Thursday 27 July 2017

BEST OF CRIME with Lucy V Hay

Welcome to my latest BEST OF CRIME feature, looking at crime writers' top picks, from their favourite author and fictional detective to their best writing tip. 



Today I'm delighted to welcome 

LUCY V HAY

for her The Other Twin blog tour

to share her BEST OF CRIME ...



... AUTHORS
I can have only one?? Blimey. I love most crime fiction, but I’m especially into psychological thriller. So I think my favourite author has to be ... Arrrrgh! You fiend. Don’t make me choooose! I refuse. *Harumph*. Let’s just say I love them all!


... FILMS/MOVIES
I love thriller, plus I work as a script editor for movies too, so it’s a no-brainer. I love crime, gangster, apocalypse/dystopian, supernatural – ALL OF THEM! Okay I’m being quite dull, aren’t I so let’s say Alien is my favourite. It’s a classic!


... TV DRAMAS
I loved Prisoner Cell Block H as a kid – it was a real thrill to watch a TV show with women dominating the screen. Now it’s remade as Wentworth Prison and it’s just as gritty, flamboyant and hard-hitting as ever. I can’t believe it doesn’t have a bigger following in the UK, it’s amazing! Watch it on Channel 5’s 5Star channel – the fifth series has just begun.


... FICTIONAL KILLERS
Hannibal the Cannibal is a classic, but I think the one that comes to mind now that knocks him off his top spot is Adam from Barbara Copperthwaite’s Flowers For The Dead. I couldn’t believe I empathised with this guy! I also adored the formidable and terrifying Caleb Switch in Arlene Hunt’s Last One To Die. The sting in the tale for that one was just delicious. As far as female killers go, I don’t think we have enough of them, but Amy Dunne from Gone Girl is just fantastic. She will stop at NOTHING to get what she wants!


... FICTIONAL DETECTIVES 
Gotta be DS Joanne Aspinall from Paula Daly’s crime series set in Lake Windemere (Just What Kind Of Mother Are You?; Keep Your Friends Close; The Mistake I Made; The Trophy Child). I love how ‘ordinary’ she is; a real ‘everywoman’ with problems and flaws like any one of us. She’s clever, insightful and has a sharp eye; plus she’s not EXTRAORDINARY like so many female leads are forced to be. Also, her issues with romance and her overly large bust don’t define her. She is what she is and that’s so RARE in a female character. 


... MURDER WEAPONS
Anyone who can kill someone with an icicle like Jack Frost in Marnie Riches’ The Girl Who Walked In The Shadows gets a big THUMBS UP from me! A murder weapon that handily disappears?? Bonus.
    

... DEATH SCENES
As someone who grew up in the 80s, this has to be Bugs Bunny’s ‘death’ at the hands of Elmer Fudd in the MARCH OF THE VALKYRIES Looney Tunes’ adaptation of Wagner’s classic opera. No idea what I’m on about? It’s ‘KILL THE RABBIT! KILL THE RABBIT!’ of course. Poor little bunny, indeed.

... BLOGS/WEBSITES
I run my own writing website, Bang2write, so this means I have to ‘keep up’ with other writing blogs and sites, especially ones that are screenwriting-based. Screenwriting theory has been very useful to me as a crime author, so my favourite is probably Screencraft. But there’s stacks more: The Script Lab, Write So Fluid, Go Into The Story to name but a few.


... WRITING TIPS
People often posit whether character or structure are more important – I say they’re inextricably linked. You can’t have one without the other, regardless of medium, because we want stories about ‘characters who DO STUFF [for various reasons]’.  


... WRITING SNACKS
Chocolate. Which types of chocolate depends though … I go through phases. At the moment, I am eating my body weight in Toblerone. I am still outraged by the smaller size of the triangles thou



About LUCY V HAY

Lucy V Hay is a novelist, script editor and blogger who helps writers. Lucy is the producer of two Brit Thrillers, DEVIATION (2012) and ASSASSIN (2015). Her debut crime novel, THE OTHER TWIN, is due out with Orenda Books in 2017. 

Find Lucy V Hay on her website, FB page and on Twitter - @LucyVHayAuthor


About THE OTHER TWIN


Publisher's description
When India falls to her death from a bridge over a railway, her sister Poppy returns home to Brighton for the first time in years. Unconvinced by official explanations, Poppy begins her own investigation into India's death. But the deeper she digs, the closer she comes to uncovering deeply buried secrets. Could Matthew Temple, the boyfriend she abandoned, be involved? And what of his powerful and wealthy parents, and his twin sister, Ana? Enter the mysterious and ethereal Jenny: the girl Poppy discovers after hacking into India's laptop. What is exactly is she hiding, and what did India find out about her? Taking the reader on a breathless ride through the winding lanes of Brighton, into its vibrant party scene and inside the homes of its well- heeled families, The Other Twin is a startling and up-to-the-minute thriller about the social-media world, where resentments and accusations are played out online, where identities are made and remade, and where there is no such thing as truth ...

The Other Twin was published by Orenda Books on 3 July 2017.


Look out for more BEST OF CRIME features coming soon.

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