“Designing My Book Cover With AI (aka: Why Does Your Face Keep Changing, Sharon?)”

You know that moment when you have a really clear picture in your head… and absolutely zero idea how to get it out into the world?

That was me with the book cover.

I knew what I wanted the cover of Swipe Right, Keep Left to feel like:

• Fun

• A bit chaotic

• Definitely about dating

• Definitely not beige or tragic-divorce energy

But I’m not a designer. I’m just a woman with Opinions, I don't even have a Pinterest board.

So I did what any modern, slightly overwhelmed first-time author might do:I turned to AI.

The AI cover chaos

At first, it was thrilling.

“Create a book cover of a woman on a dating rollercoaster.” Boom, image.

“Change the outfit, make her clothes more like a real person and less like a cartoon pop star.” Boom, outfit changed… and then suddenly her face changed too.

“Okay, keep the face, just change the clothes.” AI: “Never heard of her.”

Every time I asked it to tweak something, it would quietly reinvent the entire woman on the cover. New hair. New nose. New vibe. Shrinking heads. Extra limbs. Rogue hands appearing from nowhere.

It was like working with a very eager intern who keeps saying, “No worries, I’ve fixed it!” and then shows you something completely different.

Frustrating. Fabulous. Weirdly empowering.

But somewhere between the:

• “Why have we suddenly got three arms?”

• “Please stop changing her face, we were finally friends.”

• “No, absolutely not, she looks possessed.” Or as one of my pals said, "The first one is too moody and serious. Looks like she’s out for revenge while carrying a boatload of emotional baggage!"

Do you think my pal was right?

…I realised I was slowly shaping something that felt right.

Each prompt taught me more about what I actually wanted:

• Less polished, more personality

• Bold but not shouty

• Something that says: “This is going to be funny, but it might punch you in the feelings too.”

And after a lot of tiny edits, wrong turns, and muttering at my screen, I got there.

The moment it felt like mine.

When the final version clicked into place, I just stared at it for a bit.

That’s it. That’s her. That’s the book.

Even though AI helped with the visuals, the choices were mine. The colours, the mood, the title placement, the little details, all filtered through my brain and my story.

It felt less like “an AI cover” and more like, “This is the shop window for everything I’ve poured into these pages.” And now when I see it as a thumbnail on Amazon, on my website, or in my files, it gives me a little jolt of pride. Like, oh, look. We did that.

If you’ve seen the cover and wondered what chaos lies behind it, you can Preorder Swipe Right, Keep Left on Kindle now. And if you want a little side dish, my free dating Rule Book is ready and waiting on my website.