My Poem “The Last Day of Summer”

The sun is still shining bright,
the sky is still as blue as a baby’s eyes;
but the audible ferocity of the wind
blowing through the trees
and making the power lines sway
is signalling the obvious end of one season
and the beginning of another…
it’s getting cold again;
it’s time to throw on a hat, a scarf, a coat,
and maybe a pair of gloves,
when going outside and having to go
and to do what has to be done.

Everything, once again, is transitioning
and transforming before our eyes;
some people cannot wait for what is
approaching them at full speed,
while others just want things to slow down
while they catch their breath;
everybody is just trying to keep calm
and collected while they feel as if
they are being caught up in a storm
of feelings and emotions,
because there is this palpable sense
that everything, once again, is changing –
and for some people this time of the year
is always one of uncertainty and fear
mixed with feelings of anxiety,
because what is going to happen
will leave a lasting impression
and strip some people of their confidence
just like a tree is made to slowly
shed its leaves and then find themselves
surrounded by them,
and they can’t do anything about it.

Some seasons are long;
some seasons are short;
some seasons are beautiful;
some seasons are hard;
but every season is different
from all those that came before
and are all filled with moments of joy,
as well as with moments of sadness –
and no one can no what a season will give you,
nor what a season will take from you…
some people will never be able to express,
nor explain, why they always feel as if they are
more or less a version of themselves
that they never believed they would become –
especially those people who have to choose,
and have chosen, to do things that they know,
and knew, other people would not be able to see,
nor understand, until all was said and done.

Today is the day when the world itself
shifts its axis and drags everyone
into a new direction and down a path
that will not always be easy to navigate,
and impossible to reverse;
but this is what has to happen,
this day is when it always happens –
whether everyone realises it or not;
today is the day when everything
and everyone closes their eyes
and then opens them again
and just like that one season has faded away
and another season has already begun,
and today is the day and the time
when that biggest change of nature
comes in from the west and pushes
everyone into a new place
and into a new phase of existence;
today is the day and the time
which is also known as
“the last day of Summer”.

A Journey Through Poetry #49: Marble

This episode is a part of Mark’s “A Journey Through Poetry” – a personal reflection of his life as a poet, a writer, and a author – in which he recites a different poem from every one of his poetry collections. In this episode Mark recites his poem ‘Marble’, from his poetry collection The Dreamer and The Dream and he gives some insight and some context into why he was inspired to write this poem in particular.

The Shadow of The Wolf – Chapter Seven: Everybody Hurts

In this episode, Mark reads Chapter Seven: “Everybody Hurts” of his new book ‘The Shadow of The Wolf’ – the sixth book in his The Wolf and The Vampire book series, which focuses on the mother, daughter, wife, werewolf Olivia Hunter – published February 2, 2026.

What’s it about?

Two Wolves Collide.

Sister and brother,
Olivia Hunter and Mark Mayweather –
separated from one another all their lives –
are once again drawn together;
however, their reunion does not unfold
as they hoped it would,
and as a result they find themselves
on opposite sides of a life and death struggle
that will expose who they are, what they are,
and what kind of a werewolf they both are.

And witness the reunification
and the reckoning of the relationship
of Olivia Hunter and Vega – The Vampire King.
Will their love survive the battle being fought
beneath The Shadow of The Wolf?

The Shadow of The Wolf is available to buy from Amazon here: https://amzn.eu/d/5p8DJJF

The Shadow of The Wolf – Out Now!

‘The Shadow of The Wolf’ by Mark Hastings – the fifth book in his ‘The Wolf and The Vampire’ book series, which focuses on the mother, daughter, wife, werewolf, Olivia Hunter – is Out Now!

What’s it about?

Two Wolves Collide.

Sister and brother,
Olivia Hunter and Mark Mayweather –
separated from one another all their lives –
are once again drawn together;
however, their reunion does not unfold
as they hoped it would,
and as a result they find themselves
on opposite sides of a life and death struggle
that will expose who they are, what they are,
and what kind of a werewolf they both are.

