The register

Steve is a 27-year-old structural engineer who doesn't believe in the supernatural and has slightly less experience with women than the Pope. He's currently fast asleep. And he's about to have his life turned upside down.

Which, on balance, is probably a good thing.

A story about perfectly fried eggs, how to survive a tram journey, and a nosy neighbour.* Oh, and also the kindness of strangers. You know, if you're into that kind of stuff.

*May contain traces of demons, genius loci and other supernatural beings. No succubi were harmed in the production of this book.

Mrs Pettigrew will return in The Demon Hairdresser.

Along with more fried eggs, tea, hairdressing, a hangover, and dating mishaps.*

*May also include a helicopter, vampires, counterterrorism, a five hundred year old quest for vengeance (which is very annoying) and some sort of… fish thing. Oh, and at least one wedding (depending on how you count them).

Max loves the night shift at Heaton DataMill. Fans spinning where looms once did, water cooling where it once powered the factory. And Kirsty: his supervisor, who has never once smiled at him, and whose glares he secretly rates out of ten.

But in sector D9, the lights misbehave, cables braid themselves overnight, and the fans keep falling silent — as if something wants to listen.

Can Max find his way to the heart of Kirsty's endless fury? Will she ever actually smile? And will they survive what the strange girl in a white dress and clogs has planned for them*?

A standalone Mancunian Magic short story — a quick 20-minute read.

*Warning: not all characters in this story have a happy ending. At least one is abrupt and grisly — but to maintain the suspense, I won't tell you whose. Or how many.