“A. Lee Welles” (they/them) is a pseudonym, and the name (and branding) was deliberately chosen to not strongly suggest a gender identity. In a perfect world, I’d like readers to engage with my text without any particular expectations of what my gender is or isn’t.
But, right around the time I was beginning to think I might want to try writing romance, there was a bit of a brouhaha when a writer who identified as a mid-20s lesbian was outed as a middle-aged cis man. A lot of people thought that was creepy.
And I don’t want to be deceptive, let alone creepy. And I know “own voices” is a thing.
So, for the record, I’m assigned-male-at-birth. I present as male, and don’t plan to change that. But I’ve never really felt comfortable with the words “boy” or “man.” In my real-name day-job life I use both “they” and “he” pronouns depending on circumstances.