Lori Gold is the author of four young adult novels and one adult historical novel. She lives on the South Shore of Massachusetts and lets her passion guide her in her work as an author and creative writing instructor at Grub Street in Boston. She is also a book coach and often participates in writing retreats to foster a strong and supportive community of writers, each with their own wealth of creativity and aspirations. For more info on Lori and her books, check out www.lorigoldsteinbooks.com.

Authors are always asked what inspired their novels. Sometimes the spark is murky—you just don’t know why an idea pops into your head. Other times, it’s clear. And the genesis is often the admittedly unsexy answer of: lots of thinking. That’s the case for me and Romantic Friction.

In addition to writing novels, I teach creative writing and work as a book coach and manuscript consultant. A couple of years ago, in the spring of 2023, I was leading a workshopping session with a small group of students. We had been working together for quite some time and knew each other well. One student entered our session slack-faced and despondent. I could barely ask the question of what was wrong when she blurted out: “Why should I even bother? Should I give up writing now?”

When Self-Doubt Wins Out

Let me pause for context. Because we writers, myself included, are full of contractions. We do this job alone, and yet we are constantly seeking assistance and validation from others in the form of instructors and critique partners and agents and editors and our moms, kids, pet rabbits, you name it; on any given day the way a leaf falls can be the thumbs-up we need (or maybe that’s just me.). Though we are traditionally full of self-doubt, we also have to be arrogant enough to think that out of the thousands of great manuscripts being written, ours will find a home with a publisher and a spot on a bestseller list.

But some days, the self-doubt wins out. As was the case with my dejected student. And she was not the only one. ChatGPT had recently hit the public domain, and many of my students were coming to me with deep fears over what this technology would mean for the career they were working so hard to break into. Will authors even exist in five years? Three? One? Will publishers employ artificial intelligence instead of human creators since AI doesn’t require an advance or demand to go on book tour? Will AI (gasp!) actually prove to be better than we could ever be? Does my voice matter? Why would anyone want to read what I have to say?

As these valid concerns spilled forth, they met with my own personal fears, which at the time were less about AI and more about my own career path. While I’m not a particularly competitive person, when it comes to writing, I’m unabashedly ambitious. I want a bestseller. I want ten bestsellers. I want my books to not just sell, but sell at auction. At the time, in early 2023, I had spent a couple of years strategizing for my next book to be a breakout book.

Migrating to Adult Fiction

After publishing four YA novels, I had made the decision to move into the adult book club fiction space. I was diverted by my only true passion project, the novel that became my adult historical Love, Theodosia. In returning to my original goal of upmarket fiction, I spent time educating myself in the genre, reading the bestsellers, and studying not only what readers loved but what publishers were buying. I tried to dissect from a marketplace as well as a craft perspective. And I wrote a novel with a strong hook that I thought squarely delivered. Yet it was having trouble gaining traction. I was heartbroken that the novel I’d written wasn’t being picked up. I kept thinking about the publishing world and the fortitude it takes to stay in it. So many writers keep going after disappointments and novels not selling. Why did they? Why did I?

All of this was rolling around in my head when my student came to me with her fears over AI. Having been a published author for the past ten years, giving your heart and soul to your books without any guarantees is something I am intimately familiar with. The combination of these AI fears, my own publishing history, and my worries over my personal future as a writer were the inspiration for the novel that would become Romantic Friction.

Inspiration is Only the Beginning

But inspiration is just that: a jumping off point. Those personal feelings needed to be massaged into an actual character and a well-paced story. In my teaching, I’ve often seen writers tied so closely to their inspiration that it actually becomes a roadblock to effective storytelling. Our personal feelings and struggles can—and should—influence our writing. That’s how it becomes authentic (and perhaps what will prevent AI from replacing human creators). But writers must use that inspiration in the way that best serves the story, separate from themselves, because novels are fiction not memoir.

I needed to cast a wider net to create a story out of my inspiration. I wanted it to be relatable to more than just myself. And since it would deal with the timely topic of AI, I had the added complication of needing to create a story that was of the moment but not solely reliant on the moment. It had to live beyond what was currently happening and what would happen in the future.

I allowed all of this to swirl in my subconscious until a character formed in my head: a bestselling author who hustled and fought her way to the top, about to be replaced by AI. I originally called it The Sincerest Flattery, an ironic nod to imitation being the sincerest form of flattery. And the book became my messy love letter to the world of publishing asking if that is true.

The novel asks important and complex questions about art, artistic integrity, and the role of technology. Yet I didn’t want to sacrifice an enjoyable read. To balance these weighty topics, I purposely designed a story that incorporated a hefty about of humor and hijinks.

The Unknowns of the Future and Publishing

As I tell my students who fear AI, the truth is, the future is unknown. So much of life is out of our control—perhaps that goes double for publishing! What is under our control is our ability to craft the best stories we can. When it comes to inspiration, that often means letting it be the spark for your story but not burst into flames that will consume it.

Incidentally, in a full circle moment for this story of my inspiration, that first book club fiction I wrote, the one that was having trouble finding a home, the one that fueled my questions about my career…well, that’s my second book with Harper Collins coming in April 2026. And perhaps this more than anything is why we writers push through the fears—from this world and AI—to keep following our inspiration and continue writing.

Romantic Friction by Lori Gold

Sophia Wilde is at the peak of her phenomenal writing career. Her tenth and series finale book is about to be released at a large romance readers convention in Chicago, and her fans can’t wait. But her spotlight is soon overshadowed by the self-published debut author, Hartley West, whose book bears a striking resemblance to Sophia’s. After Hartley admits to using AI to write her novels, Sophia is sure this will be the end of her, but this only catapults Hartley’s career more, now hailed as an innovator and expert editor. Finally, Sophia has a freakout, a viral freakout, that sends an even bigger boost to Hartley’s sales. So, Sophia and other authors devise a plan to bring an end to the author starlet some are calling “the next Sophia Wilde”.

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble