movies

The Return of The Wolf – Out Now

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I am thrilled to announce that my new book The Return of The Wolf is Out Now and available to buy on Amazon!

The sequel to my books The Wolf in Me, The Wolf in You, and The Wolf in Us, The Return of The Wolf also sees the return of my werewolf protagonist Olivia Hunter.

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 is a thrilling, shocking, sometimes harrowing, but inspiring continuing story of a woman cursed not only by being a werewolf but also with an unparalleled tenacity, determination, and strength. And in this story, not only does Olivia seeks answers but she also seeks vengeance for the loses that she has to live with.

You can get your copy of The Return of The Wolf in hardback and as an ebook from Amazon now!

A Poem A Day #622: Back to the Theatre

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“Back to the Theatre” 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

Happy National Cinema Day!

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In celebration of National Cinema Day Mark talks about his life long love of going to the cinema and of the watching films. Mark talks about what it means to him to watch a film at the cinema and also about the different types of experiences that he has had while watching a film at the cinema. Mark talks about his favourite films and his film genres and potentially what he might be watching at the cinema today on National Cinema Day.

My Poem “Back to the Theatre”

Mark Hastings films, Poetry , , , , , , , , , , , 
Finally, I am back in the seat
of a cinema, sitting in the dim light,
and waiting patiently for the room
to go dark and the film that I am
here to see to start.

It's been a long time since
I was able to embrace my cinephile side
and get back to where I always looked
forward to returning to every so often...
it's been a long time since
anybody who loves the magic
and the experience of seeing a film
on the biggest screen there is
has been able to go to the movies,
to perhaps get some popcorn and a cold drink,
sit in a comfortable seat,
and switch off from the world
at the same time that they are
transported away to a place of
fiction and fantasy,
and embrace the gift and the opportunity
of pure, unadulterated, escapism.

I am a dreamer, I am an artist,
and I am also someone
who loves enjoying the labor
of other people's imagination and creativity...
since I was a child, I have always been
someone who loves going to the cinema -
because I have always understood
the language and the power
of visual and audiotory storytelling,
and the way that subtleties
in colour and sound can feed the mind,
as well as revitalize and influence
the thoughts, the feelings, and the emotions
of people young and old far into the future.

I don't see every film at the cinema,
but when I see the trailer for an
upcoming film that immediately
grabs my attention,
I try to make the time,
when the film is finally released,
to see it in a place where I can
make the most of every moment
of movie making poetry -
which is why I am so happy,
which is why I am so energized,
and which is why I am so in awe
to once again be back enjoying a movie
projected upon the screen of a theatre.

The Mark Hastings Experience – Season 3, Episode #2: “Quentin Tarantino – A Tribute”

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In this episode Mark talks about one of his favourite film writers and directors: “Quentin Tarantino” – whose films he is currently in the process of rewatching the films of.

My Poem “Getting Ahead of Myself”

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As a child, I always looked to the future…
as a child, when I imagined what would be,
I was always sure that things would turn out
like they were predicted to
in films and in television shows
that I watched which depicted
a world to come when anything
and everything was possible:
including vacations on the Moon,
underwater cities, and, of course, time-travel.

As a child, I was always hopeful
of a bright and inspirational tomorrow –
because looking immediately
for the positive of any situation
for me has always been in my nature…
as a child, I was like Luke Skywalker,
in the Star Wars movies:
always looking to the horizon
and always believing that anybody –
even someone as seemingly
bad as Darth Vader could be
redeemed and returned
from the dark side to the light.

As a child, fantasy worlds
drew me to them, because
what I saw and who I saw
had this magic to them
that had aspects to them
that were incredibly enthralling –
including: quests, adventures,
and other realities that seemed
wonderfully exciting.

As a child, real life was somewhere
where I interacted with my family,
where I hung out with my friends,
where I ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner,
and where there wasn’t such things
as flying cars, teleporters,
jet-packs, and robots who
looked as human as anybody I knew –
but I knew that one day all those
things that the television showed me
would come true one day.

