Free Novella: A Very Uncanny Christmas

Here’s a Christmas gift for you! Over a year in the making, A Very Uncanny Christmas was originally supposed to be a 5,000 word short story for fans of Jack Hansard, but it turned into a 19,000 word novella that I’m proud to finally present for your enjoyment.

A Very Uncanny Christmas: Funny urban fantasy with a magic(ish) salesman, a Welsh coblyn, and a misguided Christmas spirit.
Funny urban fantasy with a magic(ish) salesman, a Welsh coblyn, and a misguided Christmas spirit.

A Very Uncanny Christmas is a standalone story that you can enjoy by itself or within the context of the main series. (It takes place after the events in The Jack Hansard Series: Season One.) Jack and Ang find themselves in Oxford for Christmas, up to their usual uncanny tricks in the corner of a festive market. But Jack’s keeping a secret from Ang about his real reason for being there: an ordeal like no other – he’s seeing his family for Christmas.

Although Jack’s prepared for a miserable holiday at home, he isn’t prepared for a cursed one. Everyone’s acting out of character; it’s all a bit too jolly, and the knitted jumpers are almost as weird as the freak snow that’s only appearing on their street. There’s obviously some Christmas magic afoot – but will Jack get to the bottom of the mystery, or succumb to the Christmas spirit himself?

Download A Very Uncanny Christmas from your favourite store today: https://books2read.com/u/47qKKE

A Very Uncanny Christmas urban fantasy novella cover

When Jack Hansard, Purveyor of Occult Goods, takes a break from hawking dodgy potions and broken magic charms to go home for Christmas, he expects to suffer through a painfully normal family reunion. However, it soon becomes obvious his family is under some kind of Christmas curse: everybody is being too nice.

Then there’s the freak snow, and the weird knitted jumpers, and the elf that little Nicky swears he saw poisoning the mince pies. Whatever’s going on, it’s something that lurks beyond the ordinary.

Jack must face sinister singalongs, enchanted toys, and possibly even Santa Claus himself to get to the bottom of the mystery and save Christmas . . .

. . . Or at least, save his family from Christmas.

Did Somebody Say Free Stuff? New Story Available!

Would you trust this guy?

Lurking at the edge of a mundane fleamarket, a merchant of impossibilities stands next to a trunk full of bizarre and otherwordly goods.

Are Jack Hansard’s uncanny wares for real? Is the magic past its sell-by-date? And what exactly do you DO with a deus ex machina, anyhow?


Gosh, there’s been a lot going on lately. If you’re a regular visitor you may notice that I’ve got a shiny new website and I’ve just launched my newsletter. My latest job has been setting up the download for this exclusive Jack Hansard story, which is now available for free to new subscribers!

If you’re not already familiar with The Jack Hansard Series, you can find the free beta episodes here.

Deus Ex Machina is a standalone short story which features our favourite occult merchant, told from the viewpoint of one of his unwitting customers. I wrote the original version of this for a humour competition way back in 2012 (it came second, which was rather nice) and decided to revamp the whole thing into a longer, better story for you guys to enjoy.

Click the button above to go directly to the download page at StoryOrigin, or get it by signing up to my newsletter here. It’s available in ePUB, Mobi, and PDF formats for all your reading devices. Hope it makes you smile!

Once you’re a subscriber you’ll also receive updates from me along with other exclusive sneak-peeks – including another story snippet called Pandora’s Box which features Jack’s least favourite business rival: the treasure-hunting, god-wrestling, myth-defying and all-round flash bastard Edric Mercer. It’ll arrive a day or two after signing up. Keep an eye on your inbox to make sure you don’t miss it! 😉


Urban fantasy with a sense of humour

Thanks to @EJIkinArt for the awesome cover illustration.