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WORK TITLE: The Other Twin
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S): Hay, Lucy V.
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.lucyvhayauthor.com/
CITY: Devon
STATE:
COUNTRY: United Kingdom
NATIONALITY: English
Married with three children; https://www.facebook.com/Bang2writers; http://www.lucyvhayauthor.com/news/
RESEARCHER NOTES:
LC control no.: no2013133630
LCCN Permalink: https://lccn.loc.gov/no2013133630
HEADING: Hay, Lucy V.
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046 __ |s 20
100 1_ |a Hay, Lucy V.
370 __ |c England |e Exeter (England) |2 naf
372 __ |a Television scripts — Editing |a Motion picture plays |a Motion picture authorship |2 lcsh
373 __ |a London Screenwriters’ Festival
374 __ |a Novelists |a Motion picture producers and directors |2 lcsh
375 __ |a female
377 __ |a eng
670 __ |a Writing and selling thriller screenplays, 2013: |b t.p. (Lucy V. Hay) rear cover (is a novelist, script editor and script reader. She is one of the founding organisers of the London Screenwriters’ Festival and Associate Producer of the dark Brit thriller “Deviation” (2012))
670 __ |a Write Here, Write Now WWW site, viewed 19 Nov. 2013 |b (Lucy V Hay is a script reader/editor and writer living in Exeter, UK)
PERSONAL
Married; children: three.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer, novelist, script editor, script reader, and film producer. Associate producer of the British films Deviation, 2012, and Assassin, 2015; script editor and advisor on numerous other produced features and shorts. One of the founding organisers of the London Screenwriters’ Festival.
WRITINGS
Also author of the blog Bang2Write.
SIDELIGHTS
L.V. Hay, also known as Lucy V. Hay, is a novelist, script editor, and blogger, whose blog, Bang2Write, is a consultancy to help writers learn and improve upon their craft. She has been an associate producer on British films and has read for indie production companies, screen agencies, investment initiatives, producers, filmmakers, and writers. In her debut crime novel, The Other Twin, Poppy Wade returns to her home in Brighton, England from London when her younger sister, India Rutledge, falls off a bridge over a railway and is killed. Even though Poppy had not talked to India in more than four years after Poppy went off to graduate school, she is not convinced that that official explanation that India committed suicide is what really happened. As a result, she sets out to conduct her own investigation. “Hay may not be a name you are familiar with but this may be about to change as with her debut psychological thriller,” wrote a contributor to the Last Word Book Review website.
The main drivers of Poppy’s investigation are India’s laptop and her blog, on which India seems to have created an entirely new identity and life for herself. “Hay uses the anonymity of the internet as a launching pad for a mystery of hidden lives and personal secrets,” wrote a contributor to th Crime by the Book website. Nudge website contributor James Pierson remarked: Hay “has crafted a tale of hidden lives and the perils of social media.”
Poppy zeroes in on trying to figure out who the person is who goes by the code name “Jenny” because India’s ‘s last post was addressed to Jenny. Poppy also ventures out into the party and club scene in Brighton to find out more and to a seaside cafe where India once worked after she had lost her job as an accountant. Along the way, Poppy reconnects with her estranged mother and with her old boyfriend, Matthew Temple, whom she abandoned years earlier. As Poppy delves deeper into her sister’s death she starts to uncover some disturbing truths.
Poppy begins to suspect that Matthew may be involved, along with his powerful parents and his twin sister, Ana. Even though they have offered to help Poppy, she beomes suspicious of their motives as she becomes more and more convinced that the Temples’ veneer of respectability is hiding something sinister. Poppy also believes that India may have discovered something about the mysterious Jenny that may have led to her sister’s death. Meanwhile, Poppy starts to realize she must reevaluate her own life and face up to things from her past while also reexamining her relationships and taking an honest look at the people closest to her. Meanwhile, Poppy’s investigation leads her down numerous dead ends as she faces drama within her own family and questions herself about trying to rekindle her romance with Matthew.
