Author's Corner ~~ 2026 > Likes and Comments

Are you an author who wishes to post about your book? This is the thread to do it.

Please do not start a new thread. If you do, it will be deleted. Just reply to this post.

Thank you.

Hello everyone! Behold! The first brand new chapter for my second novel of 2026!

I got more on that right here:

https://haileysawyer.wordpress.com/20...

Congratulations, Hailey!

Impressive start to the New Year. Hurrah!

madrano wrote: "Impressive start to the New Year. Hurrah!"

Hurrah indeed, madrano!

Bella (Kiki) wrote: "Congratulations, Hailey!"

Thank you, Bella!

Hello everyone! Another new week of the new year is upon us and with that comes a brand new outline!

More on that here:

https://haileysawyer.wordpress.com/20...

Have fun, Hailey, with the story. I smile when you write about things like writing the dialogue.

madrano wrote: "Have fun, Hailey, with the story. I smile when you write about things like writing the dialogue."

I'm glad to hear that, madrano!

I think I have just as much fun talking about my writing as I do when I actually do the writing.

Hello everyone! New chapter of my second novel for another new weekend!

You can read more about that here:

https://haileysawyer.wordpress.com/20...

Way to go, Hailey.

Hello everyone !

I just released my debut novel, The Burden of Knowledge. It’s a mind-bending thriller about a boy who remembers his future instead of his past.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G4FGB1WM

Alexandru wrote: "Hello everyone !

I just released my debut novel, The Burden of Knowledge. It’s a mind-bending thriller about a boy who remembers his future instead of his past. ."

A very interesting concept ! Best of luck with your novel.

Alias Reader wrote: "Alexandru wrote: "Hello everyone !

I just released my debut novel, The Burden of Knowledge. It’s a mind-bending thriller about a boy who remembers his future instead of his past. ."

A very interesting concept ! Best of luck with your novel."

Thank you so much! If you ever have the time to dive into it, I’d love to hear what you think. I really appreciate the support!

Alexandru wrote: "Hello everyone !

I just released my debut novel, The Burden of Knowledge. It’s a mind-bending thriller about a boy who remembers his future instead of his past. .."

Terrific idea for a novel, Alexandru. Best of luck with sales & awards!

The Burden of Knowledge: A Mind-Bending Time Travel Thriller--Alexandru Crâşmaru

madrano wrote: "Alexandru wrote: "Hello everyone !

I just released my debut novel, The Burden of Knowledge. It’s a mind-bending thriller about a boy who remembers his future instead of his past. .."

Terrific id..."

Thank you very much, Madrano ! ❤ Thank you for your kind words !

Please support an emerging writer by pre-ordering my paperback:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/106871039X

Alexandru wrote: "Hello everyone !

I just released my debut novel, The Burden of Knowledge. It’s a mind-bending thriller about a boy who remembers his future instead of his past.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G4FG..."

Thank you for sharing your debut novel with us, Alexandru!

If you don't mind me asking, what was your favorite part about writing The Burden of Knowledge? What was the most challenging?

Hello everyone! Another week, another new plot outline for my second novel!

More on that here:

https://haileysawyer.wordpress.com/20...

Hailey wrote: "Alexandru wrote: "Hello everyone !

I just released my debut novel, The Burden of Knowledge. It’s a mind-bending thriller about a boy who remembers his future instead of his past.

https://www.am..."

Thanks! Honestly, the best part was just getting back into that childhood mindset, even with all the heavy stuff involved. The hardest? Probably trying to keep the emotions raw and real without overthinking it. It’s definitely been a learning curve!

Aneta wrote: "Please support an emerging writer by pre-ordering my paperback"

Best of luck with your sales, Aneta.

Hailey wrote: "Hello everyone! Another week, another new plot outline for my second novel!

More on that here:..."

Huzzah, Hailey!

That's a word i do not use often enough. Thanks for the reminder!

madrano wrote: "Hailey wrote: "Hello everyone! Another week, another new plot outline for my second novel!

More on that here:..."

Huzzah, Hailey!

That's a word i do not use often enough. Thanks for the reminder!"

You're welcome, madrano! It is indeed a great word.

Hello everyone! Thanks to a brand new chapter of my second novel, I'm getting ever so closer to the one seven zero zone!

You can read all about that here:

https://haileysawyer.wordpress.com/20...

Hailey wrote: "Hello everyone! Thanks to a brand new chapter of my second novel, I'm getting ever so closer to the one seven zero zone!

You can read all about that here:

https://haileysawyer.wordpress.com/2026/..."

You are such a fast and consistent writer, Hailey! :-) Good luck with the second book!

Alexandru wrote: "Hailey wrote: "Alexandru wrote: "Hello everyone !

I just released my debut novel, The Burden of Knowledge. It’s a mind-bending thriller about a boy who remembers his future instead of his past.
..."

I think I know what you mean, Alexandru. My debut novel, Kenji and Yuki: A Japanese Tale (https://haileysawyer.wordpress.com/ke...) and my second novel, I'm Pursuing a Monster (https://haileysawyer.wordpress.com/im...) are both Young Adult novels.

In my experience, while it can be a lot of fun to explore all the highs and lows of being a teen, it can also be a bit of a challenge to portray all of that without coming across as cringy or dated or out of touch.

