​I want to state upfront that I’m no expert on the use of AI. My interest is borne from being a writer doing her best to write stories worth publishing in an already jammed market.
 
I’d vaguely heard of chatbots but had no real understanding of what they were or what they could do. Then, in February 2023 Neil Clarke, of Clarkesworld Magazine issued a statement that he was temporarily suspending submissions due to an unprecedented influx of AI generated stories. That got my attention.
 
Reactions of writers to the rising use of AI apps in writing fiction have been mixed. I’ve heard everything from “it’s the end of the world as we know it” to “cool, I can use this tool to churn out a book every month.”
 
The name on everyone’s lips seems to be ChatGPT (and that’s what I’ll mostly refer to), but there are many other AI apps targeted specifically at creative writing. For example: Sudowrite; Jasper; Rytr.AI; Quillbot; Sassbook; and Grammarly.
 
At the end of May 2023, a quick search of Amazon showed 225 books on ‘ChatGPT for Writers’, and over a 1000 published books with ChatGPT listed as an author. It’s impossible to know how many others have been produced using some form of AI.
 
What is very clear is that this genie cannot be stuffed back in its bottle.
 
Because I believe as writers and readers we need to inform ourselves, I spent two weeks doing research and having discussions with fellow authors. I presented what I found on the AI in Publishing Panel at the SFFANZ ReConnect2023 online conference held 3-4 June 2023. This post is based on the panel discussion.
 
What ChatGPT (et al) produces
Even though ChatGPT is referred to as an AI (artificial intelligence) it’s not at all intelligent. It doesn’t think or have emotions. Very simply, it uses algorithms to predict likely next words. These predictions are based on the material it’s been trained on, which is basically the internet. So, it’s not surprising that AI responses: fall into tropes and predictable phrases; show cultural bias; and can be based on lies and hallucinations. Uncritical use of AI produced text is very unwise!
 
Acquisition of data.
ChatGPT (et al) works by producing text that is statistically likely to follow the text that came before it. It’s been trained to do that by scraping the internet for material, with no consideration for copyright. In my view this is unethical and undermines the entire purpose of copyright.
 
New Zealand does not recognise the ‘Doctrine of Fair Use’ as a defence for copying copyrighted works. The Copyright Act 1994 permits certain activities in relation to copyright works, these include: incidental copying; fair dealing with a work for the purpose of criticism, review and news reporting; fair dealing with a work for the purpose of research or private study; and, where the copying is for educational purposes and follows the requirements of the Act.
 
Copyright protects the expression of ideas or information, not the underlying idea itself. It is likely that an infringement case in New Zealand would revolve around whether the use of copyright works by the AI amounted to copying a substantial part of the works – i.e., has the AI copied an important or distinctive part of an earlier copyright work to create something new?
 
It's possible ChatGPT could respond with ideas or even wholesale phrases provided by other writers, including writers who didn't consent to giving ChatGPT their data. At this time creatives have no ability to opt-out of having their products used to train ChatGPT.
 
There is at least one class action taking place in the US in the visual arts where artists are suing for breach of copyright. The outcome could have implications for writers.
 
Authors should be compensated when their works are used in training of generative AI, and AI developers should disclose what works they use to train their AI. Authors should have the right to opt out.
 
Use of AI needs to be transparent.
Unless an author using AI acknowledges they are doing so, there are limited ways to know a work is not entirely the product of human endeavour. Yes, for now, there are programmes to assess work, but they can throw up false positives, e.g., when authors are writing in a second language.
 
There are numerous ways in which AI can be used by authors, i.e., idea generation, plotting, writing chunks of text, character development, and grammar checking. Acknowledging the level of use would go a long way in retaining the trust of readers and publishers alike.
 
At the very least, authors, publishers, platforms, and marketplaces should be required to identify when a significant portion (e.g., more than 30%) of a written work has been generated by AI.
 
Copyright of creative works should be restricted to humans.
Wholly AI generated works can’t be copyrighted in the US, but in stark contrast, they’re automatically copyrighted in New Zealand (and the UK).
 
NZ copyright law expressly states that AI produced creations are covered by copyright. Originally, this was to protect computer generated models such as weather forecasts and the like.
 
But…for copyright to apply in New Zealand, there must be an original work and there must be an author. For work to be original, the author needs to demonstrate they've applied sufficient time, skill, and effort in creating it. Inputting a simple prompt is unlikely to be enough. No legal tests have been made in New Zealand, and it seems unlikely to happen any time soon.
 