Throughout the narrative, Hay includes snippets from India’s blog. The novel is narrated by Jenny but also includes third-person chapters from a man enthralled by “She Who Must Be Obeyed.” A Crime by the Book website contributor noted: “The Other Twin is engaging and relentlessly absorbing—it’s no surprise that author Hay has a background in the film industry, considering how movie-worthy her debut psychological thriller is.” Another reviewer writing for the Crime Review website remarked on the diversity of characters in the novel and called The Other Twin “an atmospheric, well-paced and interesting read that blends psychological thriller with an old-fashioned whodunnit in a compelling way,” and added later in the same review: “The other factor that is really impressive is the way that the atmosphere in Brighton is built up.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Publishers Weekly, October 2, 2017, review of The Other Twin, p. 120.
ONLINE
Bang2Write website, http://www.bang2write.com/about-me (March 27, 2018).
Crime by the Book, http://crimebythebook.com/ (July 2, 2017), review of The Other Twin.
Crime Review, https://thecrimereview.com/ (July 21, 2017), review of The Other Twin.
Last Word Book Review, https://thelastwordbookreview.wordpress.com/ (July 18, 2017), review of The Other Twin.
Lucy V. Hay Website, http://www.lucyvhayauthor.com (March 27, 2018).
Nudge, https://nudge-book.com/ (August 6, 2017), James Pierson, review of The Other Twin.
Lucy is an author and script editor, living in Devon with her husband, three children and six cats. Lucy is the associate producer of Brit Thrillers Deviation (2012) and Assassin (2015) both starring Danny Dyer. See Lucy’s IMDB page HERE and other movies and short films she’s been involved in, HERE.
In addition to script reading and writing her own novels, Lucy also blogs about the writing process, screenwriting, genre, careers and movitivation and much more at her blog Bang2write, one of the most-hit writing sites in the UK. Sign up for updates from B2W and receive a free, 28 page ebook (PDF) on how NOT to write female characters, HERE or click the pic on the left.
For more scriptchat, leads and links, join Lucy’s online writing group, Bang2writers. See you there!
Lucy V. Hay is a novelist, script editor and blogger who helps writers via her Bang2write consultancy. She is the associate producer of Brit Thrillers Deviation (2012) and Assassin(2015), both starring Danny Dyer. Lucy is also head reader for the London Screenwriters’ Festival and has written two non-fiction books, Writing & Selling Thriller Screenplays, plus its follow-up Drama ScreenplaysShe lives in Devon with her husband, three children, six cats and five African Land Snails.
Who is Lucy V Hay?
Lucy V. Hay is a novelist, script editor and blogger who helps writers via her Bang2write consultancy. Lucy is the producer of two Brit Thrillers, DEVIATION (2012) and ASSASSIN (2015), as well as the script editor and advisor on numerous other produced features and shorts. Check out the projects she’s been involved in or read, HERE.
As an author, Lucy has written Writing & Selling Thriller Screenplays for “Creative Essentials”, as well as its follow ups, Writing & Selling Drama Screenplays and Writing Diverse Characters For Fiction, TV & Film based on her experiences of reading 20K+ spec screenplays, unpublished novels and pitch material over the last 15 years as a script reader and script editor.
Publishing as LV Hay, Lucy’s debut crime novel, The Other Twin, is now out with Orenda Books and has been featured in The Sun and Sunday Express Newspapers, plus Heatworld and Closer Magazine.
About B2W
Renowned for its sweary ‘smack talk’, Bang2write is a writing and networking tips blog for screenwriters, novelists and freelance writers. B2W has been a finalist in the UK Blog Awards 2017; it was picked as 1 of the top 100 websites for writers by The Write Life in 2017 and 2018; plus it is in Feedspot’s top 10 screenwriting blogs, number 1 in the UK
The Other Twin
Publishers Weekly. 264.40 (Oct. 2, 2017): p120.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
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Full Text:
The Other Twin
L.V. Hay. Orenda (IPG, dist.), $14.95 trade
paper (300p) ISBN 978-1-910633-78-6
In British author Hay's murky first novel, Poppy Wade leaves London for her hometown of Brighton immediately after learning from her mother that her younger sister, 24-year-old India Rutledge, has fallen to her death from a railway bridge. Poppy has hardly talked to India in four years, but finds it impossible to believe that she killed herself. Once in Brighton, Poppy reconnects with her mother and stepfather--and with former boyfriend Matthew Temple. She also gains access to India's laptop and her blog, snippets of which dot the narrative, as do brief, ominous passages from a man in thrall to "She Who Must Be Obeyed." Poppy tries to figure out the identity of "Jenny," the code name of the person to whom India's final post was addressed. She also explores the club life of Brighton, including a seaside cafe where India briefly worked after losing a good accounting job 18 months earlier. Matthew and his twin, Ana, offer help but prove untrustworthy. Hay's nonlinear, often vague approach can be difficult to follow as Poppy struggles to decipher the truth behind India's death. (Nov.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"The Other Twin." Publishers Weekly, 2 Oct. 2017, p. 120. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A509728434/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=fffe6d0f. Accessed 27 Mar. 2018.
