The Time Traveler's Wife meets Crazy Rich Asians in this speculative romance set against Singapore's tumultuous past. Immersed in Southeast Asian history, time-travel, and an impossible love story, The Light Between Us is perfect for readers of literary historical fiction and modern romantasy alike.

At work one night, photography archivist Charlie Sze-Toh receives a misdirected letter from Wang Tian Wei, a 1920s colonial era Chinese photographer. Through a mysterious digital folder at her end and photographic plates at his, they begin a conversation that leads to a transcendental romance that spans lifetimes. In his time, Tian Wei scours a turbulent Singapore for his missing friend, Aiko, leading him to the perfumed chambers of a Japanese brothel. Meanwhile, in the modern day, Charlie struggles against a family dynamic dominated by her stepmother, a manipulative matriarch who uses family secrets as bargaining chips. Communication starts to become difficult and Tian Wei’s letters are tinged by the increasing threat of Japanese Occupation.

Will one last fate-defying letter from Charlie allow Tian Wei to keep their love alive? Inspired by her research into Singaporean historical archives, Elaine Chiew weaves Chinese mythology and early 20th century colonial Singapore into this speculative epic.

About the Author

Elaine Chiew is a London-based author, Creative Writing teacher, and mentor. Her short story collection, 'The Heartsick Diaspora' received coverage in The Guardian, The Singapore Straits Times, BookRiot, and Esquire Singapore. She is also a two-time winner of the Bridport International Short Story Prize, and has been anthologised in the U.S., Asia, and UK, recently in 'The Best Asian Short Stories' (2021) and BBC Radio 4. Her first novel, 'The Light Between Us', was longlisted for the inaugural Cheshire Novel Prize.