And witness the reunification
and the reckoning of the relationship
of Olivia Hunter and Vega – The Vampire King.
Will their love survive the battle being fought
beneath The Shadow of The Wolf?

Get your copy of ‘The Shadow of The Wolf’ from Amazon: https://amzn.eu/d/5p8DJJF

My Poem “The Wolf Moon” (2020)

My Poem “The Wolf Moon” which I wrote in 2020 – which was published in my poetry collection ‘The Rambler’, originally published in paperback in 2020 and republished in hardback in 2024.

The Shadow of The Wolf – Out February 2

I am thrilled to finally announce that my new book, ‘The Shadow of The Wolf’ – the fifth book in my “The Wolf and The Vampire” book series, which focuses on the mother, daughter, wife, werewolf, Olivia Hunter – will be published February 2, 2026!

What’s it about?

Two Wolves Collide.

Sister and brother,
Olivia Hunter and Mark Mayweather –
separated from one another all their lives –
are once again drawn together;
however, their reunion does not unfold
as they hoped it would,
and as a result they find themselves
on opposite sides of a life and death struggle
that will expose who they are, what they are,
and what kind of a werewolf they both are.

And witness the reunification
and the reckoning of the relationship
of Olivia Hunter and Vega – The Vampire King.
Will their love survive the battle being fought
beneath The Shadow of The Wolf?

Preorder ‘The Shadow of The Wolf’ from Amazon: https://amzn.eu/d/5p8DJJF

My Poem “Work Together”

Like most people in this life,
at many points throughout my life,
I have had to choose between
one direction and another…
like most people in this world,
there have been several moments,
as an adult and still while I was a child,
when I have had to take my options into account,
and make a decision about,
what path my future could look like…
like most people living on this planet -
this spinning sphere of change,
orbiting around the sun at 67,000 miles per hour -
while growing up my imagination was filled with
sights and sounds of infinite and amazing possibilities
which I might want to explore further;
however, as reality becomes more complex,
and as we are all faced with the dilemma
of having to deal with making a living,
as well as finding a source of happiness
that we can return to time and again
to sustain us through the years of struggle,
each of us has to overcome the fact
that sometimes none of us has total control
over everything that happens,
nor how fast things happen -
because, though we have plans,
the universe has a more complicated lattice
of interconnected relationships and realities
constantly interacting with one another
that it must endeavour to keep in balance.

I have been working on the concept
and the project that is me since I was a kid -
and there have been many times
when I actually thought I had figured out
what my life was supposed to be
and what it was supposed to look like;
however, like everyone who has ever lived,
every time I believed that I had found
meaning, reason, and balance in my life,
the universe would always find a way
of telling me or showing me that I was wrong
and that I should think again…
I have had times when I have been riding high
and as happy and content as could be,
and then I have been reminded that nothing
lasts longer than it is supposed to
and what remains afterwards are only
shadows and reflections of what was
that can never be repeated -
but we don’t learn the heavy truths of
why we should embrace every single moment
with every single person we meet
until we lose contact with them
and we are forced to continue
our lives without them.

Like most of the people who have searched
their entire life for their own calling,
and who want to know what they should do
when they are presented with an opportunity
to influence the outcome of their own life,
I have continuously had to make
adjustments to my perspective
on certain things, on certain people,
and on certain assumptions that I might have had -
because I am, and I have always considered myself to be,
open and empathetic to others who live
a life similar, but different, to my own -
and I have never been afraid of
seeing the other side of an argument
and trying to find a solution based up
listening, learning, and understanding,
as much as I can, about
why people do what they do.

