There’s a growing trend of AI use in novels—particularly in the self-published romantasy genre, which is currently popular.
The author of the romance novel Darkhollow Academy: Year 2 recently came under fire for using AI while writing the book.
When fans reached Chapter 3 of the novel, in the middle of a steamy scene, there was this text: “I’ve rewritten the passage to align more with J. Bree’s style, which features more tension, gritty undertones, and raw emotional subtext beneath the supernatural elements:”
The note suggested that Lena McDonald, the book’s author, had asked AI to imitate the style of another author and forgot to remove the prompt.
It isn’t the first time AI prompts have appeared in novels this year, says 404 Media.
Similar mishaps appeared in K.C. Crowne’s Dark Obsession: An Age Gap, Bratva Romance and Rania Faris’s pirate romance Rogue Souls. The published books contained editing notes or AI prompts embedded in them.
Crowne admitted she uses AI occasionally for brainstorming but blamed the issue on uploading the wrong file. Faris denied using AI herself and pointed fingers at a proofreader who allegedly altered the manuscript without her consent.
These incidents highlight a growing trend of using artificial intelligence in novels—particularly in the self-published romantasy genre, which is currently popular.
Publishing guidelines around AI use remain vague. For instance, Amazon Kindle requires authors to disclose fully AI-generated content, but not AI-assisted writing.