Freida McFadden, author of The Housemaid series, is shutting down rumors that she uses AI to write her books.
“Recently, I saw an article about myself, and when I looked at the comments (big mistake, I know), I was stunned to see tons of comments from people saying not only that I use AI to write books, but also that I admitted it!” McFadden, 45, wrote in a post shared via Facebook on Saturday, April 18. “This is blatantly untrue. Actually, I have said multiple times that I do NOT use AI both here and in official interviews, but maybe I’ve been too subtle?”
McFadden then reiterated, “I DO NOT USE AI TO WRITE MY BOOKS. I WILL NEVER USE AI TO WRITE MY BOOKS. I’m not sure how I could make it more clear? Do I need a larger font and neon colors? Maybe flashing words? Or is that too 1999? (I actually don’t know how to do any of that in FB so this will have to do.)”
The thriller author explained that she has been writing since age 9 — “way before AI, before even laptops, back in the time of the abacus” — and always dreamed of publishing a book.
“I started self-publishing in 2013 because I just wanted to hold one of the books I’d written in my hands. I didn’t want to be a professional author,” McFadden continued. “I was already a physician and had no desire to leave. This has always been a labor of love for me, and the idea of farming it out in any way makes no sense to me. This is what I love doing! Would you get AI to do your hobbies for you? Maybe you could get AI to go on a cruise with your family? Maybe AI could eat that chocolate cake for you?”
McFadden added that she has seen many authors “plagued by AI accusations” in recent months.
“Both traditional and indie authors have faced it, but it’s far worse for indie authors,” she explained. “Traditional authors have all the power of publishing houses between them, but one major thing that indie authors have going for them is that they can write and publish quickly. They have been doing this well before AI existed. … I’ve heard authors say they need to livestream themselves writing their books just to prove they did it.”
“I find this state of things really sad,” McFadden shared. “Being an author is hard in so many ways. You have to put yourself out there and leave yourself vulnerable to criticism about your deepest thoughts. And now, on top of that, people claim that the work isn’t really yours because it’s ‘impossible’ to write more than one book per year.”
The Never Lie author concluded, “Look, there are a lot of things I can’t do. I can’t run more than a mile. I can’t play an instrument. I can’t speak more than one language. I can’t throw a ball in a way that doesn’t make observers snicker. I can’t understand how a tomato could possibly be a fruit. But I *am* able to write several books per year, and so can many other people. Let us have this.”
McFadden’s post comes one week after she revealed her true identity as Dr. Sara Cohen, a physician specializing in brain injuries and disorders.
“It became clear to me that the mystery around my real name was taking on a lore of its own, and I decided it was time to share it,” she told Today.
