Books in series
#1
Bad Blood
The First Book of the Aphotic
2022
Sometimes, the ties that bind can break you.
It’s 1975, and nine-year-old Talia is not happy. Everything has been different since her little sister Alex came along. Since her dad left. Since all her mother’s attention has been focused on anyone and everything but Talia.
It’s definitely all Alex’s fault. Talia hates Alex. She just wants things to be like they used to be. When her dad was home. When everyone cared about her. When there was no Alex.
Then she’s given a book. One that’s special. One that seems only for her. One that can help her take all her anger and frustration and rage and … unleash it.
Now, Talia will make them all pay.
But everything comes with a price. And some things must be paid in blood.
"Seriously. F\*ck this kid!" - Jennifer Dinsmore, editor of The Aphotic series
"Delightfully disturbing." - Eric Leland, author of Inhuman: A Supernatural Thriller
#2
Out For Blood
The Second Book of the Aphotic
2022
Everyone has their demons. But Stinky Pete released his into the school, and now it's out for blood.
It's 1981, and in the town they call No Hope, Theo knows Pete is going through a tough time. God knows Theo's been there himself. He offers a hand in friendship, an offer to get a few guys together for some poker, but something holds Pete back. He's just acquired a Book, and this is the day Pete's gonna make his father pay for all the shit Stinky Pete's had to deal with...
With the help of the Book, Pete unleashes an monstrous, vile demon within the halls of Clarington High. In a matter of minutes, most of the students are dead or dying, the school has been moved to a sickening elsewhere, and Theo and his friends are thrown into the fight of—and for—their lives.
They have one chance to defeat the demon. One chance to get back home. One chance to save themselves. And it's the biggest gamble of Theo's life, but the deck is stacked against them.
The demon they call Swlabr is trying to find and break them for its own needs...
Their inner demons are fighting against them...
And the Book? Yeah, that damned Book has plans of Its own.
"I know bad things are supposed to happen, and we've got a ways to go, but f\*ck! I've never hated a book so! This. Is. Terrifying. " – Jennifer Dinsmore, editor of The Aphotic series
#3
Blood Loss
The Third Book of the Aphotic
2023
Losing blood doesn't always mean you're bleeding. You think you know what it means to lose blood?
Zero does. One of her members broke the rule: no werewolf shall harm or kill another. But the replacement is an overeager fool who refers to himself as the Fed. He’ll risk everything to prove his worth. And he’s out for revenge.
Rainer does. Her parents, her sister, her husband, her child…her blood. The werewolves took everyone she loved, and she’s vowed to never let it happen again. But when she finally opens herself up, she puts a whole new family in the werewolves’ path. She’ll risk everything to stop the wolves. Now, she’s out for revenge.
Sam does. With her mother gone, Sam is finally forging a relationship with her father. So she isn’t sure what to think when Rainer shows up, stinking of smoke and death, and tells Sam and her dad that they must come with her. For their safety.
But Sam is different from other kids her age. Precocious and foul-mouthed, she’s learning she’s strangely powerful. And that even the werewolves can sense it.
Yet another, darker power waits, biding its time. It just needs to find that perfect…someone.
Someone willing to spill blood.
"This is disturbing. These f\*ckers are scary!"– Jennifer Dinsmore, editor of The Aphotic series
#4
Blood Pact
The Fourth Book of the Aphotic
2023
Two ancient relics. Two feral, supernatural species. One fight for control. Some families are born in blood.
For almost a century, the Clutch has been confined by a small boundary. All attempts to cross it have failed miserably, with no survivors to tell their tales. Chloe and the other vampires long for the life they had before. Back when they could roam and hunt freely. Back when they had control over the wolves.
Back before the wolves found that damnable Book and locked them within a few miserable square miles of rock and brush at the edge of Lake Kwanashishing.
The wolves have a standing proposal: they would consider a compromise if a vampire escaped the inescapable boundary and met on the pack’s land. Typical wolves.
Chloe believes she may have found a way, though the very thought makes her uneasy. Vampires should never try to cross running water, after all. Then there’s the fact that the wolves' pack leader and the Clutch’s First hate each other. And as the second, Chloe is bound to protect her leader.
But when the moment comes, Chloe is shocked to find she is more concerned for the safety of a sad little boy than she is for that of her First. Can she save him from her First, or from the pack? Can she do it without invoking the ire of her Clutch and jeopardizing their one chance at freedom?
"So many of the most brutal aspects of this story are so beautifully told!" – Jennifer Dinsmore, editor of The Aphotic series
#5
Blood Relations
The Fifth Book of the Aphotic
2023
Whoever said you can’t go home again was right. Lex tried. And now she really wishes she hadn’t.
