The International Writers Magazine Editorial December 2018

TRAVEL

COMMENT

LIFESTYLES

REVIEWS

FICTION

Welcome to this December 2018 edition of Hackwriters. 20 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

Seasons Greetings to all our readers and writers - next update Jan 6th 2019

2019 – The Year of Change - Hackwriters UK Predictions for the Year Ahead

Making predictions in this febrile climate of fear is a fool’s errand but for what it’s worth, this fool will follow the logic and try to make sense of the next twelve months.

If anyone has any sense (severely lacking in the UK) we would rescind Article 50 immediately and then have a new referendum sometime in the summer around the questions:
1: Remain forever and suck it up.
2: Leave with No Deal and face the consequences of financial catastrophe and insist that if the EU want a hard border in Northern Ireland they must come over and build it at their own cost.  *And all the other border posts that will be needed and keep an army there to protect it.  That should tie the 27 Countries up in discussions for a few years.

I suspect we will have a new Prime Minister shortly as the Tories self-destruct and Corbyn will be the scorched earth wreaker of havoc he has promised to be as the pound plummets and everything is nationalised.  Most radical prediction will be the nationalisation of all the council houses bought by private buyers since 1987 at the same price they paid for them in the name of social cohesion. Two million homes and rising. This of course will lead to fantastic social unrest and as no one will have any jobs – there will plenty of time for rioting.  A lot of rich Russians and Chinese will leave the UK hours before Corbyn is sworn in taking all their money with them as they don’t actually like Marxist economic theory in practice.

All university fees abolished (but 50% of Higher Education established are closed as many courses are deemed socially irrelevant or unacceptable in a 'Socialist' country. Re-Education camps are to be set up in deprived areas.

Climate Change will continue but we will have a wet spring and summer with many crops ruined and some will claim this proves climate change doesn’t exist as wet summers are the norm.

The weather will rub salt into every Brit’s eyes as there will be nice hot weather in Europe from March 29th onwards but with a hard Brexit we cannot fly there as the EU won’t recognise our pilots licences or certify flightworthiness of the aircraft – in addition they will claim all British manufactured cars, trucks, clothes, food aren't made to EU standards anymore and will block sales of all UK goods. 

May: Without British tourists in Spain the entire Spanish economy goes under and taxes rise by 25% to pay for all the Podemos social spending.

French border patrols increase as they are faced with thousands of Brits and Iranians in small rubber dingy's crossing the Channel to France to claim asylum and buy toilet paper now in short supply in the UK.

June: The UK will finally wake up to the fact that almost everything they eat, or drive is made in Europe and there will be half-hearted attempts of consumer boycotts of everything French or Belgian.  Australia and South Africa attempt to fill the gaps but are reluctant due to the collapse in the pound – which falls to 80 cents against the US dollar. And one pound will be worth .65 Euros.

June 21st: There will be talk of a public lynching of Boris Johnson, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nigel Farage on Primrose Hill at the summer solstice.  Richard Branson will make a second fortune selling tickets and TV rights to the event. Coldplay play live. 

Corbyn's Government will no longer publish monthly unemployment figures. Universal Credit waiting time reduced to 15 weeks (critics who point out it used to be 4 weeks are sent to re-education camps).

July: EDF pulls the plug on building the nuclear reactor at Hinkley Point – even though PM Corbyn promises them £150 per megawatt hour. They use force majeure clause citing unsafe political and economic conditions.  The UK will literally run out of electricity by 2025 except when the wind blows.

August: The wind stops blowing.  People cite Climate Change.

Late August: Royal Family flees to Canada. *Megan Markle guarantees their safety but leaves Kate behind to defend the realm on her own. BBC film crew go with Megan to document her ascendancy to throne as one by one the royals in line seem to die of mystery illnesses.

September: The Referendum is finally ready. There are nine questions on the ballot including a no question box for snowflakes afraid of questions

October: The result of the referendum is a tie for questions 3 & 7.

Question 3: Remain (and stay opted out of European Army, Schengen, Euro)
Question 7: Leave (stay in Customs’ Union and Freedom of Movement)
Question 9: No question wins 52% of the vote and carries the day.

November: Secondary picketing brings entire public infrastructure to a halt as rail, water, power, police, social services and NHS all go on strike.  President Corbyn leads the march from Jarrow to London but has to go to a private hospital due to dehydration from a lack of water.  As a thank you to Doctors for saving his life he closes all private hospitals.

A & E waiting times are recalibrated and all those awaiting operations will now be guaranteed a 24 month wait or free state paid funeral. (Critics who remember it used to be 18 weeks under the Tories are sent to the re-education camps - now the main employer in the UK).

Striking Doctors and nurses are sent to a special re-education Gulag in Scunthorpe (site of former Steel Mill). The Doctors must pay for their own food supplied by the NHS (pending strike outcome).

December: Five of the largest UK banks go under.
State Pensions are slashed by 60%. Pension Age raised to 75.

President Maduro of Venezuela is appointed economic adviser to President-for-life Corbyn.

I hope this clarifies the year ahead and you will now be well prepared.
___________________________________________________________________________________________

Wynwood Walls - Miami © Sam Hawksmoor 2018

Not everyone gets to take a month off - let alone go by Queen Mary 2 to New York. Add ten days in Miami where it was 30C everyday - you might get a little jealous. But this was my bucket list epic journey and won't ever happen again.
What I did on my hols ...

*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 '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. 2018 - Honorable Mention

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 & 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

Share |

• Back to Index

© Hackwriters.com 1999 - 2019 - (20 years from beginning to end)
We are Carbon Neutral

FICTION . TRAVEL . LIFESTYLES - REVIEWS