review

My book ‘The Wolf and The Vampire’

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Get your copy of my book ‘The Wolf and The Vampire’ – the new collection of my books ‘The Wolf in Me’ (originally published in 2017), ‘The Wolf in You’ (originally published in 2020), and ‘The Wolf in Us’ (originally published in 2022).

When I first began writing ‘The Wolf in You’, I started to imagine that the story that I was telling – starting from ‘The Wolf in Me’ – felt like it could one day become a trilogy of books; however, the more that I wrote, it became clear that I was creating a world of stories that I could expand upon in a variety of ways, and which would all be connected to each other and exist in the same continuity as one another: the supernatural world of werewolves, vampires, ghosts, gods, shape-shifters, and all the other interesting characters that populate many of the stories that I have written.

When I was given the opportunity to republish my books, when it came to republishing my books ‘The Wolf in Me’, ‘The Wolf in You’, and ‘The Wolf in Us’, I thought that this would be a golden opportunity to collect all three books of this trilogy of stories that I had written into one complete volume: ‘The Wolf and The Vampire’.

The books and the stories within ‘The Wolf and The Vampire’ are the tale of Olivia Hunter – a mother, a daughter, a teacher, a lover… a werewolf: the story of someone who has had to live through many different, and sometimes difficult, experiences throughout their life, but who has always overcome whatever, and whomever, they have had to face. This is also the chronicle of Vega – The Vampire King – and their love for Olivia Hunter, and what happened when two worlds collided and were forever intertwined with the destinies of The Wolf and The Vampire.

It gives me great pleasure to once again share the story of Olivia Hunter and Vega – The Vampire King – in this new 500-page hardcover collection, which allows anyone to read and experience the thrilling and epic love story of two supernatural individuals whose relationship and connection to one another would go on to have an impact upon the entire world.

You can get your copy of ‘The Wolf and The Vampire’ from Amazon now!

The Shawshank Redemption – stage adaptation Review

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In this episode, Mark reviews the stage adaptation of his favourite film, The Shawshank Redemption, based on the 1982 novella “Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption” by Stephen King, which he saw at The Belgrade Threatre in Coventry on the 9th of March, 2023. The play stars Joe Absolom as Andy Defresne and Ben Onwukwe as Ellis Boyd “Red” Redding. The play is adapted by Owen O’Neill and Dave Johns and directed by David Esbjornson.

Top Gun: Maverick (2022 film), a review

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In this episode Mark does a review of the 2022 American action drama film “Top Gun: Maverick” directed by Joseph Kosinski and starring Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Val Kilmer, which is the sequel to the 1986 film “Top Gun”. Mark discusses why some sequels to successful films work and why some do not, and why some sequels deserve to be made while others are made for all the wrong reasons.

Worth Watching – Episode #1: “Lightyear” (2022 film) a review

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In this episode Mark does a review of the 2022 American computer-animated science fiction film “Lightyear” and he explains why he believes it is worth watching.

The Mark Hastings Experience: Episodes 49-53

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Episode #48: Dexter: New Blood – Episode 4: H is for Hero, a review

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In this episode Mark talks about the latest episode of “Dexter: New Blood” – Episode 3: “H is for Hero”, which is also the 100th episode of the series “Dexter” overall – in which Dexter becomes concerned about his son, Harrison, following an attack at their high school.

TMHE – Episode #46: Dexter: New Blood – Episode 3: Smoke Signals, a review

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In this episode Mark talks about the latest episode of “Dexter: New Blood” – Episode 3: “Smoke Signals” – in which Dexter finds himself still attempting to stay one step ahead of the investigation into the missing person’s case of the young man he killed, but he appears to be finding it harder to cover his tracks in Iron Lake, NY, than it was for him in Miami – mostly because his girlfriend, Angela Bishop (Julia Jones), is leading the investigation and is determined to assist Kurt Caldwell (Clancy Brown) in finding out what happened to his son. Also, Harrison enrols at the local high school and joins the wrestling team, and also gets closer to Angela’s daughter, Audrey Bishop (Johnny Sequoyah).

TMHE – Episode #44: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004 film)

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In this episode Mark talks about the 2004 American romantic science fiction film “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Michel Gondry. The story of the film follows an estranged couple, John Barrish (Jim Carrey) and Clementine Kruczynski (Kate Winslet), who choose to have their memories of each other erased – but who unknowingly find themselves drawn back to one another, and who rediscover who they were and how they were as a couple, and why they ultimately chose to erase one another from each others’ lives. The film also stars Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood, and Tom Wilkinson.

TMHE – Episode #43: Parks and Recreation (TV series), a review

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In this episode Mark talks about one of his favourite TV shows: the American political satire mockumentary sitcom television series”Parks and Recreation”, created by Greg Daniels and Michael Shur, which originally aired from April 9, 2009, to February 24, 2015, consisting of 125 episodes, over seven seasons. The series stars Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope, a perky, mid-level bureaucrat in the Parks Department of Pawnee, a fictional town in Indiana, and along with an ensemble cast – including Rashida Jones, Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, Audrey Plaza, Chris Pratt, Adam Scott, Rob Lowe, Jim O’Heir, and Retta – we follow the personal and professional ups and downs of the characters of the show as they interact with one another, live their lives, find their true calling, and follow their dreams.

TMHE – Episode #42: Dexter: New Blood – Episode 2: Storm of ****, a review

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In this episode Mark talks about the latest episode of “Dexter: New Blood” – Episode #2: “Storm of ****” – in which Dexter/Jim Lindsay (played by Michael C. Hall) has to cover up from the events of last episode, during which his “Dark Passenger” resurfaced after 10 years of being dormant and which lead to the killing of a local young man.