Robyn Tocker's Blog
May 31, 2025
Reuniting with Old Friends
It's been well over a decade since I last read my very first published book In A Cottage We Once Knew and so much has changed since then, especially my writing style and how I tell stories. This is one of the many reasons I've decided to release a second edition of Cottage later this summer!
I'll be working with the same publisher that I did for my last book Into the Forest Deep and my cover designer for my third book has returned to design a gorgeous new cover for this new edition. I'm so excited for readers to see it!
What does it mean when I say a new edition? The cover changes, a new ISBN number, and some content changes on the inside (mostly grammar/spelling) but other than that the overall story will stay the same. Fans of Eldric and Matilda will still get to enjoy their adventures, just with a refreshing face lift!
I will be adding the new edition to Goodreads and hope to have it out in paperback and ebook by August, but I'll provide updates if that changes.
Thank you to everyone who has continued to enjoy my Ever After Tales Collection series! I hope Eldric and Matilda's story will bring joy to new readers and those who discovered their tale years ago.
I'll be working with the same publisher that I did for my last book Into the Forest Deep and my cover designer for my third book has returned to design a gorgeous new cover for this new edition. I'm so excited for readers to see it!
What does it mean when I say a new edition? The cover changes, a new ISBN number, and some content changes on the inside (mostly grammar/spelling) but other than that the overall story will stay the same. Fans of Eldric and Matilda will still get to enjoy their adventures, just with a refreshing face lift!
I will be adding the new edition to Goodreads and hope to have it out in paperback and ebook by August, but I'll provide updates if that changes.
Thank you to everyone who has continued to enjoy my Ever After Tales Collection series! I hope Eldric and Matilda's story will bring joy to new readers and those who discovered their tale years ago.
October 14, 2024
New Book Release!
Hello fellow readers! I have some exciting news to share that I hope will make readers of my previous “Ever After Tales” books especially excited.
My fourth book, “Into the Forest Deep,” a “Hansel and Gretel” continuation, will be released later this year! Exact release date isn’t available currently, but I’m aiming for mid-November. Once I have an exact date, I will share it with all of you!
I am so happy I get to share this book with my fellow fairy tale lovers, as it’s been sitting on my computer for years, waiting for the right time to become a “real book.” It’s seen quite a few changes since its initial drafting in 2019, but I’m confident it’s the strongest of my collection (so far) and one of my favourite stories to tell.
I’ve always wondered how the trauma of being left in the woods to die would impact two impressionable children; I hope my version of “Hansel and Gretel” has offered a glimpse into that generational trauma and how families can make it through and come out stronger. Don’t worry though: there’s still lots of romance, magic, and laughter in the pages, too!
“Into the Forest Deep” will be listed on Goodreads to put on your shelves and I will be regularly updating my Facebook and Instagram with purchasing information for those interested in where they can access my book.
Thank you to all my readers who have read either one, a few, or all of my “Ever After Tales” books – I hope you enjoy this one as much as the others!
My fourth book, “Into the Forest Deep,” a “Hansel and Gretel” continuation, will be released later this year! Exact release date isn’t available currently, but I’m aiming for mid-November. Once I have an exact date, I will share it with all of you!
I am so happy I get to share this book with my fellow fairy tale lovers, as it’s been sitting on my computer for years, waiting for the right time to become a “real book.” It’s seen quite a few changes since its initial drafting in 2019, but I’m confident it’s the strongest of my collection (so far) and one of my favourite stories to tell.
I’ve always wondered how the trauma of being left in the woods to die would impact two impressionable children; I hope my version of “Hansel and Gretel” has offered a glimpse into that generational trauma and how families can make it through and come out stronger. Don’t worry though: there’s still lots of romance, magic, and laughter in the pages, too!
“Into the Forest Deep” will be listed on Goodreads to put on your shelves and I will be regularly updating my Facebook and Instagram with purchasing information for those interested in where they can access my book.
Thank you to all my readers who have read either one, a few, or all of my “Ever After Tales” books – I hope you enjoy this one as much as the others!
January 3, 2016
Review: The Heart Goes Last
Margaret Atwood’s latest work of fiction lives up to the praise it has received.
It is no secret I am a fan of Atwood’s work – a good portion of my personal library is filled with Atwood’s novels and other works of fiction. The Heart Goes Last is a story that asks an important question: if the economy plummeted and there was an increase of homelessness/joblessness for a significantly long period of time, similar to what the United States and Canada experienced in 2008, what would we do?
In her recent novel, Atwood has an interesting answer to this question that she shares through her main characters, a married couple named Stan and Charmaine. They recently lost their jobs and are living in their vehicle. Charmaine picks up work at a bar where she sees the commercial for a potential answer to their problems. The Positron Project in the town of Consilience is a place where people live their lives as normal citizens in Consilience for one month then spend another month in prison. The participants commit to the project for life and are provided with housing and job security. It seems like the answer to Stan and Charmaine’s prayers, but as always, not everything is as it seems – especially in an Atwood story.
The Heart Goes Last presents a very real possibility for what the future of our communities could be. In Atwood’s book, she shows how absolute power does indeed corrupt absolutely. The good intentions the founders of the Positron Project had are nonexistent once they realize what kind of power they have over people’s lives. The lure of money becomes too much for them and ultimately leads to the downfall of what was once a life-saving project.
Atwood’s novel left me unsettled. After completing it, I realized I was looking at a copy of what could be my future, or my children’s future, and it left a bad taste in my mouth. Atwood has always had the ability to look at what was going on in today’s society, analyze it, and critique it through her fictional stories. It’s what drew me to her Maddaddam trilogy (if you have not read it, I highly recommend it).
I encourage readers to not take Margaret Atwood’s The Heart Goes Last lightly. Seriously consider what she is saying with her new novel and think about what you want the future to look like for you, your family, and the global community.
It is no secret I am a fan of Atwood’s work – a good portion of my personal library is filled with Atwood’s novels and other works of fiction. The Heart Goes Last is a story that asks an important question: if the economy plummeted and there was an increase of homelessness/joblessness for a significantly long period of time, similar to what the United States and Canada experienced in 2008, what would we do?
In her recent novel, Atwood has an interesting answer to this question that she shares through her main characters, a married couple named Stan and Charmaine. They recently lost their jobs and are living in their vehicle. Charmaine picks up work at a bar where she sees the commercial for a potential answer to their problems. The Positron Project in the town of Consilience is a place where people live their lives as normal citizens in Consilience for one month then spend another month in prison. The participants commit to the project for life and are provided with housing and job security. It seems like the answer to Stan and Charmaine’s prayers, but as always, not everything is as it seems – especially in an Atwood story.
The Heart Goes Last presents a very real possibility for what the future of our communities could be. In Atwood’s book, she shows how absolute power does indeed corrupt absolutely. The good intentions the founders of the Positron Project had are nonexistent once they realize what kind of power they have over people’s lives. The lure of money becomes too much for them and ultimately leads to the downfall of what was once a life-saving project.
Atwood’s novel left me unsettled. After completing it, I realized I was looking at a copy of what could be my future, or my children’s future, and it left a bad taste in my mouth. Atwood has always had the ability to look at what was going on in today’s society, analyze it, and critique it through her fictional stories. It’s what drew me to her Maddaddam trilogy (if you have not read it, I highly recommend it).
I encourage readers to not take Margaret Atwood’s The Heart Goes Last lightly. Seriously consider what she is saying with her new novel and think about what you want the future to look like for you, your family, and the global community.
