2014 has been a quiet year for Verse Publishing, the home of The Dead Files so far. That’s about to change. 

Allow me to explain. The leading light of Verse, Rob Maythorne, has had a busy year. Along with running a successful photography business, he’s only gone and got married. All of which has meant that the publishing house he started has had to take a back seat. He couldn’t do it all by himself.

Finally, wisely, he asked for help. Help from a wise, capable and strikingly handsome feller with whom he already had a good working relationship. Step forward… me.

I’ve become Senior Contributing Editor at Verse, a move which means I’m much more able to work with our authors and buff their stories to a polished sheen. My partnership with Rob has also given us the chance to try something new: a podcast.

With November, the official month of novel-writing, under way, now is the time to bring Verse back into your eyeline with a burst of writerly goodness. Witness our new wares!

First up, we’re proud to present the debut novel from author Michael Coolwood, The Unexpected Death Of A Soldier. A vivid, picaresque steampunk story told with plenty of brash flair and wild imaginative touches, Unexpected Death takes the genre to strange new places.

Meanwhile, in time for the spookiest time of the year, Verse is delighted to announce the return of The Dead Files! Dead Files 5 is our strongest edition yet, featuring twisted takes on the zombie-verse from friends like Chris Lambert (whose Tales From The Black Meadow and recently released soundtrack album Songs From… are firm favourites at Verse Towers) and new talent whose stories will make you look at Hansel and Gretel and your next-door neighbour in a whole new way. Oh, and I’m in there too, with the conclusion to my epic story of electrical zombies in a post-apocalyptic future, Seal The Gates Of Hell.

I mentioned a podcast earlier. Rob and I have launched a fortnightly chat about all things writing called, appropriately enough, The Write-Up. We want to share our tips and hints about how to live, thrive and survive in the literary world… or at the least, get yourself out there and your voice heard. The Write-up is available through iTunes: just click on the link below to be taken to the subscribe page.

Verse Books presents: The Write-Up!

And this is just the start. Look out for Verse in 2015. The word will be out there…