Economics:
It’s already difficult to make money as a writer. Society doesn’t place much value on art. By devaluing writers and crowding the market, AI could further erode what little we earn.
 
Currently, there’s a free to use version of most AIs, but there are increasing scales of cost with added features. Companies are making money from data sets compiled through non-consensual scraping of the internet – writers who created the source material are not.
 
I’ve worked hard and spent a lot of time and money to develop my writing skills and create my brand. If someone uses the prompt, “Write a 1000-word fantasy story in the style of Jacqui Greaves” I think I should be compensated. Why should someone else be able to profit without consequence by using my voice (without my consent and potentially bringing harm my brand)?
 
There should be a requirement for permission and compensation for authors when their works are used in outputs, or when their names or identities or titles of their works are used in prompts.
 
Submissions:
When thinking about submitting stories written with the assistance of AI, writers need to be aware of the AI policies of publishers.
 
Some, have very clear policies:
Clarkesworld Magazine states;
“We will not consider any submissions written, developed, or assisted by these tools. Attempting to submit these works may result in being banned from submitting works in the future.”
QueerSciFi annual flash fiction contest rules say;
“We do not allow submission of work that is partially or entirely generated by Generated Artificial Intelligence (generative AI).”
Other publishers have statements along the lines of ‘we only accept submissions from humans made of meat.’
 
In contrast, Space and Time Magazine had a recent call for their Friend or Fiend? AI and Human Creators: Special Edition. They invited submissions demonstrating how AI can enhance human work, but not replace it. “To demonstrate that human creativity is vital and can not be replaced by AI, but it can free us from tedious tasks so we have more time to create.”
 
In the already murky world of self-publishing (a space I inhabit) it’s a bit of a free for all. I predict it will become even more difficult to rise above the dross. I’ll be adding an AI statement to my social media profiles and the metadata of my online publications, and hope I’ve built enough trust with my readers.
 
Readers:
Readers have a role to play. If readers want works created with heart and nuance, with original themes, characters, and settings, they need to insist that their bookstore (physical or virtual) has a clear AI disclosure policy.
 
If there’s no market for fiction largely or wholly produced by AI, then there’s no reason for a supply. This only works where authors and publishers disclose when AI has been used in the production of a creative piece of work. As stated above, this may be challenging in the self-publishing arena.
 
Readers may need to become more discerning in which authors they read and take it upon themselves to do their due diligence.
 
And, for those of you happy to read AI generated stories, you do you!
 
Environment: not directly related, but an interesting aside
Forbes reported that training a single AI model results in the emission of more than 283,000 kg of carbon equivalent (around the annual production of 5 cars).
There are also issues around the enormous quantities of water required to cool processing centres and the ongoing challenge of e-waste disposal.
 
 
Websites I visited while researching
http://neil-clarke.com/ai-statement/
 
https://blog.enterprisedna.co/what-is-chat-gpt-everything-you-need-to-know/
 
https://becominghuman.ai/ai-writing-tools-for-creative-writing-and-fiction-unleash-your-imagination-and-write-like-a-pro-4f098ccc7fce
 
https://renaissancerachel.com/best-ai-novel-writing-software/
 
https://www.euronews.com/next/2022/11/08/ai-writing-is-here-and-its-worryingly-good-can-writers-and-academia-adapt
 
https://prowritingaid.com/art/681/Why-AI-Will-Never-Replace-Writers.aspx?gclid=Cj0KCQjwsIejBhDOARIsANYqkD3foJNDryjEoyQ-pncvOyX-SZ3-PuKwuG_kA9eph3G9Zraxrz6g9KMaAlA6EALw_wcB
 
https://mythcreants.com/blog/questions/is-it-ethical-to-use-ai-in-fiction-writing/
 
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/apple-a-day/202303/how-will-ai-affect-the-future-of-fiction
 
https://www.lawfareblog.com/ai-generated-works-artists-and-intellectual-property
 
https://medium.com/@emilymenonbender/thought-experiment-in-the-national-library-of-thailand-f2bf761a8a83
 
https://authorsguild.org/advocacy/artificial-intelligence/
 
https://www.npr.org/2023/02/03/1154091957/artists-file-class-action-lawsuit-saying-ai-artwork-violates-copyright-laws
 
https://cointelegraph.com/news/environmental-impact-of-ai-pioneering-solutions-for-a-sustainable-future
 
https://builtin.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-copyright
 
https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=9ee46558-7233-4255-a56a-a895fabdf276#:~:text=This%20section%20confirms%20that%20the,of%20the%20work%20are%20undertaken'.&text=This%20means%20copyright%20can%20and%20will%20subsist%20in%20AI%20generated%20images.
 
