The International Writers Magazine Editorial September 2018

TRAVEL

COMMENT

LIFESTYLES

REVIEWS

FICTION

Welcome to this September 2018 edition of Hackwriters. Read our amazing archives. 19 years on-line, 7500+ articles - reviews - stories - travel - share any feature you like and pass them on using the links.
Once again celebrating Hello travel.com - Hackwriters Best Travel blog 2018

Editorial: September 2018 - Next Issue October 1st
Welcome to the September edition of Hackwriters.com - we build throughout the month so if you have something to submit and it isn't toxic do send. Meanwhile take a look at us and all the archive material too. Share anything.
This month we see The Raven has finally arrived on Mr Trump's shoulders and The Pope has work to do on child abuse world-wide, Spain is in a lull before the consequences of Podemos running the media is felt and there's travel suggestions to trek across the Rockies and of course a reminder about Burning Man. We also look back at what was lost in Aleppo and there's new life writing from Abigail George. More to come...

Making plans is never easy. Something always crops up at the last minute or you forget one very important detail. I think I have been trying to buy a house now for about seven months. I've become so accustomed to having no possessions (they're in store) I have begun to think I am just looking for a house for my furniture and books to live in, rather than me. I have managed to piss a whole lot of people off by withdrawing offers after surveys. Doesn't matter if it is old or new, they manage to make it sound like the whole place is a deathtrap and moneypit everytime and I get cold feet. But perhaps I am not as attached to my possessions as I thought. I've read the books after all. The chairs are worn, the beds saggy, the ornaments in the main inherited from my Ma and although nice - not essential. But one has to live somewhere. It's a requirement by law it seems. Banks prefer it. HMRC like to know where you are, as do all the other people who want to charge you for exhorbitant amounts for heat and light and the BBC threaten to prosecute you because DONT have a TV. Everyone has a TV right? I set out with a mission to buy a place by the rolling waves on the Atlantic Ocean. Brexit essentially killed that idea. My second plan was it had to be warm. Brexit killed that too. Now I'm thinking it must have a defensible veggie garden so I don't starve to death in the event of a No-Deal Brexit.

Perhaps I just need to get very drunk and go park a caravan by a deserted beach in an unpopular part of Europe and await the apocalypse. Probably need a large intimidating dog with me just to be safe. It's easy to blame Trump (for starting a trade war) Putin for creating Trump or Farage and Boris Johnson for steering the UK off a cliff, but there are many other forces at work to make us all fear the future. It is so impenetrable no one can predict the next few months and it makes everyone skittish. Of course we all have to eat, life goes on, but you can't be certain the decisions you make today are the right ones for your future. September began with uncertainty for all but perhaps clarity will come by months end. Will Canada buckle to Trump's bullying over NAFTA - will the Chinese roll over or will the trade wars intensify and will there be a world wide slump because of Trumps actions? In the 1930's America led the way in trade protectionism and it didn't end well. It seems people never learn. Keep buying those lottery tickets - you're going to need to win very soon I feel.

I'm just back from Lincoln where I've been tending to Mr T for a few days. Dogs have few of these issues. It is always nearly suppertime and 'help let me out I need to poo' - that's about it, but we love them for their simplicity and their need for reassurance. It's hard to be miserable with a happy dog at your side.

Gosh, on my return my sister collapsed and seemed to die right in front of me, no heartbeat, no breathing - and then suddenly revived and started spewing massive quantities. It was pretty dramatic and involved ambulance crews and multiple scans - and we will need new carpets, but quite a shock. Have to restate once again how lucky we are in the UK to have such professional people in ambulance crews and in the hospital. Excellent caring service from the Princess Royal Hospital in Lock's Bottom (Yes really, Lock's Bottom). Sister has recovered and finally celebrated her birthday.

© Sam North – Joint Editor September 2018

*You should read the just published The Road to Unfreedom by Professor Timothy Snyder. (Bodley Head publishing.) If you want to know why Brexit happened, why Putin invaded Ukraine and how Trump is his puppet, read this and be VERY scared. Our future looks bleak indeed. And have now read 'Fear' by Bob Woodward which worries us even more.

Meanwhile there's still tons to read in our archives - and it's well worth exploring. You never know what you will find. Do explore our archives - there is bound to be something you'd enjoy and want to share with someone.

*As ever Hackwriters is supported by sales of our books - so do buy, print or kindle, we aren't picky.
The Sam North Novels - still available to order on Lulu or Amazon
** The Heaviness, Another Place to Die: Endtime Chronicles are recommended also read
The Repercussions of Tomas D

Girl with Cat (Blue) - Shortlisted for the Rubery Book Award 2018 'London doesn't exist; has never existed and those who say it does are liars... ' review: 'a funny, bloody, colorful narrative that never fails to surprise the reader. Girl with Cat (Blue) provides great entertainment'.

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 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. 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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