The International Writers Magazine September Editorial 2017

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Welcome to this September edition of Hackwriters. Read us and our amazing archives too. 18 years on-line, 7448 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:
Teaching begins again on the 25th of September. As ever with the institution I work for I await a contract. For those concerned that the UK couldn't negotiate it's way out of a paper bag, let alone Brexit, I have news for you, we can't, we won't and it will be a disaster. Administration is just not part of the UK DNA anymore. I will turn up Monday and press my finger to the wind and hope for the best. Just like Theresa May in Florence, finger to the wind on a hope and prayer that it all doesn't crumble to dust. (Brexit, not Florence that is).

Here's an idea. Let’s declare September a Trump free month. If we ignore him – perhaps he will go away.  Some chance hey.  But give it a try. Every time he comes on TV- switch stations. Skip all the pages in every newspaper about him everyday.  Think of it as a moral duty to rid your mind of unpleasant thoughts.  You will find that your blood pressure will start to fall, the tension in your neck will ease and you will cease to have indigestion at every meal.  Give it a month and if it works, give it three years…

Seeing all the images of destruction from the British Virgin Islands, Cuba and others, not to mention the Keys in Florida from Hurricane Irma made me dig out my own experiences of Hurricanes in Florida. Kit and I were in Miami in 1999 when Irene hit. It wasn't a picnic and I'm amazed we survived really. You never forget it that's for sure.

Need some fun before I start treatment for skin cancer.  I just know they are going to find more things to dig out  - once this stuff starts it’s an ongoing process.  Still it’s the least bad cancer right?  My sister Sara says positive thinking can cure anything.  Not really found that, but she’d just says I’m just not positive enough.  Of course I’d rather not be waiting 10 weeks or longer to get treatment, but there’s quite a backlog in this area and it can only get worse as all the boomers start to deteriorate and bits fall off.  I’m remembering ‘They Shoot Horses Don’t They’ a Sydney Pollack movie starring Jane Fonda and Michael Sarrazin.  No nothing to do with the depression era subject of the movie, but I do wonder how society is going to cope with millions of old people going forward. According to Ian King in The Times 24.08.17, the cost of state pensions in the UK could be £128 Billion by 2028. Healthcare will be rationed. For those who cannot afford expensive care homes, or dealing with the many ailments that come with ageing – it’s going to be such a financial burden on society it could overwhelm it.  Perhaps the Japanese have it right by developing Ai Robots to service the old (but can they turn them over, feed them or make beds?)  So the message is – stay fit and healthy for as long as you can, avoid all meat and dairy and keep the mind busy.
It’s that or Soylent Green…

And congrats to James Campion our regular US correspondent - 20 years before the Masthead completed and he's just getting started. Nice to have Walli Leff back with us and she's throwing a hatchet in New Jersey...

*I'd like see if I can find someone to buy/take over Hackwriters - it's time someone younger with a good sense of design and an aversion to Trump took over. 18 years running a magazine is a long time. Contact me if interested.

© Sam North September 2017
Read: Magenta - a story of a father's desperate search for a lost daughter
The Sam North Novels

*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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