Back in the early summer of 2025, I began to seriously consider the possibility of turning a short sketch of fiction I had written into a full-length, self-published novel. It was an exciting idea, and I quickly began to research how an aspiring writer might publish and distribute their own work, not least how I might be able to get help to fund the project. Only a couple of follows into my brand-new Bluesky account, I came across somebody who seemed to be an ideal model for what I wanted to do: fantasy author Laken Honeycutt.
Laken had already self-published her debut novel, The Chrysillium Tree, and was promoting it with a beautiful and intriguing social media stream. She was also nearing the end of her journey to release a sequel, titled Star of Shalik, and running a successful Kickstarter campaign to fund the process of editing and commissioning artwork. I was immediately captivated by the stylish design of the cover art and promotional materials, and charmed by her engaging strategy to attract backers which I found deeply impressive - I immediately signed up, even though I could not take advantage of some of the nicest perks on account of living on a different continent! No matter, I thought - I really looked forward to beginning to read The Chrysillium Tree, and to following Star of Shalik along the road to publication.
Laken and her debut novel The Chrysillium TreeIt's now nine months later, and The Chrysillium Saga continues: a third novel is on the way, while the lore and legend of Ulli is being revealed in greater depth with the release of Kingdom of Shadow & Light, a prequel novella detailing the events that force the peacefully coexistent peoples of the Lumani and the Allanians into conflict with the colonising Azantium Empire, leaving terrible scars upon them and their beloved homeland. It's an interesting experimental turn for Laken: the key events which spark the struggle are described in chapters that are glimpsed moments in time, sometimes years apart. This format seemingly evolved from the story being released serially on Substack, an astute strategy for keeping readers engaged with the saga while work on the third full-length book progresses.
Cover design for Kingdom of Shadow & Light, which Laken produced herselfLaken's work is often categorised as 'dark fantasy', and Kingdom of Shadow & Light certainly continues in that vein - the Light is not really light, and the Shadow is long and decidedly dark when first it falls over the Lumani's woodland idyll. The tale begins long before the political complexity of the (chronologically) later books has taken hold, and to this reader at least, the message is a warning against naivety and appeasement - hardly the stuff of hopeful romantasy! Laken's developing authorial maturity is evident in the prose as well as the plotting, especially noticeable in the arrestingly poetic prologue, and her storytelling may be even more ruthless than ever, but the charm of her highly original world, diverse people and wonderful magic system remains powerful while developing in detail.
Kingdom of Shadow & Light is essential reading for fans of The Chrysillium Tree and Star of Shalik, but be warned - there are significant spoilers and Laken strongly recommends that you read them in the order of publication. I received an Advance Reader Copy of the book, for which I have written honest reviews without obligation, and you can too for future releases - applications for Laken's Read Team are open at time of writing.
Laken Honeycutt's Books on Goodreads
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Laken for providing me with graphics assets to use in this article