The International Writers Magazine DECEMBER Editorial 2016

TRAVEL

COMMENT

LIFESTYLES

REVIEWS

FICTION

Welcome to this December/Jan edition of Hackwriters. Read us and our amazing archives too. 18 years on-line, 7367 articles - reviews - stories - travel - share any feature you like and pass them on using the links.
Will there be a January 2017 Issue? Depends - more later...
Best Wishes of the Season to all our readers and the coming year ahead - who knows what it will bring...

Hackwriters is happily cited by HelloTravel.com as "TOP JOURNALISM/NARRATIVES TRAVEL BLOGS 2016"

Seasons Greetings to all our readers. Have a great time and don't even think about 2017 till Midnight on Dec 31st. Editorial: December 2016 - When Things Fall Apart The world is changing.  Brexit was the start and the people were warned that they could expect years of decreasing prosperity and diminished prospects for their children and still they voted for it.  The pound plummeted – and we live in the phony period before Hard Brexit bites and the huge layoffs begin and steep rises in costs of everything.  For some poverty is a price worth paying – they say, but really, is that true?  You can see the attitude in Europe – make it as hard and difficult as possible to discourage the others.  And others are contemplating it.  Italy, like Greece, desperately needs to come out of the Eurozone.  Both are overloaded with illegal immigrants and with no prospect of giving them employment or sending them back, it looks bleak from their perspective.  The Centre will hold, Brussels bureaucrats claim, but there are cracks appearing. Terrorism is present anywhere and everwhere in Europe now - their ideal to disrupt our way of life.

Trump promises to change the way America does business and he aims to repeal the one good thing Obama did which was to give the poor and sick access to medical care no matter their existing pre-conditions.  Roll that away and things won’t look so promising for the people who voted for him.  Take away the rights for women to control their own bodies and gender rights hard won in marriage and America takes twenty steps back to the 1950’s.  Trump promises manufacturers will keep jobs in America and even bring them back but unless he’s planning to roll back their salaries to 1950’s as well – how will that happen?

People say give the man a chance – but others say judge a man by the company he keeps and he’s surrounded by very fat cats with extremely right-wing views – none of which include making working stiffs lives better.  It seems to me that we have rolled back to 1917 and the list of things they will repeal is punishing.  OK, I grant you Obama promised to use quantative easing to rebuild America and I doubt one mile of road or rail ever got built – but will the same happen with Trump?  You only have to drive on the highways in the States, or use trains or see how poorly maintained some American planes are inside and out and you know nothing will happen.  I’d love for there to be a renaissance in infrastructure building, but just like in the UK, planning and nimbyism gets in the way.  We want the new stuff, but not where I live.

As for global relationships – that’s anyone’s guess.  Seems everyone is getting touchy feeling with Putin but that would be a big mistake.  But then again Putin helped put The Donald there allegedly, so perhaps the deal is done, the Manchurian Candidate wins.

Maybe there’s a deal to be had on world trade, but deals are usually a carve up.  Think about your daily cup of coffee.  Billions spend annually keeping Starbucks and a myriad of other companies afloat, but coffee pickers still get pennies and even where there is fairtrade going on – the amount paid per bushel is pathetic considering the profit margin on an actual cup of Java.  That frozen fruit you stick in your cereal to keep healthy – picked by child labour it turns out.  That cute sweater you got for Christmas – slave labour or labour on fifty percent less than minimum wage.  Trump would say that’s capitalism working for the greater good – but that’s not how it feels in Central America and why they keep walking towards the border.

Italy demonstrated a taste of Brexit power on 4th Dec.  If 5Star come to be the power brokers – they want out of a German dominated Europe and the Lira back.  The virus is taking hold in Holland too and France is already on a journey to elect a right-wing President (although Macron seems to be favourite right now) - either way misery will follow.  Not that the left has anything to offer and had performed in a lacklustre manner for all of the Hollande years.  France desperately needs reforms – a large percentage of the population are employed by the Government and their pensions are a huge burden on society.  Hiring new staff is virtually impossible – but the front-runners are offering either cutting state jobs or protecting state jobs and both are friends of Putin.  France may prove to be ungovernable in the coming years.

Then with an ageing population (See Japan) there’s a plague of dementia and dependency on its way  - someone has got to have the guts to make euthanasia not just legal but a pleasant, patriotic option.  I’ll be one of those lining up by and by and I’d like to think that society would come to its senses and plan for this social time bomb.  But then again – I’ll keep something by for a ticket to Dignitas in case they don’t.

Is there nothing to hope for this end of year?  Sure there is. A kid’s smile, the crazy puppy making you laugh, seeing friends, it’s a great time of the year for some.  But there are a lot of pressures too. The lesson to remember is to take care of you, don’t overstretch yourself.  Pay down debts – make sure you aren’t wasting money.

Sometimes you can’t help it.  I live in a barn now and it’s hard to heat.  Just had to buy thermal lined curtains but I doubt it’s that effective. You can’t plan for your car going kaput or the computer you own become redundant, but if you aren’t putting something by for emergencies – you need to find a way to do that.  Don’t feel obliged to splurge on presents that will end up in landfill.  If you know someone who will be alone this Christmas – invite them over on Christmas Day or at least in for a drink on Christmas Eve.  Goodwill is all.  There are record numbers of people living alone now.  Divorce, choice, age, other issues, they all need a hug.  Be the hug.  It costs nothing.

* Meanwhile contemplate the above image whilst you salivate over the prospect of an electric Jaguar in 2017. There's the Millburn, big selling light-electric car of 1916. Your's for just $1485 - of course you could always buy a Ford for $440 that year (No speedometer included). Electric was clean and perfect for city driving, but distances were a problem, so as roads expanded stinky petrol won out. Jaguar, like Tesla are proposing their new car will travel 300 miles on one charge. My tin box of a Skoda will travel around 540 miles and costs £40,000 less. One Hundred years and plus ca change...I'm running some favourites from past issues this month there's quite an archive here. Don't worry the magazine will stay up but give us some time to work on relearning everything.

I might suggest that you now order our book J&K 4Ever - for this is the post-Trump world we were writing about fifty years from now. Be warned America in 2067 isn't pretty. Order now for New Year essential reading.
© Sam North & Sam Hawksmoor December 19th 2016

read J & K Forever – Together we live or we die.
(A beautiful love story but also a terrifying glimpse of our future) DK
See any article you like – please share it. More to come as the month progresses.

*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.
The spy/romance Repercussions of Tomas D set in the Blitz has a small following now. Spread the word.

Discussing Movies - Brent Marchant & Sam Hawksmoor on Self Discovery Radio with Sara Troy
Just entertainment or inspiration?
SOUND FILE 29.11.2016

New in 2016: 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 Sam Hawksmoor

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 2nd Edition of 'ANOTHER PLACE TO DIE: ENDTIME CHRONICLES By Sam Hawksmoor and Sam North (2015 version) 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 Williams - 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 *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 The Heaviness published by Hammer and Tong 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. * Just sold to Marti Y - The Turkish publishers of TOZ & Golge

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