Two New Books and My Honest Take on A.I.

Something different today. Two new books are almost here — and I want to have an honest conversation about AI. DARK TIDES is an environmental science fiction horror set in the ocean — in the space between what we're doing to marine ecosystems and what might be living in the parts we still don't fully understand. Rooted in real zoology, real creature behaviour, and a setting where fiction barely has to reach. Coming before the end of this month. WEREWOLVES AND WILDMEN is a short story collection featuring Bigfoot, Dogman, and the cryptids that sit just at the edge of what the evidence can account for. Shorter and more concentrated than Rogue, but the same serious engagement with the territory. Aiming for end of July. Predatory Nature — the next Thomas Walker novel — is also still in progress. Around 70% there. Then: AI. I use it. For thumbnail backgrounds, for research, for the administrative work that would otherwise not get done or get done badly. I want to be transparent about where, why, and — just as clearly — where the line is. Every word of Dark Tides and every story in Werewolves and Wildmen is my writing. AI doesn't draft, outline, or tidy my fiction. That won't change. I also wanted to address the Commonwealth Short Story Prize controversy, the reaction when Olga Tokarczuk spoke publicly about using AI in her process, and why you should be at least a little cautious about what AI detection tools actually tell you. Mary Shelley, it turns out, would fail one. It's not a comfortable position, and it's not a clean one. But it's an honest one. 🔔 Subscribe for new episodes #BlackBeastBooks #WritingCommunity #AIandWriting