Chapter 2
Here I go!
‘Hey, hey, bookworms, welcome to my live! Today I’m – ah – sharing a very – ah – brief review about the most talked about book in romancelandia this week – yes, it’s the spicy cowboy romance lassoing everyone’s attention: Bang, Bang!
’ Do I break one of the founding principles of Bookstagram – authenticity?
A few minutes later, I swipe the screen closed and toss the book back to Lily.
Her eyebrows are up around her hairline. ‘Wasn’t that a paid promo post, where you, you know, get paid to gush about the book?’
‘I returned their payment this morning, but I’d already told my followers I was doing a review of it, so I had to share something. I thought I handled it well, by mainly using intense facial expressions and letting the viewer decide whether the book is right for them. Do you think it translated?’
The apples of her cheeks pinken. ‘You looked like you were in the throes of a medical emergency.’ Sharp laughter spills from her and I soon follow suit.
‘That sounds… attractive. Look, I didn’t share the real reason I didn’t like the book, because I’d probably be sued to kingdom come, but I bloody well wanted to.’
Lily holds up her hand and finally I have her full attention. ‘Do you really think Tia is a fake? It’s not just some bad writing you’re opposed to and you’re being overly dramatic?’ She doesn’t add the ‘like you normally are’ but it’s heavily implied by her tone.
That’s the thing with close friendships; I’ve been banging on about this for a week and Lily has flicked all my concerns aside without really listening. To be fair, it’s just how we work. I do have a tendency to hyper-focus on petty annoyances, but this feels bigger. Important.
‘Yeah, an actual literal fake.’ I only share the books I truly love, but I’d been swept away by the noise about Bang, Bang!
and said yes to a paid promo post without much thought because almost everyone in the book world has been posting pictures of it with its gorgeous vibrant cowboy cover.
OK, yes, I had serious FOMO, a regular occurrence in my world.
Normally, I read a few chapters of the book before agreeing to collaborate on a promo post so it’s my own fault. But I didn’t expect… this.
Never this.
‘I’m certain the book is pure AI. A tech bro has made a basic plot request into a computer to generate a cowboy romance.
No doubt he follows market trends and has seen the possibility of huge profit in the romance sphere, and that’s why I can’t promote it.
Why I can’t get on the bandwagon. It’s not fair to real writers.
There’s something majorly off about the whole… enterprise.’
Lily’s face is a picture of surprise. ‘That’s a big accusation.’
‘Hence why I’m only telling you.’
‘How do you know it’s AI though?’ Her mouth twists in doubt.
I let out a frustrated sigh. If Lily doesn’t take my worries at face value, there’s no chance anyone else will either. It’ll look like the mutterings of a jealous wannabe writer or something – which for the record, I am not.
And I’d never dare do this if I thought Tia was a legitimate author. ‘Tia has no author photo, not one picture of a human or animal on her page, no personal details—’
Lily scoffs. ‘Lots of authors write under pseudonyms and keep their personal lives private, doesn’t mean they’re using AI. You of all people know that.’
I blow a lock of hair from my face. That’s true, so why am I obsessing over this? But I have been. I’ve gone on a deep dive tracing the trajectory of this book and how the debut author went from obscurity to worldwide bestseller in a matter of weeks. Unheard of.
‘Yeah, I get that, but this is different. It feels… orchestrated, more so than usual. I’ve never seen a book blow up online as fast as Bang, Bang!
The campaign has been so tightly coordinated, money has been spent across every platform to promote it.
And yet, the writing is clunky, robotic, the characters two dimensional at best, and it’s got that cringe factor like when a man tries to write a woman’s point of view but gets it so very wrong.
I swear this is a targeted attempt at making big money in the romance space without being a writer or involved in the community.
Like, what if it is a twentysomething tech bro who follows trends and has infiltrated this arena?
Gone wild with paid promotions to get it onto every bestseller chart and it’s bloody well worked, despite the book being mediocre. ’
Shock flickers across her features. ‘Geez. I get where you’re coming from, but if it’s just a feeling you’re basing this off you can’t say a word. You just can’t.’
‘Yeah.’ And what if I am the only one who is reading it this way?
Doubt creeps in. ‘It’s being posted all over and lots of people are raving about it.
