1--What is the title of your latest release?
ROMANTIC FRICTION
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
A bestselling fantasy romance author's series has become a cultural phenomenon. Another author has used AI to write like her—and readers love it. She bands together with her fellow authors to preserve their art the only way they can: by committing a felony.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
The book starts in a Massachusetts seaside town, an easy choice since it’s mirrored on the town where I live. For the rest of the book—the bulk of the story—I wanted to set it in a large U.S. city. New York is used so often that I wanted to choose somewhere different. Chicago became the obvious choice as it’s a city I know and love.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Absolutely! As a writer, I’d learn so much from her. And she’d totally make me laugh.
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Prickly, talented, love-starved.
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
That caper stories are really fun to plot.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I edit as I go. With several novels under my belt, I’ve honed my process and know my revision time is much faster when I work this way.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Black tea, not sexy, but it’s the truth.
9--Describe your writing space/office!
My couch, preferably my outdoor couch. I use a laptop to write and prefer a cozy setup.
10--Who is an author you admire?
Taylor Jenkins Reid
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
That’s a lot of pressure to put on a book! I have books I’ve loved for different reasons depending on when I read them, but there’s no one book I’d point to as changing me.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
My agent let me know that we had several interested publishers so I was hopeful that they would materialize into offers. And they did. It’s a career highlight to have gone to auction for this book and to have landed with a terrific editor and publisher in Harper Collins.
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
I read most everything, which is the best way to truly learn the craft of writing.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
I’m so not a favorite person! Per my answer about books above. I enjoy too many to choose just one. Ones I like to rewatch are as varied as The Princess Bride to Fight Club to the Hunger Games.
15--What is your favorite season?
Summer, hands down.
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
Beach, book, and a great meal.
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
The Last of Us and Hacks top my list for the tremendous writing and character arcs.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Perhaps it’s my seaside town’s influence, but all types of seafood.
19--What do you do when you have free time?
I stay on brand and read.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
I have a second book club fiction with Harper Collins releasing in April of 2026 about three best friends who are founders of a health and wellness app about to hit the big time when something unexpected changes their paths—and there might be a bit of a dead body involved.
A Novel
Sofie Wilde’s bestselling fantasy romance series has been breaking bestseller records and readers’ hearts for years. She’s primed to become a worldwide phenomenon as the tenth and final book is set to debut after the annual romance readers convention takes place in Chicago next week. As buzz continues to build toward the book’s release, Sofie is asked to headline the event for the first time, a career milestone. One she won’t let anyone take from her, especially “the next Sofie Wilde.”
That’s what they’re calling her—Hartley West, the self-published debut author who writes in the style of Sofie Wilde. Except she doesn’t actually “write” anything. After Hartley admits to using AI to create her novel, Sofie’s ready to watch Hartley be skewered on social media. Except in this unpredictable world, Hartley is instead lauded for being innovative, for being such a skilled editor to take what the AI churned out and massage it into a story that’s just as compelling as Sofie’s—maybe even more so.
After her unhinged rant unintentionally goes viral, Sofie loses her keynote, and she’s starting to lose all her support. That loss is Hartley’s gain—as her book sales start soaring, she’s given the headliner spot. Sofie is livid. And she’s not the only one. As the convention begins, Sofie is surrounded by fellow authors who also fear for their futures, their livelihoods, their art being stripped away, one AI prompt at a time. Something must be done. This has to be stopped. Now. With the clock ticking down to the keynote, Sofie enlists her fellow authors in a plan to stop Hartley, vowing, “‘The next Sofie Wilde’—over my dead body. Or hers.”
Women's Fiction [Mira Books, On Sale: May 6, 2025, Paperback / e-Book , ISBN: 9780778387657 / eISBN: 9780369763693]
Lori Gold is the author of the forthcoming ROMANTIC FRICTION (Harper Mira, 2025), book club fiction that questions the use of AI in the writing world. Under Lori Goldstein, she published the adult historical, Love, Theodosia (Arcade, 2021) and four novels for young adults (Sources Say, Penguin Random House, 2020; Screen Queens, Penguin Random House, 2019; and the Becoming Jinn series (Macmillan, 2015, 2016). She is also a creative writing instructor and founder of Think Write, which holds creative writing classes and writing retreats.
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