I know we didn’t chat last week. I blame my daughter, who went on vacation, and my current story which sucked me in and wouldn’t let me go. (in a good way. 
)
She did, however, send me this darling pix of JoJo.
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That right there is a girl who knows exactly what she loves, and is not ashamed.
Bacon.
Nummy, delicious, fattening, real bacon.
And it got me thinking about AI. (Yes, I know—stay with me.) And we need to have a little talk. (Fair warning, it’s a little bit of a long talk. So get some coffee. Or chocolate. Or both).
There’s been a lot of noise in the author and creative community lately about artificial intelligence. Authors are angry. Maybe scared (I dunno). But they’re drawing lines, pointing fingers (in one scary newsworthy event, a gal, not in my world, but another author was accused by someone of submitting an AI written novel to her publisher. She then got her book nixed and her career destroyed. And it turned out to be false.)
I get it. Authors are creatives. We are very close to our work. So the idea that a machine could duplicate it and wipe us out is unnerving.
But, really? Seriously?
Here’s what I want to say, with great love for authors and readers alike…I think we might be getting our knickers in a knot about something that isn’t the problem we think it is.
AI is a machine. A computer. A very sophisticated calculator that has read an astonishing number of books. (80+ of mine, stolen, by the way, to train Anthropic, so yeah, if AI sounds a little like me, uh, it was trained on my books! But that’s a rant for another day…)
AI can write a grammatically correct paragraph. It can produce a plot with rising action and a black moment and a resolution. It can string together words that sound emotional.
But here’s what it cannot do…It cannot feel anything.
AI has never lost someone it loved. It has never been betrayed. It has never grappled with the fear that you’re not good enough. That God might have forgotten you, or isn’t listening. It doesn’t know how it feels to be abandoned, or alone, or despairing of hope. It has never fallen in love, found a lost friend, or watched a sunset and wept at the beauty of God’s handiwork. And because of that, it can not write any of this into a character in a way that a reader whispers, yes, that’s me, someone finally understands me.
A great story has a soul. And that soul has to come from the author. From the hard, painful, joyous, hard-won journey of being a child of God.
In other words, AI can arrange words. It cannot arrange meaning.
But here’s another thing we might be forgetting. Every time you open Google and type a question, you are using artificial intelligence.
Every time your phone suggests a word, or spell-check catches your typo — AI. It’s already woven into how we work and create, and it has been for years.
So the question was never really should we use AI? We already do.
The only question that matters is—are authors using it as a tool, or are they letting it replace their soul? I think I already know the answer to that.
However…Imma let you into a secret. I created an AI writing coach called Ask Susie May — for my own stories, and for the writers at Novel Academy.
I can already hear you. Susie. You just said AI can’t replace a human story. And you built one?
Yes. And No. Ask Susie May is built on my Story Equation book and years and years of teaching. (My teaching, not my guest speakers, or even our blog. Just my material) Why? Because I wanted something that could give feedback on characters, plots, scene tension and overall story structure. But I put limits on it from the start, because I understood what it could and couldn’t do.
It cannot duplicate a voice. Not mine, not anyone’s. Voice is the accumulation of everything I’ve lived and lost and learned — and no machine can manufacture that. But to be sure, I also put a nix on its ability to generate prose. What it can do is give feedback. Help authors brainstorm. Ask the right craft questions that help us think better.
It is an analysis tool. Not the answer. And it’s just to get the author thinking better about how they craft their story. Like a coach (and now I’m mixing metaphors, but it still works.) The coach doesn’t run the race for you.
Almost done with the bacon talk, so hang in there. We need to touch on this idea floating around that authors should certify that their books are human-written.
I’m sorry — what?
I have written over 100 books. Am I supposed to go back and certify every single one of them? Book by book? Do I submit an affidavit? Is there a notary involved? Because that is going to be a very long afternoon.
And here’s the real problem with this logic…let’s say I certify everything going forward. Great. I’m certified. Clean bill of creative health.
But ten years from now, someone picks up one of my older books — written long before AI existed — and runs it through whatever detection tool exists in 2035. And the algorithm flags it. (Because, remember, it was trained on my work, so I’m the OG) And suddenly people are asking, wait…was this AI generated?
(I’m not even going to imagine what my response to that question would be. Imma just hold onto Jesus and say, Holy Spirit, give me words of love!)
The certification is a non-solution that creates more confusion than it solves.
Here’s a better idea. Read the Book. Does it have a soul? Does it make you feel something real? Does it keep you up past midnight and make you cry? That’s my certification.
So, now, back to bacon. Real bacon and fake bacon can look similar on a plate. Both are strip-shaped. Both come in a package.
But the moment you take a bite, you know.
For the true bacon lovers, there is no substitution. They want the sizzle, the smell, the slightly-unreasonable-for-
I believe you are bacon people.
You found my books because something in them spoke to something in you — a voice, a heart, a way of seeing the world that felt true. Because…it is.
An AI-generated story might be competent. It might even be entertaining in a surface sort of way. But it won’t have a soul behind it. And you, my awesome reader friend, you are reading for that soul.
That’s what I promise to keep bringing you. Every single time.
Speaking of soul…
Scent of Hope is available now. It’s book two in the Call of the Wild series, about two high school sweethearts, with broken hearts, forced to work together and…well, they might just have a second chance if they don’t screw it up. I love these two, and especially Harley, my tough PI who just can’t forget the one man who is perfect for her. (And, she lives in the coolest house, just sayin’ )
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And over in the Sunrise Store, my rom com with my formerly AWOL daughter, Don’t Cross the Blue Line just released on the Sunrise Shop — and I have to be honest with you, the father storyline in this book really undid me. Sarah added that soul piece and it just…well, you’ll have to read it.
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So there you have it, my essay on bacon. Thank you for listening, and reading my books. From my heart to yours…
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P.S Oh, and coming up next is In Too Deep, with Tari Faris, available now also at the Sunrise store. Beware…if you’re afraid of caves…yeah, this one ticked all my claustrophobic fears. BUT…oh, it’s so good. You’ll love Noah and Meg. They have soul. 
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