Two New Releases!
Hello everyone!
We hope you’re having a phenomenal Wednesday! Today is a big day for Riverfolk. We have two releases we’re excited to share with you.
First, for all the fans of Quill & Still by Aaron Sofaer, you’ll be pleased to know the audiobook is releasing today! It’s been narrated by Avalon Penrose, and we’re so excited to hear your thoughts. If you haven’t checked out this amazing story yet, now is the time!
Second, Eura Abrams’ debut novel, A Hero Returned is releasing today in all formats! Ebook, paperback, and the audiobook narrated by Tess Irondale are all available for purchase today! This book is the first installation of The Last Rae of Hope series, and we can’t wait for you all to dive into this fun new world!
To celebrate these two amazing authors we wanted to give you all a bit of insight into the creation of these books and the people who wrote them, so please enjoy our mini interviews below.
Eura “Euphridia” Abrams
I really should’ve taken the publisher’s employment contract more seriously…
Rachel and her best friend Nora never imagined their first job would catapult them into the heart of their favorite fantasy web novel. However, when they’re given the chance to help the enigmatic author complete the tale that captivated their hearts five years after the story's abrupt hiatus, they seize the opportunity.
But when they're whisked away without consent into the very story they long to save, the two must battle the destructive demon lord who betrayed and banished the heroine during the story's original cliffhanger. However, something seems amiss…
What if the card-carrying man isn’t quite the villain everyone else seems to think he is?
What inspired you to start writing?
I began writing fiction in the middle of the pandemic as a form of escape. By day, I’m a healthcare professional who spends a lot of time creating resources for others in the field. Writing an isekai gave me a way to step away from it, even if just for a little while.
How'd you come up with the idea for this series?
As a fantasy fan, I love heroes. I want them to grow stronger, be praised for their efforts, win, and get their happy ending. Of course, I don’t want it to be too easy—they have to work hard for that “hero” title! I need to be entertained, after all. But in real life, I struggle with the social construct of “heroes,” especially when it’s used to praise frontline workers for performing hazardous jobs. It creates an expectation that they’re tireless, invincible, and fully willing to self-sacrifice—even when the risks they’re taking could have and should have been prevented with proper systems in place. During the pandemic, I saw my colleagues treated like this kind of hero, and the worship placed unrealistic pressure on them to succeed without the proper resources or safeguards. It didn’t feel right. So, I wrote a story where “The Chosen One” realizes the Big Bad Evil Guy isn’t really the problem—it’s the system that allowed the BBEG to exist in the first place.
Who's your favorite character in this book? (And are they based on any characters you love in real life or works of fiction?)
I love Rae, Nora, and of course, Euphridia. Honestly, they (sometimes) represent the three sides of me. Most people say they have two wolves inside them—I went with the three stooges instead. Rae is a love letter to my younger self, telling her that “normal” doesn’t exist, that it’s okay to question things, and that making mistakes is part of learning. Nora is who I wish I could be when I need to act with confidence. Euphridia is probably who I’d become if I ever had significant power—absolutely irresponsible. There’s another character I adore, too, but he’s more than a little upset that he only gets mentioned every so often. He’ll be fine. Probably.
If there's one thing you want readers to take away from your story, what would it be?
When something terrible happens, it’s easy to blame people. But that doesn’t stop it from happening again. If you want real change, look beyond the individual. Look at the systems and tools that shape behavior and decision-making. It’s hard, but it’s worth it.
If you could do a crossover with any story, which would you choose?
Oh, I’d absolutely send my characters into other worlds to fix systems—once they’ve grown as a team themselves, of course. I can totally see a Charlie’s Angels setup where they’re sent on missions to other stories to help other characters break free of harmful tropes. Do you have a male lead whose red flags are even more crimson than the villain’s? Nora will take care of it.
Tell us something about yourself - anything at all.
I love it when a series hides little details, like offhand comments in the early pages that seem minor at first but, on a second read, turn out to be major plot points.
