A Fun Look Inside Publishing and AI with Lori Gold in 'Romantic Friction'

In Romantic Friction, YA novelist, Lori Gold, formerly Lori Goldstein, presents her debut book club fiction novel based on a character not unlike herself. The story follows bestselling romantasy writer, Sofie Wilde, who is awaiting the release of the 10th book in her successful series, but is rivaled by a new author named Hartley West who has written a book similar to Sofie’s style, but with the use of artificial intelligence. “…and instead of being canceled as we might expect, that book and author are embraced… she’s trending on social media, she’s called innovative in the press, and Sofie is understandably livid, and so when Sofie arrives at the largest romance readers convention in the country which she is supposed to headline and discovers that the AI author has also been invited, she bands together with her fellow authors to take that AI author down any way they can, which includes committing a felony…” While the title hints at a love story, Gold’s book is filled with only a bit of romance and is not the focal point of her story. She says, “It’s really about friendship, and it’s really about career and ambition, and those are the focuses of the book… [but] it is part of what Sofie will confront as she is evaluating who she is and how did she get in the situation she’s in, and what influences does he wind up having on her.”

In addition to writing novels, Gold also teaches creative writing at GrubStreet, a writing center in Boston, as well as leading retreats that help foster writing communities. What would be her advice to new and aspiring authors seeking to publish their work? “…I’m not going to say you have to read a lot, but you do have to read a lot, but the other thing you have to do is learn about the industry… It’s not just about writing. It is about marketing and how books are acquired… There is so much about the business of publishing that shouldn’t be a surprise if you’re trying to actually make it as a career… so start following other authors, follow these agents, to really learn about the business of publishing.”