"The Side Questers is a fun romp, taking typical tropes and turning them on their head. It’s a world full of characters I’d love to get a beer with—a perfectly poured beer, for that matter." —Eric Ugland, author of the Roseland series

"In Eternity’s latest video game update, two 'non-player' characters break the script—and discover real life might be the strangest game of all. J.J. Kochmanski delivers a smart, playful adventure with a mind-bending question at its core: Who is the clockmaker—and is any of this real?" —Scott Hylbert, author of Task Lyst

★When gaming meets literature, LitRPG—literature inspired by role-playing games, or the “game progression” genre—is creating a global publishing sensation! From being “set by the system” to actively rewriting one’s own destiny, both emotions and combat power grow in tandem. Let’s fight together until the very end and uncover the deeper truths that lie beyond the confines of the system!
★“NPCs awaken and break free from the system + heroes mature and take control of their fate!” This LitRPG novel blends sci-fi alternate world, fantasy portal travel, heartwarming romance, action-adventure, and lighthearted comedy. It lowers the barrier to entry for sci-fi and fantasy readers while enhancing immersion, making it the perfect choice for those new to the LitRPG genre.
★This cozy action-adventure with romantic elements follows Anya, a non-playable character (NPC) in a fantasy role-playing game, as she discovers new details of her origin story that push her into the main questline alongside grumpy Cyrus Blackwood as they work to prove to themselves—and their creators—that they can be heroes too.

P.S. LitRPG (Literary Role-Playing Game) refers to role-playing game-inspired literature, or the “game progression” genre. It is a literary form that integrates video game mechanics with novelistic storytelling, where in-game elements such as character levels, stat panels, skill systems, and experience points serve as key drivers of the plot.

For fans of Legends & Lattes and Dungeons & Dragons comes an unconventional hero’s journey told through the perspective of a non-player character in a fantasy role-playing game.
Anya Dazel is a burnt-out barkeep in Eternity: The Endless Realm, the world’s premier online role-playing game. As a non-player character, her life is stuck in a programmed loop—forever serving the same drinks to the same patrons and helping players with an automatic quest event that unfolds when they enter her pub. She longs for any disruption to this monotonous existence, even if that feels like an impossible dream.
But when Eternity receives an update, and Cyrus Blackwood is added to Anya’s pub, her dream unfurls as a nightmare. Cyrus is everything that Anya is not—a mysterious, brooding warrior with a gigantic sword and a tortured past. Everyone in the tavern is fascinated by him, and even worse, when the next player arrives, it’s Cyrus who helps them with their quest, not Anya. Realizing that she’s being replaced, Anya lashes out at Cyrus, inadvertently knocking them both out of her tavern and into the wider realm of Eternity.
Free from their encoded home, Anya and Cyrus must work together to navigate a dangerous open world, overcoming hordes of monsters, devious puzzles, and maybe even an existential crisis or two. But as they struggle to overcome their distaste for each other and stay alive, they discover that their roles within Eternity might not be as programmed as they thought, and Anya will need to prove that even barkeeps can be heroes.

JJ Kochmanski (Author)
JJ Kochmanski is a science fiction and fantasy writer whose work explores the relationship between humanity and technology. Outside of writing, he works as a data scientist at a biotechnology company, researching cancer therapies.
He holds academic backgrounds in evolutionary biology, toxicology, and neuroscience, and earned a Ph.D. in toxicology with a focus on gene–environment interactions. He is passionate about understanding how human-made environments influence health and evolution. As first author of 11 peer-reviewed scientific papers, he once spent an embarrassingly long time pipetting liquids—but now he applies his skills as a data scientist to advance cancer research.
While pursuing his graduate studies, he took up novel writing as a hobby to cope with long hours in the lab. Over time, it grew into a deep passion, and he makes every effort to carve out time for writing each day. His science fiction and fantasy stories draw on his computational biology background to examine the intersection of humans and technology. Through this work, he hopes not only to entertain readers but also to bring greater attention to lesser-known themes and topics within the sci-fi and fantasy genres.
In his spare time, he enjoys running, traveling, watching horror movies, and caring for his toddler. He lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with his family.

David Roos (Cover Illustrator)
David Roos is a New York–based illustrator with extensive experience in publishing, advertising, and fine art projects. His versatile style and wide-ranging subject matter infuse each collaboration with creativity and multifaceted talent.