"I was worried I was going to ignite someone somehow and then hand them a roadmap on how to ruin me!"

Bestselling author Robyn Harding on feeding the trolls, building a thicker hide, and her terrifying new thriller, THE HATERS

Check out the collection of past Words With (Author) Friends, wherein I g-chat with an author and you get to read over my shoulder, and order Robyn’s heart-pounding new novel, out now!

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Me: Thanks so much for chatting with me and HUGE congrats on The Haters!!!

Robyn: Thanks so much! I appreciate your support so much!

How are you feeling post-launch?

I'm slowly returning to normal. Pub week (and surrounding) is INTENSE, as you know. Especially talking about a book dealing with a writer's worst nightmare!

Yes, that is a particular kind of stressor! For the uninitiated, can you share what THE HATERS is about?

It's the story of debut author, Camryn Lane, who thinks her dream has finally come true when she publishes her first novel. But when she receives an anonymous email making disturbing accusations about her book, it snowballs into a nightmare of review-bombing, harassment, stalking and eventually murder.

Truly every author's nightmare turned up to 11! Was there a particular incident that inspired the story (or just the general chaos of putting books out into the world)?

A couple of years ago I had an email from a reader that was so upsetting I removed the "contact me" link from my website. I'd been open and accessible for twenty years, but this ended all that…