https://www.equaljusticeproject.co.nz/articles/can-new-zealands-ip-and-copyright-law-keep-up-with-ai-advancements2023

​I can now report that pushing the ‘Publish’ button is both a terrifying and exhilarating experience for a first-time indie writer. It's an action I delayed through fear for such a long time. But now it’s done and I'm wondering why I was so hesitant.
I won't lie and say that Gods of Fire hit the market hot and flew off the e-shelves like a rocket. It didn't. For a solid 48 hours I sat at a single sale. I knew who bought it and I love her for it (and no, it wasn't my Mum). A week later, sales aren't meteoric, but a steady trickle of people have paid over their money and purchased my book.
MY BOOK.
​I still love those words. I love being able to tell people how they can buy my book. It's thrilling!
I know I haven't done the launch quite right. I didn't do a proper cover reveal, I didn't set up pre-orders, I didn't send out advance reader copies for reviews on launch, and my marketing plan consists of scribbled notes on a piece of paper that is drifting around my desk somewhere. To make matters more interesting, I launched in a week when my calendar was full of pre-Xmas social events, leaving me little time to write up material for my lovely author friends who'd offered to host me on their blogs.
I've tried not to become a one-dimensional social media publicity machine. Instead, I'm drip feeding my “buy my book" plugs in and around my usual tweets and updates, and advertising on promotional pages and feeds one at a time, rather than flooding them all at once.
I've ordered some postcards with the cover and buy link on one side and the blurb and my bio on the back. I intent to drop them around the cafes, restaurants and shops I frequent. I'm also planning to send press releases to a few of the local newspapers, not sure how successful that'll be, but no harm trying!
I'm not driven by best-seller lists, what I want is to find my readership and achieve steady sales to people who will come back for more.
I'm sure I've made some standard rookie mistakes, but I've published my book and am building my confidence and gaining experience, so I do it better for the next one. This is my marathon, not my sprint.
But...if like 1000 of you decide to buy Gods of Fire tomorrow, read it and leave a review, then I'll be delirious with joy!

I’ve been thinking about the role of the antagonist in stories. A super quick search of the interwebs revealed four main types of antagonist: Evil, Opposing, Superior and Internal (honestly, I’m sure there are other classifications, but this serves my need for now). They’re all interesting and worthy of deeper consideration, but it’s the evil antagonist who is most relevant to where my musings have been taking me.
The evil antagonist is the one who is evil for the sake of being evil. This character may have a back-story that gives them some excuse, but generally it’s not critical to understand their why. All that matters is how they satisfy their greed, hunger for power and uncompromising drive to achieve their nefarious goal at any cost, and how they torment the hero of the story along the way.
Often, we feel nothing but hatred for this character, they represent the worst traits of humanity distilled and concentrated for effect. No-one feels empathy with the likes of Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter, Sauron in Lord of the Rings, Darth Sidious in Star Wars, or Doctor Smith in the revamped Lost in Space. They have no redeeming features.
But there is another kind of evil antagonist—the trickster. They’re usually a secondary antagonist to some greater evil, either facilitating the main antagonist, or confounding the hero for their own means. Yes, they’re evil, but they have moments of vulnerability that fool not only the hero, but us as well, into empathy. We can almost see ourselves in their place, even if just for a moment.
My favourite examples of the trickster are The Master/Missy from Doctor Who, Loki in all his incarnations, Moriarty from Sherlock Holmes and, most recently, Ms Wardwell (otherwise known as Lilith or Madam Satan) who was the sole reason I watched the entire first season of the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina in one sitting!
Of all the antagonists I adore tricksters above all others! What I love most about these characters is their intelligence and wit. So, it’s really no surprise that I’m incorporating one into my current work in progress (known for now as ‘The Japanese Story’). My trickster is a white fox who acts as a messenger between humans and Gods. He’s a fun character to write and I hope I do him justice as his role develops.
 