If you could tell teenage you one piece of advice, what would it be?
“It gets better. You will find someone—no, really—and while you can’t replace the ones you’ve lost, you’ll find others who are irreplaceable.”
Aaron “Pastafarian” Sofaer
Sophie Nadash once yearned to understand life and chemistry. Now a disillusioned scientist approaching middle age, she yearns to set aside pipettes and polymerase forever.
A chance encounter with the Goddess Artemis sets her on the path to becoming the Alchemist for the rural Shemmai village of Kibosh, where the rat race gives way to peace and the quiet life. Freed from the hustle of Earth, she can relax, make friends, and rediscover her love for chemistry through its mystical precursor... and come to grips with the Jewish faith she left behind as a child.
What inspired you to write?
I've been writing about as long as I've been forming memories, so this is hard to answer. The first coherent story I wrote was a book-length self-insert fanfiction into the Swallows & Amazons setting when I was around eight or nine, and that was just wish fulfillment. I guess that hasn't much changed!
How'd you come up with the idea for this series?
I've long wanted to write a crafting litRPG, in part because I think most of the people who write crafting stories just... aren't that interested in crafting? They just have their characters throw stuff into a pot and use System mechanics? Which is weird to me. I was re-reading some of the Recluce books by L. E. Modesitt Jr and also had just gotten nostalgic for Swords & Potions / Shop Titans (don't play them), and there were some cozy shop-keeping games coming on the market with sapphic flirting, so things sort of grow around that. It was originally going to be about woodworking and scribing, and I'm glad I changed my mind about that. As far as the civics goes... well, that's a lifelong obsession.
Who's your favorite character in this book? (And are they based on any characters you love in real life or works of fiction?)
Is it shitposting if I say it's the Kingdom of Shem itself? Eh. I grew up arguing public policy around the Shabbat table like we were all out to flense each other with net outcomes, meta-studies, and structural incentives. Clerk Administrator James Morei is as close to a self-insert as it gets into Quill & Still, and he's my favorite because he's just so toweringly dedicated to the egalitarian ideals of Shem as it dreams itself to be.
If there's one thing you want readers to take away from your story, what would it be?
We do not have to accept the bad along with the good. A better world, a kinder and more considered world, is right there for the taking if only we had the will and vision; it's there in every small way that we could change things for the better.
If you could do a crossover with any story, which would you choose?
This question is harder than all of the others put together, because there are so many stories I'd love to crossover with, because I love so many damn stories. Penelope from Thundamoo's "Vigor Mortis" showing up in Shem would be incredibly fun, she would become a cornerstone of the Discourse (the public debate of policy that is the Shemmai national sport), or Ketka going to the Crawl (Matt Dinniman). But it feels weird to think about. Fanfics are one thing, crossovers with my own characters feel a little too self-indulgent for some reason if I haven't been asked/offered one by the author, and I know this is completely just a weird me thing.
Tell us something about yourself - anything at all.
I am an absolute sponge for random trivia and facts, and I compulsively fact-check / research things I see in fiction and online. As a result I am capable of dropping utterly sincere, completely unhinged takes on literally any subject, because if you peel things apart you get a really fun mixture of nuance and madness. (Queueing theory as applied to supply chain logistics might serve as an example.) Whatever you might see me post on social media is me keeping it Normal, believe it or not!
If you could tell teenage you one piece of advice, what would it be?
You aren't struggling because you're a bad person. The executive dysfunction is ADHD (adderall!), the bursts of self-destructive mania followed by months-long depression are bipolar (lamotrigine!), and the yearning to fit into female-coded social spaces and be pretty is because you're trans, girl (estradiol!). These are solvable problems and questions of fault are not relevant.
Thanks for reading! We hope you enjoyed learning more about these two wonderful people! Don’t forget to get your copies of both Quill & Still and A Hero Returned today!
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