In light of the most recent article giving airtime to the idea of a “writer” using generative AI to produce a book in a day, and 200 books a year — the Coven would like to make our readers a promise.

Our books do not, and will not, use AI to generate the words, story or cover.

We do not believe that art is a race. We do not create because we are heading for some mammoth goal of “most work produced” (with work being a dubious descriptor). We are writers because we want to spend time writing our stories — writing is the goal, not an inconvenience.

We may joke about it being a curse sometimes because the process of writing can be stressful or frustrating, but that is only because we care. If the precise direction of our stories, the words we used, the images they create and the emotions they evoke, did not matter to us, writing would certainly be a whip-fast business, with or without the use of AI. But it is precisely because we do care, because we want to tell our stories in our own words, that it is hard. As many worthwhile human experiences are. Because ultimately, at it’s heart, that is what art is all about.

Humans communicating about being human with other humans.

Between this fundamental truth, the knowledge that AI language and art generators have been built from the stolen work of writers and artists, and the detriment to the environment, it is a big, fat “no, thanks” from us here at Mythic Alley.

The same applies to AI artwork. We will never knowingly use AI generated images on our covers or as character art or in our marketing. It is getting harder to tell whether or not resources in stock libraries have been generated by AI but we will do our utmost and beg your forgiveness if we slip up in that regard, and the chance to rectify it — after all, we are only human!