I’m a very visual person and appreciate good art.
Famous artists feature in my ancestry and many of my immediate family paint and draw well. I don’t!
While I have some skill at technical drawing anything requiring a free hand and colour is beyond me. I can compose a visually attractive photo—but it has to stand on its own as, to my eternal chagrin, I’ve never mastered the art of Photoshop, Gimp or any other image manipulating software.
Anyone who follows me on social media knows that I have a particular eye for imagery. I know what works and what doesn’t and have ruffled feathers in the past when it came to the cover designs for a series of anthologies I was involved with.
With all that in mind, today I went ahead and tried to make a cover for my upcoming novel ‘Gods of Fire’. This was a bad, terrible, not at all good idea, because:

• I have a VERY clear idea of what I want the cover to look like
• I don’t have any images that are remotely close to what I want, nor can I find any
• I thought I could learn Canva in a morning
• I can’t even find a font I like

All I’ve managed to achieve is to make myself frustrated and grumpy.
This is clearly an aspect of self-publishing that I need to leave to the professionals, just like I did with the editing (shout out to Bowlerfern in that department). So, I’m now waiting for a few book cover artist/designers to get back to me.
Back to writing for me.

For over a year I’ve been sending the manuscript of my first complete novel, “Gods of Fire”, out to agents seeking representation. To say that it has not been a success is a wild understatement. Yet, I remain convinced I’ve written a good story that will appeal to readers who love both fantasy and erotica.

So, I’ve launched myself into the unknown, but thankfully well-charted, waters of the self-publication process.

A complete novice, my first step was to send out a call to my writerly colleagues on Facebook and Twitter. This resulted in a mixed bag of responses, most of them encouraging and many with some great advice on how to get started. I also spent at least a day poking around the internet, looking for resources and recommendations for success.

The two main pieces of advice that have popped up over and over again are:

1. Get a professional editor to work on your manuscript;
2. Your cover is critical, and again professional help is highly recommended.

I patted myself on the back for already having ticked off number one, and I’m chasing up a cover artist to help me with number two.

My next challenge was to convert my Word document into the right format for a book. Again, two main recommendations emerged, Vellum and Draft2Digital. Vellum is for Mac users, which I am not, so the decision was easy. It took me a day of trial and error, formatting my manuscript and testing the different options in Draft2Digital to get a look I’m happy with.

Within the space of just a couple of days, I’d gone from terrified and completely ignorant, to sufficiently confident in my ability to create a product and get it into the market. But of course, that’s just the beginning of the process.

So watch this space!

​The first book I ever bought by myself was The Enchanted Forest, a story of fairies, elves, goblins and witches, written by Ida Rentoul Outhwaite and her husband Grenbry Outhwaite. I bought it at a jumble sale and it was already old. The pages fragile and the cover barely attached. Even at that age I recognised it as something very precious. It still resides on my bookshelf, and despite many readings remains in much the same state as when I first picked it up.
Not only was the story appealing to a young girl, but it was filled with the most beautiful pictures, one of which caught my imagination and held it for many years.
It was a coloured plate entitled ‘The Witch’s Sister on her Black Bat’.
When I began to write the novella Rose Moon, this was the image that set the opening scene. This was the witch who I imagined as my Midnight.
                                ***
Bakke carried his mistress through the summer night’s sky with fluid ease. Midnight threw back her head and laughed, face luminous with the pure joy of anticipation. They had waited so very long for this time to arrive and had just one more day to mark.
Her nipples puckered at the mere thought of it. She allowed her fingers to graze against them through the sheerest layer of white chiffon. It would be so easy to slide her fingers between her thighs and stroke herself into delight, but an orgasm now would weaken her magic, and her sisters would be furious with her.
With a soft sigh of frustration, she flung her arms wide and allowed the movement of the warm air to caress her form. The silver-shot fabric of her diaphanous slip fluttered across her body, dipping and swirling with the slow even beat of the bat’s wings. Raven curls tumbled in a flurry around her pale face.
Half a dozen smaller bats flitted overhead, accompanying their witch on her quest.
“Look, my darlings. See how my moon casts its silver trail on the water below us to guide our way? It won’t be long now, we’re almost there.”
Bakke swooped low over the clumps of bulrushes bordering the edge of the waterway and headed into the depths of the forest. His sinuous flight path through the maze of broad tree trunks tilted upwards to match the rise of the ground beneath them. They flew in darkness until the trees thinned to allow a glimmer of silvery moonlight, then they burst once more into open space. Midnight, Bakke and the bat familiars circled higher until they hovered above the tor that protruded with phallic insolence from the clearing in the surrounding forest.
                                                       ***
A sweet and gentle start, but trust me…the tale gets much darker and mayhem, death and destruction soon follow!
Once again, I’ve teamed up with three other authors, under the expert guidance of Devi Ansevi, to put together a steaming hot addition to the PNRLust Anthologies.
Lust in Summer: Paranormal Erotic Anthology Vol. 7 is available on Amazon for your reading pleasure. Please indulge!