Tuesday, October 03, 2023

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group and the Release of Blood Red Steel by Damien Larkin


It’s time for another edition of The Insecure Writer’s Support Group, founded by Ninja Captain, Alex J. Cavanaugh.

Thanks to those who hosted my tour or followed along for In Darkness: The Werewolf! I appreciated the support and hope everyone enjoys my sweet werewolf story.

Today’s question: The topic of AI writing has been heavily debated across the world. According to various sources, generative AI will assist writers, not replace them. What are your thoughts?

I think it will assist them at first, but as it improves, eventually it will replace them. Publishers won’t need authors anymore. They will just generate their own books and keep all the profits. Of course, authors can use AI to produce and self-publish and keep all the profits since the books will all be the same level of quality.

It’s an exciting but very scary time right now as AI is developing faster than we ever imagined.


And I am posting a day early as Dancing Lemur Press has another release!

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Available now!


Blood Red Steel by Damien Larkin


Blood alone decides the fate of Mars

For two years, the Mars Expeditionary Force has held the line against the last remnants of the Third Reich. McCabe, Jenkins, and the Second Battalion long for home. Reinforcements have arrived, but the veterans of the MEF have one final mission. Defend Forward Base Zulu at all costs.

While Generalfeldmarschall Brandt plans a decisive showdown at Forward Base Zulu, Reichsführer Wagner celebrates the activation of the first generation of the Hollow Programme. Surrounded and cut off, McCabe and Jenkins once again find themselves in league with the MAJESTIC-12 operatives known as the Black Visors. Now the future hinges on the sacrifices of a few determined soldiers.

Print ISBN 9781939844958 $18.95
eBook ISBN 9781939844965 $4.99
Science Fiction – Military/Alternative History/War & Military

“He takes numerous storylines and threads them together to create a story which never lets up. There is not just action a-plenty. There is non-stop, relentless action. It is breath-taking in its remorselessness. – Phil Parker, author

“The stakes are so high in this one. Larkin is a master storyteller and every plot twist is a punch to the gut.” – Jessa Forest, author

“Exciting, fast paced and as good as, if not better than the previous two books in the series.” – Sue Tingey, author


Links: iTunes / B&N / Kobo / Amazon / Amazon UK / Scribed / Goodreads

Damien Larkin is an Irish science fiction author and co-founder of the British and Irish Writing Community. His debut novel Big Red was longlisted for the BSFA award for Best Novel. He currently lives in Dublin, Ireland. Website


What are your thoughts on AI? And if you enjoy military science fiction, you need to pick up Damien’s latest.

34 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

AI concerns me.
Big congratulations to Damien! Can't wait to read it.

Natalie Aguirre said...

I can't see AI replacing humans in creative ventures. It can't even replace me in writing 325-1300 articles. It's not getting much better in the months I've been using it.

Sandra Cox said...

Congrats, Damien. Wishing you much success.
'Lo, Di:)

Yolanda Renée said...

Hi Diane, Congrats on your recent release. I'll have to pick up a copy. Romance and werewolves, you can't go wrong!

Congrats to Damien too! Books set on Mars, are always a thrill.

As far as AI - not sure it's good. Science loves it. But most fear it. Probably because like me, they don't know enough about it.

Thanks for stopping by today. I set a goal to do 31 days of postings for Halloween this October. Just finished. Thought I'd be done with writing for awhile, but back to it already. :)

Liz A. said...

Looks like a good book. As for AI, why buy books when you can make AI generate the exact book you want to read? It could put the whole publishing world out of business.

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

AI is an excellent assistant! It has an amazing future.

Karen Baldwin said...

Congrats to Damien. I liked that WAG got a win with their strike. I think there's enough human intelligence and ethical people to not let AI get out of control. As for greedy people abusing AI....they're already in society now.

Nick Wilford said...

Congrats on the tour! I was happy to help.

The idea of things all being the same level of quality seems pretty scary and dystopian to me. Then nothing could be good or bad, it's all just indifferent. Variety is the spice of life, after all!

Patricia JL said...

