Last updated on May 7, 2026
A city of scholars. A stolen vial. A bakery case full of regrets.
Magic is power, and only the Kirosz Empire wields it—or so everyone thought, until a Nirsuathan professor engineered a magic of his own.
When the professor’s aptitude test sparks ambitions, Tyatavar, a baker’s daughter, promptly fails it. No surprise there—until her sister passes. Vilari becomes the first student of the professor’s new magic, while Tyatavar remains stuck.
Stuck drowning in flour and currant loaves.
Stuck in an unwanted marriage—and lying about it constantly.
Plus, with her sister skipping bakery shifts to study magic, there’s no space to claim a future of her own.
Then a new friendship with an odd glass merchant offers her a way out: printmaking. But tradition and obligation tighten around her—and threaten to keep her trapped when someone from her past returns.
Still, even for a magic test failure, the professor’s magic may be the solution. As change ripples through her city, impulse collides with desperation, and Tyatavar faces upending everything she knows.
A Chain of Lights is the first book in a character-driven gaslamp fantasy series full of slice-of-life vibes, mysterious magic, and a looming imperial conflict.
If you enjoy…
- Cozy fantasy—with sharper edges
- Character-driven stories with rich worldbuilding
- Misfits, mayhem, and magical worlds
- Banter, baked goods, and bad decisions
…this is your book.
Also available as direct download from the author’s website.
Content warning
Low amount of mild sexual content and some profanity. References to birth control use.
Authorship statement
This is a human-created work of fiction. The world, characters, story and wording are the author’s own.
The cover has been created with stock photos by a human designer.
Bonus content
Set in the same world as the Stars Fall Out series, The Bookburner’s Tale is available for free to newsletter subscribers.
A rebellion written in ash…Skirouinta Palace has been gutted and burnt, a thousand-year history destroyed under imperial occupation. Within the walls, an uneasy truce exists between figurehead monarchs and their imperial governor. Unhappy keeping up appearances, Branya, a powerless royal, wages her own quiet rebellion against the occupying power. As Branya takes flame to paper, she discovers new losses and confronts the limits of her situation.
About the author
Kris Bowser lives and adventures in the rocky hills and forests of New England, where they learned to sneak into the other worlds tucked between shadows and around bends. Currently, they work for the same college where they earned their degree in creative writing, and spend their time crafting an ever-growing steampunk fantasy series about a failed printmaker and a mysterious, newly engineered magic. They now live in an old mill town haunted by the spirits of machines and industry, but can also be found at krisbowser.com.
Their short fiction has appeared in Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores and Etherea Magazine.