hero

Scales & George – Out June 30th

Mark Hastings books, Poetry , , , , , , ,

Meet Scales – a dragon who lives inside a cave, beneath a mountain, in the Land of Mountain Shadow.
Meet George – a brave knight, defender, warrior, and hero to the people of Mountain Shadow.

One day, while resting at home, in his cave, underneath the Earth, Scales is visited by George, who tells him he wishes to slay Scales for the sake of his people. But why? How? And what happened when this dragon and this hero came face to face with one another? Well, the only way to find out is within the story of Scales & George.

Get your copy of my new children’s book ‘Scales & George’ from June 30th.

Preorder the ebook version now: https://amzn.eu/d/bFqtASy

Playing God – republished

Mark Hastings Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Get your copy of the new hardback version of my book ‘Playing God’!

‘Playing God’ is a book of “Seven stories. Seven perspectives. Seven experiences. Seven morality tales of one immortal Rebel, Hero, Friend, Fan, Father, Son, Playing God” – which was originally published in 2018.

This new hardback version of ‘Playing God’ features a new front-cover artwork, depicting the main protagonist and character of each of the seven stories – the enigmatic “Man in Black”, and sometimes “Man in White”.

The stories of ‘Playing God’, and the character of the powerful and mysterious “Man in Black” and his interactions with those he meets, are some of the most compelling and inspiring tales I have written, and I often think about them and what they personally mean to me.

And I also have to mention that ‘Playing God’, its stories, and the character of the “Man in Black”, is dedicated to, and was inspired by, the late, great, David Bowie.

You can get your copy of the new hardcover version of ‘Playing God’ from Amazon now!

-Mark

My Poem “Homme en Noir”

Mark Hastings Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , 
Everyone repeats themselves…
everyone sometimes wears
the same things over and over again -
even heroes…
everyone has secrets…
everyone makes the same mistakes
over and over again…
everyone is different,
and yet unavoidably human…
everyone lies; everyone has goods days;
everyone has bad days;
everyone gets to a point
when all they want is a quiet life…
everyone sometimes gets ahead of themselves…
everyone sometimes slips back into old habits…
everyone sometimes flies high…
everyone sometimes falls deep…
everyone needs air to breathe…
everyone can sometimes feel
suffocated by the same old routines…
everyone has a destiny, a purpose, an identity,
a life that can never be lost -
even those of us who might have forgotten
that long ago we were told by someone
that some day we will be somebody
who will make a difference…
everyone who goes to war
returns changed by what they have experienced -
and the first enemy of every battle
that has to be fought and overcome
is always the fear of the one who is fighting…
everyone who has searched for the truth
about something or someone
knows how it feels to be given an answer;
everyone who has investigated a mystery
about why something happened
knows that when light is shined upon darkness
details emerge from the shadows;
everyone who has taken a leap in their life
in which they had no idea
what the outcome would be
knows that a sacrifice is sometimes asked to be made
so that the righteousness of their actions
can be rewarded by those
who are willing to do the right thing
for a greater good…
everyone is someone…
everyone has a future, as well as past -
even someone who spends their time
doing good for others, without asking
for anything back:
someone who has been through so much,
and who identifies themselves first and foremost
as a messenger of truth, justice, peace, and love,
who is only ever witnessed in passing
as a mysterious man in black.

‘Playing God’ by Mark Hastings (2018) – The Complete Audiobook

Mark Hastings books, David Bowie, playing god, Podcast, Short-story , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
The Complete Audio Book of Mark’s 2018 short-story collection, ‘Playing God’. ‘Playing God’ is a collection of “Seven stories… Seven perspectives… Seven experiences… about One Man in Black, one Man in White… Seven morality tales of one immortal Rebel, Hero, Friend, Fan, Father, Son, Playing, God”. You can read Mark’s poetry on his website http://MarkThePoet.Me, and you can purchase all of Mark’s books of poetry, short-story anthologies, and novellas on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3HjAJMC

‘Playing God’ by Mark Hastings (2018) – audio book: The Man in Black – “The Gods Are Angry”

