The International Writers Magazine Editorial December 2023

TRAVEL

COMMENT

LIFESTYLES

REVIEWS

FICTION

Welcome to this edition of Hackwriters. 24 years on-line, 7,967 + articles - reviews - stories - travel - share any feature you like and pass them on. December 2023 - Previous Editorial here
Next Edition Mid-January 2024

Sadly rockets and bombing have restarted in Gaza with the inevitable deaths, but on a positive note George Santos was expelled from Congress in the USA. SNL provided a clue to his next career as his life becomes a musical! Meanwhile James Campion has a few words to say about Henry Kissinger.

Editorial: Where are you headed this Winter?  I’m planning a road trip to Florida to finish research on a book that’s pretty much done.  A bit late on my part, but ill health and the eternal wait for NHS appointments has delayed completion. It begins with pocket pain - travel insurance cost £1200. Never mind the cost of the air ticket. But travelling to the USA without insurance these days is ruinous. To think that Trump wants to get rid of Obamacare and people will actually vote for this is madness. Imagine a political party in the UK trying to abolish the NHS (with all its flaws). They would be lynched.

Anyway my excuse for going to Florida this December is to complete the new book (A road trip story). Nothing to do with the frost on the ground today or my catastrophic energy bills.  My niece Emma called and said come on over for a family Christmas.  Normally this kind of invitation chills my heart. However it took all of ten minutes to sell the idea to me once she suggested a road trip. Not as long as I’d like of course, but enough to reacquaint myself with prices and pick up on what people are thinking there now.  With luck we shall avoid the Christmas squabbles, slamming of doors and arguments about what to watch on TV.  Then there's always the endless question on my sister’s lips ‘Why aren’t you in the Christmas spirit yet?’  Arghh.

I’m looking forward to going to the Everglades for example. Then experience the tension of waiting for the elevator on the 40th floor.  My niece likes to live up high. (I have horrid memories of being 30 floors up in New York during a long power outage and deeply regretting I hadn’t got any groceries in (not that I could have cooked anything without power.)) Outside was a wall of sirens and some shooting ... Scary.

Here’s hoping that 2024 doesn’t turn out to be as bad as I think it will be. My blood pressure is already hovering around 166/85 (yes I’m taking all the damn pills). I doubt there is a single 'sane' voter in the USA who wants to see a Trump vs. Biden rematch.  All the hate this will generate from Trump’s side will be painful to watch and hear. 

So instead I’ll wish for peace to break out in the Middle East and Ukraine and all the senseless suffering to cease.  Who will pick up the bill to rebuild Gaza or Ukraine?
*You can donate to the Red Cross here – that’s the best Christmas gift you can give this year.

**It’s not too late to order one of my books for Christmas. You have to read something right?  Gift one to someone who might be like me and totally overwhelmed by the choices in the bookshops and just can’t make up their minds.

© Sam Hawksmoor December 4th 2023
Editor and author of We Feel your Pain & The Book of Ashes
*Sales of these books help keep Hackwriters going

The Book of Ashes • New from Sam Hawksmoor ISBN: 979-8-837434-952 ASIN: B0B85HFK86 Hammer & Tong - print and kindle 'an immensely satisfying story' - Walli Leff on Goodreads. 'a fun read with unique elements ... exemplary in its voice and style' 'Judge, 10th Annual Writer's Digest E-Book Awards An extract from the Book of Ashes		The Book of Ashes - Some secrets are meant to be kept forever The Case: Delaney and Asha run their own investigation company now. Hired to find a writer who stiffed a client of $10,000 - things go bad pretty fast. "This was supposed to be a simple track and trace job. Find the writer, bank the money. Now it's a horror show."

'We Feel Your Pain' by Sam Hawksmoor ISBN-13: 979-8699087693 Published by Hammer & Tong Print & Kindle		We Feel Your Pain – So you don’t have to. The Case: Delaney (42) and Asha (22) run the Office of Berg City Oversight. Their role is to expose the scams, keep the city safe from unscrupulous people.  When something looks too good to be true – it’s a scam, right?  But what if the scam works?  What kind of scam is that?

MISSION LONGSHOT: how far will you go to save one life? Gerry is convinced aliens are going to attack on Millennium Eve - Y2K night. Everyone else is preparing for the end of civilisation. That night only Gerry notices aliens land. He and his spacenut pals Jolene and Kali race to be the first to greet them... 'Climate change, lost alien civilisations, adventures in deep space. Great fun with endearing characters'. Kitty Thomas

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'. * Screenplay a quarter-finalist in the Creative Screenwriting competition 2023

'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, 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' betrayal, revenge, relationships and the laws of gravity. 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 Read Part Two: The Hunting of Genie Magee - the fight for the right to exist

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