If you do it right, you get novels like The Catcher in The Rye, Vision Quest, If We Survive, The Necessary Hunger, and so on where the characters feel like they could actually exist in real life.

If you get it wrong, you end up with novels Pretty Dead Queens, Almost Lost, One of Us is Lying, and My Almost Flawless Tokyo Dream Life where they either feel like cardboard cutouts, glorified plot devices, or products of someone trying failing to be hip and with it.

Hailey, congratulations on your continued progress.

And thanks for the reply to Alexandru. You made a good point about false YA's and the way they present themselves. Thanks.

Bella (Kiki) wrote: "Hailey wrote: "Hello everyone! Thanks to a brand new chapter of my second novel, I'm getting ever so closer to the one seven zero zone!

You can read all about that here:

https://haileysawyer.word..."

Thank you, Bella.

Hi all. Last week I had an interview with Rita Lee Chapman, an Australian author. She asked some great questions that I found challenging to answer. You can read the interview here:

http://www.ritaleechapman.com/guest-a...

Thanks for sharing, Tim. I enjoyed the questions and your thoughtful answers.

Nice interview, Tim. I find those interviews informative, when the questioner is a reader and seems to really want to know how authors "operate", so to speak.

Thanks for sharing the link.

Reposting from another thread

by Tim
Hi guys. It is with great interest that I've read this thread. "Book buddy" is a great idea and i thought how great it would be if readers of particular books were also able to ask the author questions? I's happily engage in conversations about my books, especially if I, as the author, know the novel may spark some controversial debate - use the word debate with care, because no one wants a discussion to turn into an argument. But books are to be discussed and it is my belief that characters, just like real people, have a right to voice their opinions and it's been my experience that those opinions can often be a little extreme, even for me.

Two novels that come to mind that I'd be keen to hear a reader's views on are The Drama Merchant, where a atheist man is in lover with a devout Christian and A Seed Once Sown, where a man sees himself as a vigilante seeking revenge for the murder of wildlife that has been hunted.

The Drama Merchant echoes strong opinions and contains a lot of sex. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...

A Seed Once Sown is a contemporary novel where a murderer is held up as a hero by social media and takes animal rights to the extreme. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...

And also the Original Earth series could and will be viewed as a little bit controversial because, I suppose, it is a little misanthropic.

All available on KU.

If I have been out of order posting this on this particular thread, let me know and I will take it down.

Thank you, Alias Reader! :)

Hello everyone! The one seven zero zone is getting more and more within my reach with the help of another new outline for my second novel!

More on that here:

https://haileysawyer.wordpress.com/20...

Tim wrote: "Hi all. Last week I had an interview with Rita Lee Chapman, an Australian author. She asked some great questions that I found challenging to answer. You can read the interview here:

http://www.rit..."

Thanks for sharing that interview with us, Tim! I think my favorite part of that interview has to be this one: "To me fictional characters are no different to real people. In life I have met so many individuals. Mostly we are ships passing in the night, but often I’ve put down anchor and spent time with various personas. I reflect upon them in exactly the same way I reflect on personalities who have peopled the books I’ve read."

Fictional characters (at least the ones that are well developed) are indeed a lot like real people with their own hobbies, their own likes and dislikes, their own goals, and so on and so forth. For me, the best characters tend to be the ones that feel like they could exist in real life.

With that said, I too was interviewed by Rita Lee Chapman. Here's the whole interview if you're interested in checking it out: (https://web.archive.org/web/202112200...)

Hi, my name is Aneta Ciszek-Kowalska
and I wrote ARAYA, which is a gripping, speculative exploration of the near future and its new moralities.

A life and death hunt for memories locked away in a virtual mind.

Speculative Fiction, thriller

Available from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Araya-Aneta-...

and Waterstones:

https://www.waterstones.com/book/aray...

Hi Hailey,

I liked your interview. Some tough questions that gave me pause for thought.

Yes, for me, when the characters come to life on the page is where the magic happens. I love the redrafting process where the characters never stick to the script so a story is constantly evolving. After many redrafts, I do come to a point where I think, that's it, but the end result is never the story I intended to write because the characters will interpret scenes a little differently every time, which invariably changes the narrative... Do you find that with Kenji and Yuki?

Aneta wrote: "Hi, my name is Aneta Ciszek-Kowalska
and I wrote ARAYA, which is a gripping, speculative exploration of the near future and its new moralities.

A life and death hunt for memories locked away in a ..."

Thank you for sharing with us, Aneta. Best of luck with you novel.

Hailey wrote: "Hello everyone! The one seven zero zone is getting more and more within my reach with the help of another new outline for my second novel!

More on that here:..."

You are steamrolling into this year, Hailey. Keep your pen to the paper....er...fingers on the keyboard?

Hailey wrote: "With that said, I too was interviewed by Rita Lee Chapman. Here's the whole interview if you're interested in checking it out: (https://web.archive.org/web/202112200...)..."

I don't know Chapman but i like her thoughtful interviews. You can almost feel the excitement of authors as they answer the questions. Thanks for sharing yours again, Hailey.

Aneta wrote: "Hi, my name is Aneta Ciszek-Kowalska
and I wrote ARAYA, which is a gripping, speculative exploration of the near future and its new moralities.

A life and death hunt for memories locked away in a ..."

Sounds thought provoking, Aneta. I wish you good luck with this and your future writing.

Thanks for sharing here.