Mark Hastings books, David Bowie, playing god, Podcast , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
In this episode, Mark continues to recite the introductory story of his 2018 short-story collection, Playing God: ‘The Man in Black’ – “The Gods Are Angry”. ‘Playing God’ is a collection of “Seven stories… Seven perspectives… Seven experiences… about One Man in Black, one Man in White… Seven morality tales of one immortal Rebel, Hero, Friend, Fan, Father, Son, Playing, God”. You can read Mark’s poetry on his website http://MarkThePoet.Me, and you can purchase all of Mark’s books of poetry, short-story anthologies, and novellas on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3HjAJMC

‘Playing God’ by Mark Hastings (2018) – audio book: The Man in Black – “The Lux Stops Here”

Mark Hastings David Bowie, playing god, Podcast , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
In this episode, Mark continues to recite the introductory story of his 2018 short-story collection, Playing God: ‘The Man in Black’ – “The Lux Stops Here”. ‘Playing God’ is a collection of “Seven stories… Seven perspectives… Seven experiences… about One Man in Black, one Man in White… Seven morality tales of one immortal Rebel, Hero, Friend, Fan, Father, Son, Playing, God”. You can read Mark’s poetry on his website http://MarkThePoet.Me, and you can purchase all of Mark’s books of poetry, short-story anthologies, and novellas on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3HjAJMC

A Poem A Day #618: David Bowie

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“David Bowie” by Mark Hastings was taken from Mark’s poetry collection ‘The Comeback Kid’ which was published in 2023 by Zeloo Media. Check out more of Mark’s poetry online @ http://MarkThePoet.Me – all poems © Mark Hastings ● Buy Me a coffee @ https://www.buymeacoffee.com/MarkThePoet ● Check out the merch store on Redbubble: https://rdbl.co/3xWa4Rw

My Poem “World’s Best Dad”

Mark Hastings Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , , 
There was no one like my Dad...
there is no one like my Dad,
and there never will be anyone like him...
my Dad was the kindest,
my Dad was the most giving,
my Dad was the most generous,
my Dad was the most loving man there ever was,
and because of who he was
those who were fortunate to know him
and to have met him could never forget him...
my Dad was one of a kind...
my Dad was always thinking about others
and doing things for others...
my Dad had the most amazing smile
and he had the most hypnotizing
and the most beautiful bright-blue eyes...
my Dad woke up every morning,
he looked out his bedroom window
as the sun began to rise,
and though at times it was a struggle for him
because of what life had put him through,
he got up and put one foot in front of the other
and he effortlessly was the best friend,
the best brother, the best husband,
the best father the world has ever known...
my Dad was there for me all my life...
my Dad will always be my greatest
source of inspiration, strength,
and he will always be my hero...
my Dad and I shared so much together -
but I would give anything
to have more time with him,
to do more things with him,
to talk to him and to hear him say to me:
"Do your best" - which was something
that he used to say to me
and which will always stay with me
every day from morning till night...
life will never be the same again,
but not a day will go by when
I will not think of my Dad,
when I will not miss my Dad,
when I will not love my Dad,
when I will not do my best for my Dad;
but, to be honest, I know, and I can feel,
that he is still with me, that he is still with us -
because he was the best man there ever was
and I am the luckiest son ever
to have had the world's best Dad.

A Poem A Day #415: Always the Starman

Mark Hastings Podcast, Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

“Always the Starman” by Mark Hastings was taken from Mark’s book ‘Playing God’ which was published in 2018 by Zeloo Media. Check out more of Mark’s poetry online @ http://MarkThePoet.Me – all poems © Mark Hastings ● Buy Me a coffee @ https://www.buymeacoffee.com/MarkThePoet ● Check out the merch store on Redbubble: https://rdbl.co/3xWa4Rw

A Poem A Day #212: Hero

Mark Hastings Podcast, Poetry , , , , , , , , ,
“Hero” by Mark Hastings was taken from Mark’s poetry collection ‘The Sound of Mark’ which was published in 2014 by Zeloo Media. Check out more of Mark’s poetry online @ http://MarkThePoet.Me – all poems © Mark Hastings