The International Writers Magazine Editorial September 2021

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Welcome to this September 2021 edition of Hackwriters. 22 years on-line, 7822 + articles - reviews - stories - travel - share any feature you like and pass them on.

War! What is it good for? Absolutely nothin' - Edwin Starr 1970

Coronavirus UK: 34,526 tested positive - 167 deaths (920 in last 7 Days) - 706 patients admitted - Sept 28th data
Get Vaccinated! It is still infecting and killing unvaccinated people.

Right now spare a thought for the people fleeing Afghanistan as the Taliban take over. Think of the women and girls of that country who will be denied education, jobs, freedom forever now. Donate to:
https://www.unhcr.org/uk/afghanistan.html

September Editorial:

So let me get this straight – we evacuated all the smart clever people that actually run Afghanistan and are kind of expecting the Taliban to run an economy – when the only things they are really good at is beheading, rape and mass execution- not necessarily in that order. Oh yes and selling drugs. That they are really good at.  Plus we armed them with 33 Black Hawk helicopters, 43 MD 530 helicopters, 32 Mi-17 helicopters, 23 A-29 light attack planes, three Hercules aircraft, 350,000 assault rifles, 126,000 pistols, 1,000 armoured vehicles, 64,000 machine guns, 22,00 Humvees and 42,000 pick-up trucks. This will end well – right? No chance they'll be sold off to the highest terrorist bid? Now in addition they have rivals in IS-K for who can be the most evil. Not a pretty picture really. And this is called Success! The Taliban have more weaponry than NATO! More than all the European forces put together.

Perhaps we’re ready for reality now. People get really excited about elections and then extremely disappointed with whom they have elected to run things.  Trump never had a honeymoon period as he was spectacularly bad at being President from the get go. Biden on the other hand was a safe pair of hands until he surrounded himself with people who are too afraid to remind him to take his B12 shots and pay attention to the details.  Writing as someone who has Boris Johnson for Prime Minister – I do know something about disappointment.  I’m old enough to remember the ‘Peter Principle’ that everyone always rises one position above their level of competency.  In the case of Trump, make that ten, but Biden was a loyal VP and diligent Senator. Boris was a great booster for London as mayor but hopeless as Foreign Secretary and essentially disastrous as Prime Minister.  The inability to make timely decisions (such as stopping all flights from India to prevent the Delta variant from spreading) or firing Cabinet Ministers who clearly demonstrate a level of competency many levels below even the PM, being cases in point.

No one in their right mind would choose to be a leader in a time of Covid. Almost any decision one takes will be criticised and picked over – just as every single one of us knows we could do the job better – but are not prepared to actually put our names forward for the tortuous electoral process and prostrate themselves before the great unwashed, let the alone the great unvaxxed.  It’s obvious to me that the unvaccinated should be clearly labelled as such and prevented from going anywhere near the general public and refused treatment when they get to hospital with Covid.  It is of course, slightly harder to get yourself elected to parliament if you hold these views. 

On the other hand in America it is entirely easy to get elected to Congress or the Senate or even the White House by insisting that no one wears masks, that the vaccine will turn you into a robot or make you sterile or even worse, will make you into a liberal and that you’d rather die a painful death on a ventilator than accept that science exists to make our lives tolerable. Yet somehow you expect doctors and nurses to be waiting on you hand and foot as you die, knowing that you also infected at least 10 to 100 others on the way to A&E. Hurricanes and forest fires aside in the USA the Taliban could learn a lot from the despots running Texas (As James Campion reports on women's rights). Not only is abortion virtually illegal there now, you can get $10,000 dollar rewards from informing on anyone you suspect might be pregnant and planning to escape to another state. Taxi drivers can be fined $10,000 for taking someone intending to abort to a clinic or even the airport. How long before women have to wear 'still-fertile' stickers and are confined to some stockade? The evil Republican men do.

On a more positive note – now the kids are about to go back to school in the UK at least we can expect the sun to come out of hiding. I have an apple/blackberry compote on the go - plus a helper as Mr Trouble has arrived for his holidays. Sadly, this year I shall not be travelling, or taking fake PCR tests that arrive too late to be of any use.  My sister is about to have a long awaited cancer op next week and I have to be on hand to feed and wash and offer encouragement as these things can no longer be done in an actual hospital. This is going to be the new normal I fear. Have a great September. Photo: Mr Trouble with cricket ball in the park

© Sam North  - Editor - September - and yes buy my new crime novel 'A Cure for Sceptics'!

A Cure for Sceptics by Sam North Publisher: Hammer & Tong ( July 2021) Paperback & kindle: 326 pages ISBN-13: 979-8537465874 Delaney and Asha run the Berg City Office of City Oversight. Their role is to expose the shady characters running scams and fraud against the city. 300 complaints flood in for a $30,000 treatment that claims to abolish pain forever. Unfortunately the Mayor himself is touting the scheme. When Delaney finds himself left for dead at the bottom of a cliff he gets the message that he's supposed to leave this one well alone. 'A great human story that wears it's heart on it's sleeve.' Dr Allen Cook - Bridgeport University ‘a brilliant and intriguing tale’ Amazon **Sample Sam North's new novel here.

Covid Numbers worldwide - Source: Worldometers. *These figures more inclusive than John Hopkin's numbers

Celebrating the publication of MISSION LONGSHOT: how far will you go to save one life? The climate is changing fast - the future of humanity is at stake, who wants to escape to an alternative planet on that spaceship with Elon? (Well not that actual spaceship but you know what I mean). Buy a ticket and enjoy the ride. But don't forget to buckle up. It might not go where you thought it would. 'Gripping adventures with highly engaging characters.' W. Leff - Goodreads

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'.

'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, you will gasp with shock, 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' 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. * Also published as Rüya by Marti Yayincilik - The Turkish publishers of TOZ & Golge

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