A fantasy romance author is facing backlash after readers discovered an AI-generated prompt accidentally left in the published version of her book, sparking renewed criticism of AI use in self-published fiction.
With the rise of generative AI tools, more authors have turned to software for brainstorming, editing, or even drafting entire scenes. But when remnants of AI prompts make it into the final books, fans and fellow writers see it as both careless and unethical.
Author Lena McDonald’s AI slip-up came to light when readers noticed an editing note embedded in chapter three of her book “Darkhollow Academy: Year 2,” referencing the style of another author.
“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 passage read.
The sentence, seemingly left over from an AI prompt, appeared in the middle of a romantic scene. While the book has since been quietly updated on Amazon to remove the passage, screenshots of the gaffe continue circulating on Reddit, where fans have dubbed the incident “so embarrassing.”
Additionally, the discovery sparked swift backlash from Goodreads commenters accusing the author of deceiving fans with “AI generated slop,” dropping her rating drastically.
“Is this the author using AI to ‘write’ books? Because it seems she is. I urge people to do the research, people are posting screenshots of an AI prompt left in the text,” one commenter said.
“This author is a blatant thief who uses generative AI to mimic other authors’ voices,” another added.
McDonald, who also publishes under the name Sienna Patterson, has not responded publicly and appears to have no active online presence, making her difficult to reach for comment.
Originally published on Latin Times