Not just paid promo posts either, but from all camps.
Even some D-list reality TV stars have been seen in faux candid shots with it.
The hashtag #BangBang! is trending on BookTok and videos about it are going viral.
I’ve never seen anything like it, the speed, the charting success.
Let’s say it is AI. Then what’s stopping the tech bro – or whoever it is – making hundreds of books under various names?
Flooding the market with stories written by machines? We all need to stand up to this.’
Lily’s mouth turns down. ‘I guess that’s going to be the way of things now with AI insidiously creeping into every facet of our lives.’ Lily is a graphic designer who specialises in book jackets and book trailers. AI has significantly impacted her job already. It’s a huge concern.
‘Not if we call it out.’
‘But you have no proof, none at all?’ There’s a hopeful inflection in her voice.
‘Well, I put some of the text through an AI detection site and it came back with a 99 per cent positive result.’ I deflate. If this isn’t cause for existential dread, then I don’t know what is. Machines we made taking over our jobs, our livelihoods, even our own imaginations.
‘Right, but those AI detection sites aren’t always accurate.’
‘What?’
‘Well, they’re also machines, so fallible and – at this stage – their accuracy isn’t 100 per cent, especially when it comes to creative writing as opposed to academic papers and the like. I’ve checked into this on the graphic design side too.’
‘Right. Well, there goes that idea.’ Although, it doesn’t mean it’s not AI. It just means I can’t use that tool to definitively prove it.
Traffic sounds from outside filter in as evening peak hour picks up speed. ‘You can be a little overzealous when you’re trying to avenge a wrong, and I don’t see this working out in your favour. Let the writers figure it out. The publishers, even.’
How to convince her this is a battle worth fighting?
‘If it’s true, don’t you see this is a slap in the face for creatives?
A slap in the face for readers too. After all, readers are the ones who hand over their hard-earned money for books.
Surely they deserve a novel that’s come from the heart, not a computer program.
I have this sense of dread at what’s coming for the industry.
At Paddington’s, will I be selling books that are written by a robot?
If we don’t make a stand now, it’ll be too late.
’ There’s no question in my mind that we need to fight this scourge.
‘This is about preserving literature, protecting authors, for readers.’
‘OK, OK, I get it. It just feels like it’s already too late.
How can we hold back the tide? If this novel is AI and is topping the eBook charts, how do you fight that?
It must still mean that it’s a story worth reading.
And in that case, maybe we should all pack up and go home.
’ Lily is not usually so defeatist but she’s been hit hard, not only with AI but the progression of design apps that are so user-friendly, her job is becoming obsolete in some ways as people learn to do it themselves.
‘No, Lily. We don’t just give up. Tia’s novel is topping the charts because whoever is behind it has a marketing background and is tech savvy. Why don’t you read Bang, Bang! and tell me what you think of it? Trust me, you’ll understand where I’m coming from once you do.’
If we lose real authors to a machine, we lose the very heart and soul of our community.
We have to protect the sanctity of books, of imagination and creativity.
Books are a literal lifeline and what happens if that’s snatched away?
We’ll have mass-produced generic copies of what’s come before as our favourite authors hang up their proverbial pens.
‘I’m keen to see why you’re so adamant about this. What if it’s just one of those Marmite books with those who love it and those who loathe it? It happens all the time when a book has a meteoric rise like this.’
I shake my head. ‘Nope, it’s not that. How about this for an example – the heroine calls the hero her hunky chunky special bang, bang man, after their first hook-up on page two.
And he says’ – I grab the book to confirm – ‘“As soon as I laid eyes on her bulbous cantaloupes, my hands soon followed…”’ Laughter gets the better of me.
When I eventually compose myself I say, ‘Like – what!’
Lily’s lips twitch. ‘Cantaloupes! Now I am intrigued, Harper! Give me that book.’
We fall about laughing until we’re interrupted by my phone flashing away in the ring light stand.
With a grunt, Lily pulls herself from the sofa and detaches my phone from the stand, passing it to me. It’s vibrating impatiently like it’s got something to say. ‘Oh my God, Lily.’ I swipe through notifications. ‘I didn’t end the live!’
So much for keeping my suspicions to myself.