The International Writers Magazine JUNE Editorial 2017

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Welcome to this JUNE edition of Hackwriters. Read us and our amazing archives too. 18 years on-line, 7423 articles - reviews - stories - travel - share any feature you like and pass them on using the links.
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Editorial: June
*We are on a break until the end of June now. Sam Hawksmoor hoping to sign a few copies of his book 'VoLontaires' in France and lots of walking on the beach at Anglet is mandatory at this time of year. So Vive La France.

Meanwhile we have a hung parliament in the UK. Doesn't mean of course that we hang all the MPs, but I think one in particular might be headed for the gallows. It's a WTF moment in British politics. The youth vote finally woke up and decided they like to be bribed and nevermind who is paying for it. Free University tution, who wouldn't want to vote for that. Labour get the glory without now having to explain how they will pay for their promises and Mrs May doesn't get to have a hard brexit. (I pray) Maybe we all win on that score. One is certain, there will be another election by the Autumn.

Meanwhile Trump keeps reminding us just how professional a Hilary President would have been. Now he's kicked the hornets nest in the Middle-East I wonder if we're heading for a conflageration there. If so, he is clearly not the man you want in charge. It does beg the question why aren't sensible, qualified people standing for election in the UK or the USA? Would it be so bad that we could set a minium academic qualification to be President or Prime Minister, along with a minimum of personal administrive experience in public service of some kind (even voluntary). Just so that anyone who aspires to lead us has knowledge of how systems work and how to get along with people, other than bullying them. Ask your MP or Congressman their qualifications next time you glimpse one.

Took a break in a small Chateau, as you do in Belgium. The temperature never fell below 30c and I was quite unprepared for that. Kitty's wonderful Ma, Kate provided the venue, along with Le Baron and every morning there were regular alarm calls from the geese who effectively fended off fox attacks around the moat. Staying in a Chateau makes you ponder how people lived a hundred odd years ago. It has its own three- storey chapel, replete with full sized Cathedral organ. (There's another organ in the living quarters). Squint and you can imagine at least thirty servants keeping the fires going, the enormous kitchens busy and the three libraries dusted, not to mention the Hunting room ready for the next kill.

It's all quiet now. Modern living requires few staff. It requires a boiler bigger than my house to keep it livable and even at 30c outside, it never changes inside. I can see the ghosts wrapped in fur vainly trying to get warm going up and down the turrent stairs. But I couldn't imagine living there now. You could drop three million Euros on the place and never see it again. It's a way of life and living that has gone forever - the rich live on yachts now, portable wealth in difficult times.

But it's amazing to get a taste of another way of living, walking the estate, regarding the magnificent trees, some well over a hundred or even 200 years old, hidden behind the walls. The Chateau has history - surviving occupation by the Germans in two world wars. Luckily it wasn't important so never got bombed. I seem to move home every fours years. Hard to think of a family living there for two hundred years. It brings into perspective about how we respond to the now. Things look crazy poltically but pause, take a deep breath and the moments will pass, along with Trump and all. The Chateau has seen a lot worse. We travelled on Eurostar. It was fast, almost comfortable and onward trains are free anywhere in Belgium with Eurostar tickets. Namur, the nearest town (boasting two rivers and a Citadel) is an attractive place and so much more accessible than Brussels. Worth a visit I reckon and OK it's hard being a vegan in Europe, but they will make you a good salad if you ask.

There's a lot going on politically. Attacks in London, Manchester - lives ruined and yet as Ariane Grande proved, everyone can come together to unite as one as a response to the hatred.

© Sam North JUNE 2017
samnorth.com
ANOTHER PLACE TO DIE: ENDTIME CHRONICLES
Print or kindle

*As ever Hackwriters is supported by sales of our books - so do buy, print or kindle, we aren't picky.
**And thanks for those who do. The Heaviness, Another Place to Die: Endtime Chronicles are recommended.
also read The Repercussions of Tomas D

J&K 4Ever - Love and Devotion in the Wastelands 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.  She is pursued by ruthless Enforcers on horseback, whose task it is to bring runaways back, dead or alive. 'A genuine romance in a bleak but plausible and terrifying setting'.

J&K 4Ever

MARIKKA- exclusively on Amazon Print and kindle 2 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, you will gasp with shock, and you will struggle to read the words through your tears. Gemma Williams - Amazon.co.uk 2015

The all new edition of 'ANOTHER PLACE TO DIE: ENDTIME CHRONICLES By Sam Hawksmoor and Sam North Could you live in a world where antibiotics no longer work? Print & Kindle Q&A interview with the authors here A city gripped by fear as a lethal virus approaches from the East. No one knows how many are dying. 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. Do you stay and hide, or do you flee? Review from the First Edition: 'Beautiful, plausible, and sickeningly addictive, Another Place to Die will terrify you, thrill you, and make you petrified of anyone who comes near you...' Roxy West - Amazon.co.uk

Spy/Romance thriller set during the Blitz in WW2 - Kindle download All proceeds go to keeping Hackwriters going 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 with alternative facts ' *download the Kindle version or buy the paperback from Hammer & Tong

'The Heaviness' for any reader who likes to think about such things as betrayal, revenge, relationships and the laws of gravity. An original Genie Magee story 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 Kindle & print Thanks to readers who have been buying this title this year. If you enjoyed it, please post a remark on Amazon or Goodreads. It all helps. * Now published as Rüya by Marti Yayincilik - The Turkish publishers of TOZ & Golge

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