couch. One black front paw rests on her leg and the other orange front paw is holding her up in her sitting position which is, once again for emphasis, like a human sitting on the couch. Her head is turned up and to the side so she can look directly into the camera above with her cartoonishly large eyes that are mostly pupil, like Puss in Boots. Lots of Puss in Boots vibes here, if her face didn't betray the fact that she's as dumb as she is sweet.
April 26, 2025 at 12:04 AM
jackiijackii.bsky.social
She had a cookbook that I lost somewhere between 1994 and now, but I had enough foresight to make a copy of it:
A recipe for Swedish Almond Rusks from the 1994 cookbook "Kirsten's Cookbook," from The Pleasant Company.
January 7, 2025 at 9:58 PM
jackiijackii.bsky.social
I have YET ANOTHER new book of poetry out TODAY! A Year Without A Season explores that first year (or two or four) of the pandemic, when time got soft and abundant and I spent it watching my cats and nature. You can find it now in paperback and ebook on Amazon! (link in bio!)
The cover of a book of poems. It's a solid, bright yellow, with the silhouette of birds on a wire across the top, and sketched wildflowers on the bottom. The text is a solid black serif font and says "A Year Without A Season: Poems from the Miami Valley," and the author's name, Jacquelyn Merrill Ruiz.
August 9, 2024 at 5:38 PM
jackiijackii.bsky.social
Admittedly, nine years is a long time to wait for my second book of poery, but it's almost here! Next week, I'll have a link to buy it, or you could dm me to get a copy in your hands directly from my hands!
A midnight blue book cover covered in the black constellations of Pisces, Gemini, and Aries. The title and author name are in white serif font and says "The Fish, The Twins, The Ram, poems by Jacquelyn Merrill Ruiz"
June 28, 2024 at 2:54 PM
jackiijackii.bsky.social
My first poetry collection is getting re-released with a brand new cover! "But Jackii," you say, "it's only been 9 years. What's the occasion?" Well, I'll be publishing FOUR NEW POETRY COLLECTIONS over the upcoming year and wanted them all to match, and I thought you might like that, too.
A book cover with a white background and large, white spiral staircase. The title and author name are in black and say "The White Stairs, poems by Jacquelyn Merrill Ruiz."
June 6, 2024 at 3:34 PM