When Lex left No Hope, she had no plans to return. Never wanted to. Not after… No. She doesn’t allow herself to go there. Leave it in the rear-view, just like her hometown.
Ten years down the road, the past can’t seem to stay in the past and her life is in disarray. She really needs to start getting her shit together.
Then her mother is brutally murdered, and Lex finds herself on the long, desolate drive back home. Once there, Lex discovers things are worse than she thought. The family home is in shambles, her father is in decline, and her brother is, somehow, an even bigger asshole than before. Taking comfort in the presence of old friends—and a possible new lover—Lex plans to again leave No Hope in the rear-view as fast as possible. Screw what’s left of her so-called family.
Those plans go awry when a mysterious woman, known to the locals as Spooky Talia, asks a seemingly impossible favour of take up a quest for a mythical talisman so she can strike a bargain with a vicious group of bloodsuckers who aren’t known for their patience. A bargain that will, apparently, hopefully, save her life and deliver her mother’s murderer.
It’s also Lex’s last chance to get her shit together. No pressure.
Embarking on the most bizarre road trip imaginable, Lex will have to face her demons—both real and imagined—in order to rediscover any hope in a town where hope has always gone to die.
“Nope. Don’t like this at all... Tobin, I don’t trust you. No, no. F\ck no!” Jennifer Dinsmore, editor of The Aphotic* series
Author
Tobin Elliott
Author · 8 books
Tobin was destined for horror. This became obvious when, in the span of two weeks, he built a working model of a guillotine out of popsicle sticks and a razor blade—which his Grade Five teacher didn't seem to appreciate as much as he did—and he also learned to tie a noose and proudly hung one from their apartment balcony—which his mother and the superintendent didn't seem to appreciate as much as he did. Eventually, he learned to focus the horror into stories. His friends and neighbours likely appreciated the lesser PDH (Public Displays of Horror). Besides writing ugly stories about bad people doing horrible things, Tobin also
- taught Creative Writing at both Durham College and Trent University (Oshawa Campus) for two decades
- was a founding board member of the Writers' Community of Simcoe County (WCSC)
- was a member of the Writers' Community of Durham Region (WCDR)
- for five crazy years, took part in the annual Muskoka Novel Marathon, a three-day writing marathon to raise money for adult literacy programs in the Simcoe/Muskoka region. Tobin has been lucky enough to see quite a few works published in the past decade or so...
- his first published work, a horror novella called Vanishing Hope, was through Burning Effigy Press - Stealing Corey was a semi-finalist in the Whispered Words contest and was published in the subsequent Whispered Words anthology, published by Piquant Press
- the third novella-length installment of the Sam Truman Mysteries, Soft Kiss Hard Death, was published by Abattoir Press
- this, along with the first two novellas, were later collected into the The Sam Truman Mysteries Omnibus Volume 1
- his novella, The Wrong was the final book published by Burning Effigy before they went into extended hibernation (Tobin tends to have that effect on people and publishers) - Prison Break was published in the Nancy Kilpatrick-edited anthology, Expiration Date, published by Edge SF & Fantasy Publishing, and was singled out by Ellen Datlow in The Best Horror of the Year Volume Eight as one of the standout stories - Fight or Flight was published in Purgatorium: The Element of Horror anthology, by ID Press - Nightingale was published in Allucinor: The Element of Romance anthology, by ID Press - The Riff was published in Nefariam: The Element of Crime anthology, by ID Press - Horse Guts Horse Guts was published in Released: A Horror Anthology, by No Bad Books Press
- possibly his weirdest bit of writing, "EGR 181: Cyclopean Architecture" was published in Nafallen University 2022-2023 Course Catalog, by Madness Heart Press Since COVID-19 pressed the great pause button, Tobin managed to complete his six-book APHOTIC horror series (which he's delighted to be able to call a "hexalogy") and are being released at two-month intervals. The Six Books of the Aphotic
- Bad Blood
- Out For Blood
- Blood Loss
- Blood Pact
- Blood Relations
- Flesh and Blood Tobin has been married for 32 years, and has one son and one daughter, and one relatively brainless dog. He's retired from a large Canadian telecom company where he was a Communications Specialist. Tobin counts embarrassing his wife and kids, pointing out the stupidities of others, being dumb to kind animals and killing plants among his hobbies. Finally, Tobin loves feedback, either positive or negative, on his writing. You can find him reviewing on Goodreads/LibraryThing/The StoryGraph or saying stupid things on Instagram
