Part of Series
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 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
