The International Writers Magazine Editorial 2025

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Welcome to this edition of Hackwriters. 26 years on-line, 8,031 + articles - reviews - stories - travel -
share any feature you like and pass them on.- Previous Editorial here

Welcome: Editorial - Tin hats at the ready chaps as Trump takes over.
These are our last days at Hackwriters as we go to archive mode in 2025.
James Campion says farewell here.

This is our last update for 2024. So no doubt you are in a buying frenzy for Christmas and wondering how you're going to pay for all the food you need to feed the family and guests. (The trend is ask for a contribution and leave out a hat for cash). If the uncle or sister you never liked refuses point out where the nearest McDonalds is. If you're alone this year count your blessings, you'll miss out on the inevitable rows and occasional random mass slayings. You get to watch 'It's a Wonderful Life' again without any guilt.

As I write this Chinese forces are building up all around Taiwan. Could this be the next domino to fall? Taiwan could fall because we are in a power vaccum in America. Biden will hesitate to respond knowing that Trump couldn't care less about one small island far away from America. With South Korea in disarray Taiwan can't count on any support from the American military based there. The Chinese read the West very well. They take Taiwan they control the future supply of computer chips. Game Over. But maybe it's all just posturing. Who knows?

Syria is undergoing a massive upheaval and discovering just how many people Assad killed. Everyone is crossing fingers that this new Islamic regime will be moderate. There is optimism so far but Turkey is spoiling for a fight against the Kurds - and what of all the ISIS prisoners being guarded. What will become of them? Watch that space.

Meanwhile Israel is making sure the new regime doesn't have access to chemical weapons or any weapons judging from the all the bombing going on. They have expanded the buffer zone and one hopes they will stop there. Syria needs to rebuild itself and provide for its people, especially as refugees flood back into the country. Food will be in short supply and vengeance will be high on their list. My wish list is that they deny Russia their military bases. This will bring great benefits to world peace if they have the courage to do it. Russia won't see it that way of course. Russian soldiers are being shipped out so that is a good sign.

Israel and Lebanon have a cease-fire deal although it is fragile. There is some definite sign of a deal with Gaza today (12.17.24) and one hopes all the hostages will be returned at last.  Sadly the Russians are gaining ground in Ukraine and things don’t look bright for a reasonable outcome there, as Trump will sell them down the river come January 20th 2025.  Putin has threatened NATO with hypersonic ballistic missiles with a range of 5000 kms – so maybe it’s time to dig your bomb shelter. *By chance there’s a flooded one in my garden left over from WW11 but I suspect it’s not bunker busting proof.  Joy to the world hey. I'd better put a water pump on my Santa list.

So what is the worst-case scenario for the second coming of Trump?  If you judge a man by the company he keeps you should be utterly terrified by Trump’s cabinet of climate deniers, vaccine & covid deniers, clean environment deniers, never mind allowing mentally disturbed people gun rights and demolishing the FBI and Department of Education.  Combine all this with tariffs against the whole world, inflation will come roaring back and I hope the eighty million voters who so enthusiastically embraced his views will enjoy the ride.  At least there will be a lot of jobs going as security guards in the Trump Concentration Camps they're going to build in Texas.

Temporarily housing eleven million people (and they are people and children not ‘vermin’) will be expensive and self-destructive for the economy. Republicans don’t have the advantage that Hitler had of railways to deliver all these people in cattle trucks, so all will have to be ‘shipped’ by road. Jobs will be available in the private prisons too and for the round-up squads in every city. Beware the knock on the door at 4am - it might be for you.

Trump Concentration Camp No.101

How long will it take for things to turn very sour?  For liberals I guess avocados at $10 bucks each might be annoying – if they are available at all.  For the average working guy a rise in wages due to labor shortages might help but if you need anything new such as a washing machine, fridge, dryer, car or truck or toys for the kids it’s going to cost way, way more.  Order yours now or regret it forever.

Trump will not just disrupt America; the reverberations will flow across the whole globe.  America First means World Last and as the USA retreats behind a high tariff wall one wonders if Europe will disintegrate politically as the pro-Putin far right gains in country after country (Hello Romania, Georgia, Hungary, Slovakia and now Germany).  It would be ironic if we drifted into the kelptocratic clutches of Moscow with all the alternate facts of life that will swamp our lives.  Bitcoin at $250,000 anyone - then a week later $25 bucks. Could be quite a ride.

You’re thinking this is too extreme – none of this will happen, that it will be all rainbows and sunshine as the clocks go back a hundred years along with women’s rights vanishing as if they never existed. The rich will get richer. The poor will grow in number and good luck getting medical care.

**Perhaps read all of Project 2025 this Christmas - it's Trump's Mein Kampf. It will help you understand.

As we head towards 2025 hope is in short supply for the economy but in England we’re good at muddling through so I expect we’ll get by one way or another.

Happy Christmas and have a safe New Year's Eve.

© Sam North – Jan 3rd 2025
Author of Another Place to Die: Endime Chronicles and Magenta.

*Sales of Sam North's and Sam Hawksmoor's books help keep Hackwriters going. Sam Hawksmoor's Books below
Still time to order for a good winter read.

The Restoration of Ami: ASIN: B0CVQMH78C - Kindle ISBN: 978-1-7385181-0-4 - Print UK Pub: Hammer & Tong/KDP 2.29.24 Remy has one last obsession – to complete the restoration of his ’57 Studebaker Golden Hawk.  He’s planned a road trip to Montreal to find a part he desperately needs. It’s a long way from Florida; his Chevy truck is almost as old as he is. There are doubts he’ll be able to make the drive, doubts about his bladder, his heart, but he’s determined to go. At the very first urgent stop in the pouring rain, a dog appears from nowhere and jumps into his truck, quickly followed by a drenched teen. Scared, the girl, Ami, urgently needs a ride. She has escaped from a nearby religious cult and is desperate to find the mother who abandoned her there when she was just five years old. One old man, a troubled teenage girl and Stan the dog are on a road trip into MAGA America. With each mile they travel Montreal seems to get further away. 'Fabulous, can't-put-down story with quirky, original characters, a loveable dog and a great adventure'. ***** Roxy West on Goodreads.

