I’ve been sitting on this news for a few weeks now, which has been incredibly difficult. I’m not great with keeping good things to myself, so I’ve had to be extra careful lately that I didn’t let it slip. Now though, all is official and I can talk about this news for a while!

The Dying Place, which is book two in the Murphy and Rossi series will be released in December from Avon/HarperCollins, but from next year (2015), the series will be moving to Simon and Schuster! Incredibly excited and honoured to be amongst such a stellar line-up they have there, and can’t wait to get started. Work on Book Three – which doesn’t even have a working title yet – has begun and will be out sometime in 2015. Here’s the official announcement of the move…

LUCA VESTE to SIMON & SCHUSTER UK in a major three-book deal

Crime writer Luca Veste, author of Dead Gone and The Dying Place, has moved to Simon & Schuster UK in a three-book deal after a heated three-publisher auction.

Phil Patterson at Marjacq Scripts negotiated the UK and Commonwealth six-figure deal with Jo Dickinson, Publishing Director, Fiction at S&S UK. The first novel will be published in 2015, and there will be a book a year after that.

Dead Gone was published by Avon and received widespread acclaim. The new books will continue the series characters of Murphy and Rossi, and will once more be set in Liverpool.

Luca Veste is a mature student, studying Psychology and Criminology in Liverpool. A former civil servant, actor and musician, he now divides his time between home life, University and writing. Visit http://www.lucaveste.com for more information.

Luca Veste said: ‘I am incredibly excited to join the S&S team. They have a history of publishing the best crime fiction around and I am so pleased Murphy and Rossi will be joining such a stellar line up.’

Dickinson said: ‘We were blown away by the pace and plotting of Luca’s first two novels and are thrilled to welcome him to the Simon & Schuster team. We plan to build Luca’s brand considerably over the coming years as his writing goes from strength to strength. This is a very exciting acquisition.’

This is, obviously, a big move for me and the series. From just the initial talks, I was blown away by my new editor’s passion and her view of the future. Big things are planned and I couldn’t be more excited. The pressure is on, but it is more than welcomed!

Away from this news, I’ve also just finished my last year at University, which will take some getting used to. By the end, I was ready to finish, but I’ll miss the new year starting again in September. An amazing experience overall, but incredibly hard work. Looking forward to graduating now!

Now, back to work. I’ve got a big book to write :-)