The International Writers Magazine Editorial June 2024

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Welcome to this edition of Hackwriters. 25 years on-line, 7,998 + articles - reviews - stories - travel - share any feature you like and pass them on. June 2024 - Previous Editorial here

Our Next Update will be July 2nd. - We're heading to St Jean de Luz to avoid the UK election but ironically running smack into a very fraught French one. Last one to turn out the lights month I guess.

At the time of writing the Far-Right made striking gains in European Elections - but some optimists claim the 'centre is holding'. Wish that was true. Meanwhile Macron calls elections in the hope that Le Pen won't sweep into government. I'd say this is a misreading of the public mood, just as the British Prime Minister Sunak has totally misread the mood in the UK and demonstrated a contempt for British history. Everyone in the UK wants 'Change' but beware what you wish for. Events will rule the day. Nigel Farage has taken over Reform Party and running for election on a zero immigrants platform. Good luck running the NHS without the 'help'.

India's election process has ended with a much slimmer Modi victory - now having to reply on allies to stay in power. South Africa is in a muddle as it too struggles to form a coherent government that will solve their vast unemployment problem. Mexico elected a woman as President for the first time and I hope she is bullet proof. Trump was found guilty - no surprise there writes James Campion.

We are at a watershed moment in the West. It didn’t begin with Putin’s invasion of Ukraine or Israel’s destruction of Gaza.  The rise of the Far Right in Europe is a belated response to the Iraq war and the rise of ISIS. Every murderous event has a long tail. The millions of refugees that flooded into Europe and the UK have destabilised all countries and exacerbated an extreme reaction politically. (Many refugees are still in camps with children knowing no other home). Putin and Iran have utilised this mass movement of people to create pressure and help reshape European politics in their autocratic mode. It’s easy to say all this is about racism as the refugees in the main are Muslim, but it’s also about cultural compatibility, as they resist integrating with the local population, and in effect recreate the same oppressive conditions that they have fled from.  The resistance is on both sides of course. Not sure how this divide can be solved peacefully. At the same time Putin is threatening to expand the war to Europe and has rebuilt his economy to conduct it, spending 8 percent of Russia’s GDP on preparing for global war.

In Europe we resist spending on defence and in the case of the UK are actually shrinking the defence forces. The Head of the UK Army stated at a D-Day event that the UK couldn’t fight a war for more than two weeks. Germany is the same. France has a larger force but would a Far Right government fight or quickly negotiate a Vichy style government with Putin? One cannot be sure. No one wants to needlessly die and Le Pen is already looking in Russia’s direction as is Hungary and Slovakia. People have very short memories it seems.

With Trump looming ever larger over the US election, Ukraine has a bleak future without serious and immediate assistance, so get ready for millions of Ukrainians fleeing their country come January 2025.

You might think none of these things will happen and everything will stay the same but we are living with a hair trigger and peace can so easily be lost over a minor dispute.  (See WW1).

Editor - June 13th 2024

*Sales of Sam North's and Sam Hawksmoor's books help keep Hackwriters going. Sam Hawksmoor's Books below

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.

A Road Trip Nightmare 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? 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 Creative Screenwriting competition 2023

'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 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, 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 Kindle & print Thanks to readers who have been buying this title. * Also published as Rüya by Marti Yayincilik - The Turkish publishers of TOZ & Golge Read Part Two: The Hunting of Genie Magee - the fight for the right to exist

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

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