A MAGA Road Trip by Sam Hawkmoor

The Book of Ashes • Sam Hawksmoor ISBN: 979-8-837434-952 ASIN: B0B85HFK86 Hammer & Tong - print and kindle 'an immensely satisfying story' - Walli Leff on Goodreads. 'a fun read with unique elements ... exemplary in its voice and style' 'Judge, 10th Annual Writer's Digest E-Book Awards An extract from the Book of Ashes		The Book of Ashes - Some secrets are meant to be kept forever The Case: Delaney and Asha run their own investigation company now. Hired to find a writer who stiffed a client of $10,000 - things go bad pretty fast. "This was supposed to be a simple track and trace job. Find the writer, bank the money. Now it's a horror show."

'We Feel Your Pain' by Sam Hawksmoor ISBN-13: 979-8699087693 Published by Hammer & Tong Print & Kindle Book One in the Delaney & Asha series		We Feel Your Pain – So you don’t have to. The Case: Delaney (42) and Asha (22) run the Office of Berg City Oversight. Their role is to expose the scams, keep the city safe from unscrupulous people.  When something looks too good to be true – it’s a scam, right?  But what if the scam works?  What kind of scam is that?

MISSION LONGSHOT: how far will you go to save one life? 2024: Honorable Mention in the Purple Dragonfly Awards (Sci Fi) Gerry is convinced aliens are going to attack on Millennium Eve - Y2K night. Everyone else is preparing for the end of civilisation. That night only Gerry notices aliens land. He and his spacenut pals Jolene and Kali race to be the first to greet them... 'Climate change, lost alien civilisations, adventures in deep space. Great fun with endearing characters'. Kitty Thomas

The Sam North Novels - still available to order Amazon or Lulu

*Keeping Hackwriters archived is supported by sales of our books - so do buy, print or kindle, we aren't picky.
Magenta - A chilling story of kidnapping, burning and strangeness set in the wilds of Lincolnshire

** The Heaviness, & The Repercussions of Tomas D - 'best time travel WW2 story in a long while'

The new edition of 'ANOTHER PLACE TO DIE: ENDTIME CHRONICLES By Sam Hawksmoor & Sam North There's no safe place to hide from a lethal pandemic Print & Kindle - Q&A interview with the authors here A city gripped by fear. People are petrified of being thrown into quarantine. Best friends Kira and Liz once parted are scared they will never see each other again. Teen lovers, Chris and Rachel, prepare to escape to the islands. a taster here The Last Ferry Review from the First Edition: 'Beautiful, plausible, and sickeningly addictive, Another Place to Die: Endtime will terrify you, thrill you, and make you petrified of anyone who comes near you...' Roxy West - Amazon.co.uk

Girl with Cat (Blue) - Shortlisted for the Rubery International Book Award 'a funny, bloody, colorful narrative that never fails to surprise the reader. Girl with Cat (Blue) provides great entertainment'. * Screenplay a quarter-finalist in the Screencraft competition 2024

'This book was amazing! I was hooked from the first few pages and couldn't put the book down.' Judge, 26th Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards. - Honorable Mention

J&K 4Ever - A post-apocalypse love story Sixty years after the end of everything the city of Bluette survives, controlled by a malignant sect.  A place where men rule, girls receive no education and are matched at 16 to the highest bidder.  No one is ever permitted to leave the city and outside is a murderous wasteland of despair. Orphans Kruge and Jeyna have been devoted to each other through all the years of terror in this harsh regime and sworn never to be parted.  But the beautiful Jeyna has been betrayed by the Warden. Kruge has been swiftly banished to the Scraps, under the control of the Keeper. Jeyna is heartbroken; she will not accept her fate and escapes to find Kruge.   'A genuine romance in a bleak but plausible and terrifying setting'.

J&K 4Ever

MARIKKA- exclusively on Amazon Print only Based on a tragic real life event, Marikka flees from an arson attack on her home to the sea, where she meets Starfish boy – a runaway working for Jackson, a scarred man hiding a sinister secret from the world. Meanwhile her real father searches for her with the aide of Anya, ‘the girl who can read objects’. More about the writing of this book ‘Long after my tears dried, my heart stayed with Marikka, Starfish Boy and the strange girl who reads objects.’ CT You will smile, and you will struggle to read the words through your tears. Gemma Williams - Amazon.co.uk

Spy/Romance thriller set during the Blitz in WW2 - Kindle download The Repercussions of Tomas D A Hero? Or Englands Greatest Traitor? USA Paperback here 'Disturbing and very poignant YA love story that presents a chilling alternate future for an England that lost the war.' Marcel d'Agneau 'A brilliant imagining of living in the Blitz, well researched.' Amazon UK 'This is Man in the High Castle for teens and scarily plausible ' *download the Kindle version or buy the paperback from Hammer & Tong

'The Heaviness' betrayal, revenge, relationships and the laws of gravity. Genie & Renée have just 36 hours to save Rian or he dies 'Without a doubt, one of the best YA Sci Fi series out there.' Evie Seo - Bookish * Also published as Rüya by Marti Yayincilik - The Turkish publishers of TOZ & Golge Part 2: The Hunting of Genie Magee - fight for the right to exist

*December 9th: Sara Troy interviews Sam Hawksmoor on Self Discovery Wisdom

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