The International Writers Magazine Editorial December 2024

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Welcome to this edition of Hackwriters. 25 years on-line, 8,029 + articles - reviews - stories - travel -
share any feature you like and pass them on. DECEMBER 2024 - Previous Editorial here

1: South Korea is in sudden political chaos. It's hard to make sense of it - but part of a pattern right across the globe right now. We are in a period of great instability.
2: Barnier's Government in France has fallen and a Game of Thrones begins - the Budget cannot be passed and chaos will reign as the Far Left and the Far Right battle with eyes on the 2027 election.

Welcome: Editorial - Tin hats at the ready chaps.

As I write this Israel and Lebanon have a cease-fire deal although it is in danger of collapsing already.  There is no sign of a similar deal with Gaza or any of the hostages being returned.  Sadly the Russians are gaining ground in Ukraine and things don’t look bright for a reasonable outcome there, as Trump will sell them down the river come January 20th 2025.

Rebels have seized Aleppo in a revival of the freedom struggle against Assad but the Russians have already started bombing them to hell. Putin has threatened NATO with hypersonic ballistic missiles with a range of 5000 kms – so maybe it’s time to dig your bomb shelter. *By chance there’s a flooded one in my garden left over from WW11 but I suspect it’s not bunker busting proof.  Joy to the world hey.

So what is the worst-case scenario for the second coming of Trump?  If you judge a man by the company he keeps you should be utterly terrified by Trump’s cabinet of climate deniers, vaccine & covid deniers, clean environment deniers, never mind allowing mentally disturbed people gun rights and demolishing the FBI.  Combine all this with tariffs against the whole world, inflation will come roaring back and I hope the eighty million voters who so enthusiastically embraced his views will enjoy the ride.  At least there will be a lot of jobs going as security guards in the Trump Concentration Camps they're going to build in Texas.

Temporarily housing eleven million people (and they are people and children not ‘vermin’) will be expensive and self-destructive for the economy. Republicans don’t have the advantage that Hitler had of railways to deliver all these people in cattle trucks, so all will have to be ‘shipped’ by road. Jobs will be available in the private prisons too and for the round-up squads in every city. Beware the knock on the door at 4am - it might be for you.

Trump Concentration Camp No.101

How long will it take for things to turn very sour?  For liberals I guess avocados at $10 bucks each might be annoying – if they are available at all.  For the average working guy a rise in wages due to labor shortages might help but if you need anything new such as a washing machine, fridge, dryer, car or truck or toys for the kids it’s going to cost way, way more.  Order yours now or regret forever.

Trump will not just disrupt America; the reverberations will flow across the whole globe.  America First means World Last and as the USA retreats behind a high tariff wall one wonders if Europe will disintegrate politically as the pro-Putin far right gains in country after country (Hello Romania, Georgia, Hungary, Slovakia).  It would be ironic if we drifted into the kelptocratic clutches of Moscow with all the alternate facts of life that will swamp our lives. 

You’re thinking this is too extreme – none of this will happen, that it will be all rainbows and sunshine as the clocks go back a hundred years along with women’s rights vanishing as if they never existed. The rich will get richer. The poor will grow in number and good luck getting medical care.

**Perhaps read all of Project 2025 this Christmas - it's Trump's Mein Kampf. It will help you understand.

In the UK we are discovering that our National Health is more broken that we imagined and disorganisation rife. As we head towards 2025 hope is in short supply for the economy but in England we’re good at muddling through so I expect we’ll get by one way or another. Just so you know Santa is working from home this year.

Happy Christmas – perhaps celebrate it as if it will be your last.

© Sam North – December 5th 2024
Author of Another Place to Die: Endime Chronicles

*Sales of Sam North's and Sam Hawksmoor's books help keep Hackwriters going. Sam Hawksmoor's Books below

The Restoration of Ami: ASIN: B0CVQMH78C - Kindle ISBN: 978-1-7385181-0-4 - Print UK Pub: Hammer & Tong/KDP 2.29.24 Remy has one last obsession – to complete the restoration of his ’57 Studebaker Golden Hawk.  He’s planned a road trip to Montreal to find a part he desperately needs. It’s a long way from Florida; his Chevy truck is almost as old as he is. There are doubts he’ll be able to make the drive, doubts about his bladder, his heart, but he’s determined to go. At the very first urgent stop in the pouring rain, a dog appears from nowhere and jumps into his truck, quickly followed by a drenched teen. Scared, the girl, Ami, urgently needs a ride. She has escaped from a nearby religious cult and is desperate to find the mother who abandoned her there when she was just five years old. One old man, a troubled teenage girl and Stan the dog are on a road trip into MAGA America. With each mile they travel Montreal seems to get further away. 'Fabulous, can't-put-down story with quirky, original characters, a loveable dog and a great adventure'. ***** Roxy West on Goodreads.

A MAGA Road Trip by Sam Hawkmoor

The Book of Ashes • 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 Book One in the Delaney & Asha series		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? 2024: Honorable Mention in the Purple Dragonfly Awards (Sci Fi) 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 Screencraft competition 2024

'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 only 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 * Also published as Rüya by Marti Yayincilik - The Turkish publishers of TOZ & Golge Part 2: The Hunting of Genie Magee - fight for the right to exist

*December 9th: Sara Troy interviews Sam Hawksmoor on Self Discovery Wisdom

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