As an adult, when I look around
at the world of the present –
while simultaneously reflecting
back upon the past and at what I used
to believe would be a reality
when I was all grown-up –
there are times when I genuinely
have to ask myself,
in the words of Freddie Mercury:
“Is this the real life? Or is this just fantasy?”

As I have grown older
and as I have seen and experienced
even more of the world,
my instant impulse to imagine
possibilities before they happen
is still my immediate instinct –
and though there have indeed
been times in my life when my belief
that the world is innately hopeful
and optimistic has been tested,
I will never be convinced by
anything or by anybody
to stop reaching for that which
seemingly lies upon a higher shelf of life,
and I will never stop being someone
who naturally and occasionally
gets ahead of himself.

My Poem “Scary Movies”

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As a child, I – like so many children do –
grew up watching so called
“scary movies”, “horror films”,
that truly scared me,
and I also watched thrilling
and occasionally comedic depictions
of fictional, supernatural and paranormal
events and characters
that made me jump, entertained me,
made my heart beat fast, made me smile,
and put me in a good mood…
films like ‘It’, ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’,
‘Jaws’, and ‘Alien’ initially effected me
on an emotional level –
however now I can appreciate
the “fright tactics” of the film-makers,
because what feeling they were
attempting to illicit in people
is what they succeeded in making
me feel quite profoundly…
I also watched such paranormal comedies,
like: ‘Ghostbusters’, ‘The Addams Family’,
‘The Munsters’, ‘Beetlejuice’ –
which were fun to watch,
enjoyable, and they did not
take their subject matter too seriously.

Even to this day, I still occasionally
watch scary movies –
and I would have to highlight
the films that take place in the
“Conjuring Universe”, that feature
fictional depictions of real-life
paranormal investigators
Ed and Lorraine Warren,
based upon documented
supernatural experiences
that occurred around the world,
as being some of the scariest,
the most thrilling, the most heart-racing,
and the most believable of any
and all of the scary movies
that I have seen recently
and the experiences that I had
of seeing them in a cinema
will forever stay with me.

If could pick just one
so called “scary movie”,
or a particular supernatural thriller,
that I believe is my favourite
of all that have been made,
I would have to choose
‘The Shining’, directed by Stanley Kubrick,
based upon the book of the same name
by the one and only “master of horror”,
Stephen King – because to me
‘The Shining’ is a masterpiece
of both storytelling and film-making
that entances you from the first
camera shot and from the first
note of music of the film’s soundtrack –
just as the original ‘Jaws’ does;
and, in my opinion, the ability
of movie-makers to be able to
take a viewer on a roller-coaster
ride of emotions, thoughts,
and feelings, while watching
something “otherworldly”,
by using all the magic of
movie-making at their disposal,
in a truly collaborative effort,
is what contributes to what makes
the most thrilling and the most scary
of thrilling and scary movies.

Happy Halloween! 🎃

Mark The Poet – The Podcast: Episode #62

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Mark The Poet – The Podcast: Episode #50

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My Poem “It’s good to be back”

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Back in the seat, back in the theatre,
back to an experience that I have not
had in what seems like years…
back to where I always enjoy returning to…
back to the place with sparkles on the floor,
back to where the lights are always bright,
back to where there is always the smell
of sweetness in the air,
back to where there are always
refreshments to be had that sometimes
enhance the movie-going
and movie-watching entertainment show
that anybody and everybody who has
ever gone to the cinema is used to…
back to looking at a film
being projected onto a big screen…
back to seeing the illuminated pink and blue
kiosk logo for Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream…
back to the darkness where the power
of imagination always comes alive…
back to the giant room of surround sound…
back to the place where I have on occasion
felt like I were floating in space,
traveling at the speed of light,
or on a voyage to the moon and back…
back to a place that sometimes
feels like we have been found…
back to the place where I like to be
shown something I have never seen before…
back to the past, back to the present,
back to the future – it’s good to be back
enjoying a new motion picture
back at the cinema.