Somewhere between arguing with AI over cover art and tinkering with chapters, I realised writing the book was only half the job. I built a website, created a free Rule Book, chose a bonus chapter and finally hit “publish” on Kindle. Heart on sleeve, stomach in knots, rollercoaster engaged.

“Mum, Dad… I’ve written a book about my love life.” Telling my parents about Swipe Right, Keep Left was one thing. Handing it to them to read—knowing there are chapters they’ll howl at and some they might hate—was another. Writing honestly hits different when family is turning the pages.

Split or layered image of the same book cover character changing slightly: different outfits, slightly different hair/face each time, like a ‘before/after/after’ grid. Around her, little icons of sliders, magic wand, and “AI” symbols to hint at tech, not overwhelm it.

You’d think getting a book 90% done would feel triumphant. In reality, it felt like, “Oh no… people might actually read this.” Hitting send on my messy, honest dating-and-divorce manuscript to a small group of friends was the scariest bit so far—and their feedback changed everything.