The International Writers Magazine JANUARY 2014

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Welcome to this January edition of Hackwriters and hope you'll stay to look around. Read us and review the amazing archives too. 15 years on-line and 7470 articles - reviews - stories - destinations. Find something you like - share it on Twitter or Facebook or Linked In or...

January 2014 Editorial: Life is complicated. In the UK we’ve had a lot of gales, floods and delays with thousands missing their Christmas due to power cuts with more storms on the way. (Do check your flood insurance). In the US and Canada they had ice storms with similar outages that ruined the holidays for many thousands. Winter has barely started. It was -26C in Montreal on Jan 3rd. Poor bastards. And now the Northern States and Canada are in the grip of a Polar Vortex. (Sounds like something Mr Magneto might concoct doesn't it) Don't know about you but January means bills. Gas/Electric/ Water/Sewage. Complete nightmare and it always comes just when you have no money. Add phone(s) broadband and actually need to eat to stay alive - I have no idea how families cope - let alone us at our HQ. Somethings got to give. Here we are being battered by high winds for weeks. At Hackwriters HQ we thought we had missed the worst of it, but damnit – everything happened in one brief hour the other day.  First the very heavy metal swing seat in the garden took off like Dorothy and Toto over the apple tree – smashing in next door's garden.  Swaying branches from the other next door’s tree was threatening to bring my power and phone lines down – so even though the wind is gusting at 70mph I dutifully got out the ladder and climbed to handsaw off the offending limbs.  Don’t know when exactly but just I had one branch down, the ladder snapped in two and delivered me to the hard ground next door, landing on my back and neck, knocking me out. I came too gasping for air, not too sure where I was or what hurt the most. The pain was excruciating in my neck.  My neighbour must have heard something and came out - surprised to find me lying down in their garden – I guess I was lucky to be alive. Shamefaced I stumbled out gripping my head. Luckily a friendly scrap merchant was passing and he took the ladder, the swing seat, and the oven that blew up on Christmas Eve. (Yep my sister blew up the oven). I had to move my car for the scrap man.  It was agony just opening the door. That’s when I noticed all the electrics had gone.  That would be having to drive through floodwaters at Christmas in Surrey.  Dejected I crawled into the house on all fours.  The rest of the tree can sway all it likes – I’m not going back up there for a while. When things go wrong – they go wrong all at once right? * Now almost two weeks later I am just realising I can’t move my neck much and I have a huge black bruise on my shoulder and a few cuts I hadn't noticed the first day. Luckily I had the new Martin Cruz Smith novel Tatania lent to me from Sam Hawksmoor to keep me occupied whilst I lay down. But now as I write this on the 9th I realise I still can't move my neck and quite possibly I should have seen a doctor. Too late now I guess. By the by I meant to say how much I enjoyed the second part of Patrick Rothfuss's 'The Name of the Wind' entitled The Wise Man's Fear. Read it over Christmas whilst everyone else was partying and swallowing painkillers. 1000 pages thereabouts - the perfect antidote to the 'Season'. If you haven't tried the first one - have a go. Wonderful story of a young man's life as he strives for success in the arcane arts - his punishments and unrequited love told with amazing detail. Happy New Year to all our readers and writers.  2014 has to be better than 2013 – but hell I said that last year. I vote for peace in Syria - calm in Egypt and everywhere else in the middle -east. Take care out there and do avoid ladders. Sam North -Editor January 2014

The Repossession & The Hunting by Sam Hawksmoor released across Canada Available in Chapters/Indigo/ Albany Books, Hager and Kids Books Broadway - Vancouver + Bolens Books (Victoria), Mables Fables, Type Books in Toronto, ‘Smart, dark and graceful, this story is sure to send chills down your spine…’ Evie Seo PLV Radio Live On-Air Positive Living Radio – Sara Troy interviews Sam Hawksmoor 26 Nov *then archived

The Repossession by Sam Hawksmoor. View the Trailer here - a fast paced edgy romantic thriller 'The Repossession... will blow your mind and keep you guessing until the very end'. A Dream of Books (SJH) 'Smart, dark and graceful, this story is sure to send chills down your spine...one of the best, and most fascinating, debut novels I've ever read'. Evie-bookish.blogspot Out Now - The Hunting - the thrilling sequel - order yours from Amazon, Waterstones or Chapters or your indie bookshop plus Indigo Books Canada or Kindle 'Without a doubt, one of the best YA Sci Fi series out there.' Evie Seo Bookish

If you're looking for an exciting YA book set in WW2 - Kindle download 'The Repercussions of Tomas D' or buy the paperback - All proceeds go to keeping Hackwriters going - (e-book only in Canada it seems)

The Repercussions of Tomas D
A Hero? Or Englands Greatest Traitor? USA Paperback here
'Disturbing and very poignant YA novel that presents a chilling alternate future for an England that lost the war.'
Marcel d'Agneau

Sam North- joint editor of Hackwriters is the author of Diamonds – The Rush of 72 (Print & ebook)) The Great Californian Diamond Rush of 1872 - a grand American West true life story that made many rich and ruined the lives of almost everyone it touched. ipad (iTunes version) *e-book now only £1.99 Buy these books - they go towards keeping Hackwriters going.

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