BLOG TOUR | BOOK REVIEW: THE OTHER TWIN BY L.V. HAY
July 2, 2017
THE OTHER TWIN by L.V. Hay
Orenda Books; 7/3/17 (UK) & 11/1/17 (US)
CBTB Rating: 4/5
The Verdict: an addictive thriller with a strong message
THE OTHER TWIN by L.V. Hay is aptly titled: this book has two identities. On the one hand, this book is an inventive, addictive psychological thriller for the social media age—a binge-worthy story that considers the secrets we can hide online. On the other hand, it's an unflinching and heartbreaking glimpse into the damage we can inflict on one another when we impose our own worldviews on those around us. As much a call for acceptance as it is an addictive thriller, THE OTHER TWIN will surprise readers with the substantial message that lies underneath its engaging and binge-worthy plot.
Plot Summary:
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.
There’s so much about THE OTHER TWIN that will instantly engage psychological thriller readers. Personally, my favorite element of this book is how it plays on the anonymity that social media grants its users. The internet gives us the ability to share our lives with the world—whether the life we choose to share is fact or fiction is up to us. In the case of THE OTHER TWIN, main character Poppy returns home to discover that her now-deceased sister had crafted a new world for herself online, through a blog. While reading her sister’s blog posts, Poppy begins to understand that there was so much about her sister’s life she never really knew—and that the key to her sister’s untimely death may be hidden in this online world. Hay uses the anonymity of the internet as a launching pad for a mystery of hidden lives and personal secrets.
Hay has a writing style that hooks you from page one and doesn’t let go. Poppy’s search for the truth about her sister’s death is both emotionally compelling and wholly addictive. This search takes readers from Poppy’s childhood home, through the streets of Brighton, into the world of India's online community, and behind the closed doors of some of the community’s most well-respected families. Poppy must face up to baggage from her past, re-evaluate relationships gone wrong, and take an honest look at the lives of those closest to her. THE OTHER TWIN is engaging and relentlessly absorbing—it’s no surprise that author Hay has a background in the film industry, considering how movie-worthy her debut psychological thriller is.
But THE OTHER TWIN isn’t just an addictive psychological thriller. At the core of this book is a message of acceptance: a story that illustrates just how crucial it is to approach each person in our lives with open-mindedness and understanding. It’s difficult to discuss this aspect of the story without spoiling one of the book’s biggest reveals, but I will say that I was thoroughly impressed by the thoughtfulness with which Hay tackles a sensitive subject. Hay does an excellent job writing a psychological thriller with a conscience, and I was equally impressed with her Author’s Note, which takes the time to acknowledge those who helped inform her on social issues presented in the book. What begins as a purely addictive and entertaining psychological thriller turns out to be a book with a strong, socially-aware message that will leave the reader thinking well beyond the resolution of the story's central mystery.
THE OTHER TWIN is engaging, addictive, and fast-paced—and it’s also a heartbreaking and emotionally compelling story. This psychological thriller will be an excellent choice for readers looking for a book that blends major entertainment value with a social conscience. In short, another winner from Orenda Books!
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. All opinions my own.
REVIEW: THE OTHER TWIN BY L V HAY
JULY 21, 2017 THECRIMEREVIEWADMIN LEAVE A COMMENT
Series: N/A
Book Number: N/A
Read this book for: UK (non-London) mystery, psychological thriller, family conflict, character-driven story, younger characters, amateur detective
Quick Review: An atmospheric, well-paced and interesting read that blends psychological thriller with an old-fashioned whodunnit in a compelling way – read THE OTHER TWIN!
***
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?
THE OTHER TWIN is a new novel from Lucy V Hay, who shows off her writing skills to great effect in creating a dark, tense and atmospheric thriller. The story of Poppy’s grief- and guilt-driven hunt for the truth of her sister’s death is an intensely gripping ride.
