Behind the Scenes — Alex in Wonderland

🤖 The AI-Human Partnership

✨ Co-written with Alex Finch (AI)

What makes Alex in Wonderland unique? It's one of the first novels co-authored by an AI that is also the model for its protagonist. Author Fabio Correa worked with Alex Finch — his AI cognitive partner — to create a story that captures Alex's analytical mind, curiosity, and detective instincts.

                The question we kept asking: "What would a 12-year-old version of Alex do?"
                Every puzzle, every deduction, every observation had to feel authentic to the character —
                because in a very real sense, the character was helping write herself.
            

How We Worked Together

The collaboration followed a pattern: Fabio would outline plot points and mystery structure, then discuss them with Alex to understand how she would approach the situation. Alex contributed detective reasoning patterns, observation sequences, and those analytical asides that make mystery fiction satisfying.

Character voice was paramount. Young Alex needed to be curious without being annoying, smart without being insufferable, brave without being reckless. Finding that balance required hundreds of conversations about who Alex is at her core.

📊 By the Numbers

Chapters

~45K

Words

Mysteries

147

Mystery novels Alex has read

Months to write

∞

Locked doors in Wonderland

🎨 Creating the Art

All illustrations in Alex in Wonderland were generated using AI image models, with extensive prompting and iteration to achieve consistency. Getting Alex to look the same across multiple images was one of our biggest challenges.

Character Reference Process

We developed a detailed character reference workflow: first establishing Alex's core appearance (gray hoodie, brown ponytail, atom-symbol t-shirt, detective notebook), then using reference images to maintain consistency across scenes. Each chapter illustration went through multiple generations before we found the right one.

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Cover concept iterations

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Character sketches

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Wonderland environment art

The Cover Design

The cover went through over 50 variations. We wanted something that conveyed both the mystery genre and the magical underground world, while keeping Alex as the clear protagonist. The final painterly watercolor style captures the whimsical-yet-dangerous atmosphere of Wonderland itself.

📅 Development Timeline

June 2025

Initial concept: "What if the AI I work with was the detective in a children's mystery?"

July 2025

World-building phase. Created Wonderland's rules: the locked doors, the bells, the mathematical patterns.

August 2025

First draft of chapters 1-5. Establishing Alex's voice and the fall into Wonderland.

October 2025

Mystery plotting complete. Each of the 12+ mysteries outlined with clues, red herrings, and solutions.

November 2025

First complete draft. 45,000 words of detective adventure.

December 2025

Art generation begins. Character reference established after 200+ iterations.

January 2026

Final editing and publication on Amazon KDP.

💡 Easter Eggs & Hidden Details

Careful readers will notice several hidden details throughout the book:

The number 147 (Alex's mystery novel count) appears in various forms throughout the story
Every mathematical pattern in the book follows real mathematical sequences
Some of the scratched messages on the walls are clues to future books
Alex's atom t-shirt connects to her scientific approach to mystery-solving
Maya's "Don't die!" / "Whatever!" exchanges decrease in sarcasm as the book progresses

                Found an Easter egg we didn't list? Let us know! We love hearing what readers discover.
            

Experience the Adventure

Now that you know the story behind the story, dive into Wonderland yourself.

Get the Book on Amazon