Sure, publishers can do that, but will AI ever be able to write stories that really capture humanity? Maybe after it takes over writing, we will never have another timeless classic because AI just can't do the creative spark the way people can.

Tyrean Martinson said...

Ai concerns me, but since I decided to experiment with it and those experiments made me see how repetitive and unrelatable AI is, I'm not as concerned as I used to be. I think it can be a tool for organization, but it's not ever going to replace the glorious unpredictability and individual creativity of humanity.

Congratulations to Damien!

Loni Townsend said...

Grats to Damien!

AI keeps getting better and better, but still lacks some of the nuances to make it feel natural. It's like listening to text-to-speech. The voice might have a "natural" sound, but the emphasis on certain words still needs human input.

H. R. Sinclair said...

Congratulations to Damien and Lemur Press!

That AI is a tricky one for sure.

Jemi Fraser said...

Good luck and congrats to Damien!

I'm not a fan of using AI but I think it's going to get more pervasive for a while!

cleemckenzie said...

I hope you’re wrong about the future of writing and AI, but it is a troubling development. And, as you say, it’s moving ahead so quickly that even the regulators can’t keep up.

Kudos on your new DL release!

Cathrina Constantine said...

Congrats to Damien's New Release!!!

I tend to agree with your thoughts concerning AI. But I'm hoping that is not the case...

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

I'm worried it will replace writers and other artists. Congrats to Damien.

Gwen Gardner said...

Quality is the key word for AI. It doesn't quite have command of the English language yet.

Congrats to Damien and Dancing Lemur on the new release!

Olga Godim said...

I hope AI robots never achieve true sentience as some scifi writers speculate. Otherwise, the humanity will be doomed.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Natalie, pathetic if it's not improving.

Thank you, Yolanda! And your post was fun.

Liz, that is a very good point.

Thank you to everyone who pointed out how flawed AI still is and that it can't capture the human touch.

emaginette said...

I hope you're wrong, but I have a feeling... you're right.

Anna from elements of emaginette

Sherry Ellis said...

Congratulations to Damien!

I hope that AI never completely replaces human writers. There's joy in creating and seeing your work available for others to enjoy. It would be sad if AI takes that away from creative people.

J.Q. Rose said...

AI can be a useful tool, but there are always those who ruin good things and twist into harmful mean uses. We need some rules and regulations...fast!

Carol Kilgore said...

AI is a double-edged sword.
Congrats on the new release!

Sandra Cox said...

I think exciting but scary sums it up nicely.

Denise Covey said...

I'm a fan of AI for certain things for writers like blurbs and synopses. I see editors being replaced before storytellers.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

In the case of publishers using AI to produce books, they still need that creative touch to tell the AI what to do...that's where the real storytellers come in.

The art of telling a story will remain in human hands forever. The art of writing that story may not.

Mary Aalgaard said...

Good luck with all of that!

Steven Arellano Rose Jr. said...

Some good news is that big name authors such R.R. Martin and Sylvia Day via the Author's Guild are suing the big AI companies for using other people's work without permission or giving compensation. Now, if they can only win it.

J Lenni Dorner said...

AI making money for the rich by taking over creative jobs. You know, that's not for what I thought AI was being created. I hoped it would generate equality for everyone so people could create without the worry of money to survive. Of course, not a way to keep the rich getting richer there.


“And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” ― Sylvia Plath

J Lenni Dorner (he/him 👨🏽 or 🧑🏽 they/them) ~ Speculative Fiction & Reference Author and Co-host of the April Blogging #AtoZchallenge

DMS said...

AI worries me- but I hope it will not replace people in creative jobs. It is moving quickly that is for sure! ~Jess

Sandra Cox said...

Congrats to both you and Damien. And good on Damien for being a co-founder of the Writing Society.

Rawknrobyn.blogspot.com said...

AI works for small tasks, but it's already done so much damage in replacing human being's craft, for which there really is no replacement.

Sandra Cox said...

Great cover.
Happy Halloween.

Lisa said...

Congratulations to Damien! Kind of waiting to see where AI goes…