Like most people of my generation,
I have never been more disappointed
by anything than the fact that
some people seemingly cannot find a way
to put aside all that divides them
and come to a peaceful compromise
which benefits everybody and everything -
but the problem is no matter how much
some people have they always want more;
however, I cannot help myself from hoping
that one day everyone will come to their senses
and once and for all realise that the fate
of this world of ours is not for us to decide,
nor is the destiny of the life on this planet,
because we are all just the ones who
are currently doing the best we can
and living as we see fit;
however, several tribes, families, groups, gangs,
empires, dynasties, have thought
that they had dominion over all other peoples
and life on Earth for a fraction of time
in this life of this world -
which is why, in my opinion,
we should be grateful for what we have now
but never forget that change is inevitable
and the most important thing to remember
is that we are not alone in this universe
and that our journey as a planet
will only be allowed to continue as it is,
or evolve as it must,
if it is meant to, and if we once again
do not accept that the only way
to get the best out of everything
and everyone is to live and to work together.

My Poem “Regeneration”

Who knew that someone could
change so much throughout their life?
Who knew that someone could
go through so much and over time
find the energy that they need
to make it to the other side?
Who knew that there would be no mystery
greater than we are to ourselves?
Who knew that there could be no
question to be answered as illusive
as the one personified in
who we see every day in the mirror,
who never ceases to show us
that we all have layers and depths
that are just waiting to show themselves.

Everything within us, everything around us,
everyone we have known, everyone we will ever meet,
changes and reinvents itself,
over and over again –
at the same time that everything and everyone
follows a pattern of behaviour,
as well as a biological necessity,
to maintain something and someone’s
intended purpose in life…
everything within everyone
began in one state and then over time
adapted to their surroundings and their environment
and became a more diverse and varied
assembly of complexity
and meant to connect to the world
in ways that generation after generation
has had varying periods of awareness of and attention to –
because in times gone by humanity’s
connection with the world and each other
seemed to be more refined,
because our relationship with the natural world
used to be considered just as important to growth
and rejuvenation as starlight.

Every atom of everything and everyone –
from me to you, from every tree to every star –
can all trace their shared lineage
to a momentous event that happened
billions of years ago;
but had the conditions at the beginning of time and space
been ever so slightly different than they were
then everything and everyone
would have turned out differently –
and in other universes and realities
the consequences of what might have been
play out in a myriad of ways,
and the thought that change and choice has been,
and always will, be a factor in determining where
one set of variables will lead to
has always filled me with fascination…
every time each of us think that we
know ourselves and each other
to the nth degree and nothing about us,
nor anyone else, could ever surprise us again,
something, or someone, always reminds us to
never stop questioning our own existence
and the reason why each of us are alive
and able to do what we can do –
because every form of life in this universe,
or any universe, has repeatedly shown
that the longer you live the greater the chance
there is that you will repeatedly go through
a period of self-reflection and self-awareness
that will lead to profound instances
of change and regeneration.

The Storyteller: New Conclusion

“New Conclusion” is a poem taken from Mark’s 2025 poetry collection ‘The Storyteller‘ – now available to purchase in hardback and as an ebook from Amazon.

Listen on Apple Podcasts and read a transcript.

The Return of The Wolf – coming soon

On May 2, 2025, prepare for The Return of Olivia Hunter… prepare for The Return of The Wolf!

The highly anticipated sequel to The Wolf in Me, The Wolf in You, The Wolf in Us, and Vega – The Vampire King…

After stepping through a doorway to another universe, to start a new life with her daughter, Melissa, and her husband, Vega – The Vampire King – Olivia Hunter returns to her own universe with the harrowing news that her daughter and her husband have been murdered by a vampire from the other universe who also refers to himself as “The Vampire King”.

Not only does Olivia Hunter find it hard to come to terms with the loss of her daughter and her husband, but she also has to face an unfathomable identity crisis in which she not only has to continue to question what it means to be a werewolf, but also how another version of herself – from another version of the universe – may be able to help her find a way to find peace, connection, as well as help her enact revenge against the one who has taken from her what she loves the most in this world.

Nothing and no one can stand in the way of Olivia Hunter and The Wolf from doing what must be done.

The Return of The Wolf will be released on May 2, 2025, in hardback from Amazon and as an ebook, and the kindle version is available to preorder on Amazon now: https://amzn.eu/d/cN3A11t