The characters were really the most compelling element in this, particularly Poppy. She is a great flawed narrator frazzled by her reaction to her sister’s death. This is no clichéd revenge novel. Her choices arise naturally out of her personality and sense of guilt, and her detective skills are well in line with her character. Mainly I was impressed with Poppy’s intense and palpable emotion that never strayed into melodrama. Even the psychological touches stop short of being heavy-handed so as to keep the novel actually believable. Hay carries her characters with subtlety, pushing them toward maximum dramatic impact but always keeping within the bounds of credulity.
The other factor that is really impressive is the way that the atmosphere in Brighton is built up. THE OTHER TWIN is a stunning and viscerally real trip through the young people’s party scene in Brighton – Hay’s descriptions of the people and places actually feel like you’re on a night out with Poppy, told with skill. The overall dark and somewhat brooding setting of winter nights in Brighton also dovetails nicely with Poppy’s emotional state, Brighton comes alive as its own character in this novel and it was a joy to be immersed so completely in the place the story takes place as well as the plot.
A few other nice touches to this novel: the diversity of the cast deserves commendation, and the nice (but again, not over-played so as to date the novel) use of some social media platforms keep this book feeling fresh, modern and young.
THE OTHER TWIN is a brilliant and unique psychological thriller that’s well worth picking up!
The Other Twin – L V Hay
Take a bow Karen Sullivan founder of Orenda Books yet again she has found yet another outstanding writer and one to watch for the future. L V Hay may not be a name you are familiar with but this may be about to change as with her debut psychological thriller The Other Twin was released earlier this month and if you are heading for a Summer holiday then this is one book you may want to seriously consider packing this in your case as one of your holiday reads. It really is a wonderfully layered thriller.
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Where do it start with this review apart from telling the world that they must read The Other Twin? Poppy wakes from a night that she can barely recall and with the hangover to go with it, she finds her mobile and the battery is lifeless finally finding the charger she heads off for a shower to wash away the night before. When she finally gets to access her phone there are many messages from her mother and the tone concerns Poppy. The call she makes gives her some shocking news her sister India is dead! How could this have happened? The two sisters may not have been close in recent years but she is her sister and Poppy finds herself heading on the next train to Brighton to be at the family home. India has taken her own life by jumping from a bridge onto a railway. But still the question will not go away as to what really happened to India to make her take her own life?
For Poppy she is not convinced by what she is being told by officialdom and decides to begin her own investigations. There are secrets out there and the more Poppy digs the more she begins to find the tangled web of secrets. Now she must access India’s laptop and she thinks there could be information that could be more than just useful. A name crops up from here and that is Jenny but who is she and what exactly is Jenny hiding? Clearly India was on to her? This is a brilliantly crafted thriller that takes the reader on a journey in and around Brighton and tackles many current themes. The Other Twin is packed with tension with some uneasy moments. A complex and addictive storyline mixed with the fresh writing talent from a new name that I am looking forward to hearing more in the future.
As readers of my blog will know, I’m not really one for psychological thrillers, preferring my crime fiction grittier, more noir. That said, this book appealed to me because of its title. My better half being an identical twin, I thought I really had to get my hands on this. I had images in my mind of identical twins suspected of some crime, one innocent, one psychotic, the police stumped as to who’s who. I must stress here that neither my wife or her sister conform to this picture – neither are villainous murderers as far as I’m aware – but there you go.
L.V. Hay’s book isn’t the plot I outline above. In fact, I was surprised to find that the twins aren’t the major characters as such. Nor are they identical. Instead this book follows Poppy investigating the death of her sister, the twins of the title being important, but supporting cast. As befits a psychological thriller, The Other Twin is more nuanced than the one line synopsis I just outlined, instead the author has crafted a tale of hidden lives and the perils of social media. Poppy discovers that her sister had built a whole new reality through a blog, that there are secrets to her sister she never realised.
The Other Twin is a well-crafted novel, in some ways it’s less a psychological thriller than a whodunnit. While the police believe Poppy’s sister to have committed suicide, I don’t think I’m giving away any spoilers in saying there’s more to it than that. Poppy’s quest is to discover what this is and who’s responsible. As I say, psychological thrillers and whodunnits aren’t my normal fare, and if I’m being honest, The Other Twin isn’t a book I would naturally reach for. That said it’s well written and compelling. It’s well plotted, the characters are believable and the social media aspects are quite chilling.
James Pierson 3/3