The International Writers Magazine November Editorial 2017

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Welcome to this Nov/December edition of Hackwriters. Read us and our amazing archives too. 18 years on-line, 7464 articles - reviews - stories - travel - share any feature you like and pass them on using the links.
Hackwriters cited by HelloTravel.com as "TOP JOURNALISM/NARRATIVES TRAVEL BLOGS 2016"

Editorial: Update
So 18 years and 11 months after Hackwriters began – we are taking a break.  Don’t panic the website will be archived and stay up, but health comes first, that and moving house at the same time.

Just had a small cancer op in Sheffield and all went well. A very professional team cutting away and reassuring as they go. Thanks NHS! It was well done and the scar on my face is pretty neat.   But whereas the cancer op is a procedure with a hopeful end – being diagnosed with fibromyalgia is not.  My Doc put it this way – you may have osteoporosis on one side and rheumatoid arthritis on the other, or its fibromyalgia – either way there’s no cure for any of them, so you won the lottery and got all three.  Yay!

By contrast my osteopath said what you need is a mindfulness course because it’s all in the mind.  Nice.

So let me see here – we can diagnose these arthritic conditions, but can’t cure them, and then’s all your fault because it’s all in the mind.  So following that logic couldn’t hypnosis eliminate it all?  I get blank looks with that question.  I wonder how many others ask it?  But for anyone who suffers from this stuff I sympathise because it is damn painful, totally debilitating and denies you sleep and makes you vulnerable to other infections (which no doubt will also be my own fault).

I went for acupuncture and massage mid-week. Blimey missus it's all a bit personal, but 'The Doctor' was quite insistent that it was frozen shoulder and would take many months of treatment to put right. But not sure I have the means to pay for that, or the will to endure the torture. We shall see.

My best pal, Kit says going totally vegan will cure it all.  Just juice every morning and you’ll be brand new.  But I have been totally vegetarian for three years now and although can’t bring myself to drink raw veg in the morning – I can’t see how that can cure what my Doc and Osteopath says is a psychological condition.  Certainly being vegan hasn’t stopped my body from attacking itself. My next hope is getting my Ostepath to treat trigger points and I'm banking on this as the cure I need. *Just read Clair Davies's Frozen Shoulder Workbook and it is very convincing.

So I took the decision to give up work this December.  It’s damn painful driving now and I can see I may have to stop entirely very soon.  Logically living in the countryside in a converted barn, which seemed idyllic twelve months ago has turned to a nightmare when you consider there are no shops, no buses, and no doctors.  I have to move back to a town or city where I can survive without being dependent on others.  Luckily someone wants to buy the barn – Phew!

But then where to go?  Just a few months ago I thought sunshine, beach, cafes.  But what if fibromyalgia or frozen shoulder is permanent, not psychological, actually what it already is, crippling – all the pain concentrated in my arms and shoulders.  Whenever people think of retiring they don’t think about dragging a whole lot of pain with them.  What if it gets worse?  Better make sure I live near a cliff I think, as long as I can actually crawl to the top of it.
To that end Kit and I went house hunting in Bath and Frome this week. She loves Somerset, but I'm looking at all the hills and slopes and thinking I'm going to need a 4x4 mobility scooter before long - so I'm not so sure. In any case, just to reassure you that the house buying frenzy isn't over - we viewed a property in Bath and out of five viewings that day they got two full price cash offers. Did we want to offer ten percent over the asking price they wanted to know? Er no - we don't.

So there you have it.  Hackwriters will be parked until a miracle cure, new home, warm beach materialises (Brexit be damned).  Thank you for reading, contributing and I wish you luck surviving this Trumpian nightmare we have gotten ourselves into.  I often think it’s like an episode of The Twilight Zone, only someone stole of the remote and we are stuck with the same stupid plot forever.

November issue will build and then stop being refreshed once I move or jump the cliff – let's see which comes first.
*So you can still submit material until until Nov 20th

Meanwhile – do me a favour – read what looks like to be the last Sam Hawksmoor novel Girl with Cat (Blue) - it’s available as Kindle or Print and I promise it’s fun and exciting with many twists and turns. Who wouldn't like a book where the villains turn out to be the French ...

All the best for a great festive season and a less scary 2018
© Sam North Nov 14th 2017
The Sam North Novels

Be one of the first to read: Girl with Cat (Blue)
'London doesn't exist; has never existed and those who say it does are liars... '

*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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