A major publisher recalled a novel for using AI
After selling 1,800 copies, the horror novel Shy Girl was pulled from shelves when software detected that 70 percent of the text was machine-generated.
In 2025, an unknown author named Mia Ballard self-published a horror novel titled Shy Girl on Amazon. The story, which follows a woman living as a wealthy man's pet, gained significant traction on TikTok and was eventually acquired by Hachette Book Group. However, the book's success was short-lived when readers and critics began to question the authenticity of the prose.