#TopFiveThursday with #BookBlogger Lucy V Hay @LucyVHayAuthor

Today I’m thrilled to have Lucy V Hay feature on #TopFiveThursday Lucy wears many hats, including script editor, author, blogger and reviewer! Lucy’s blog can be found at http://www.lucyvhayauthor.com where you will find book reviews, author interviews as well as Best Of Three books recommend by readers. It’s a fab blog and well worth checking out. Lucy also blogs about the writing process, screenwriting, genre, careers and movitivation and much more at her blog Bang2Write.

Top 5 books you read in 2016?

Cripes, I’ve read so many great ones in the last twelve months, it’s SO difficult to choose! But if I ABSOLUTELY HAD TO, these are probably the five I recommend most to my fellow readers:

Defender by GX Todd

The Bird Tribunal by Agnes Ravatn

The Liar’s Chair by Rebecca Whitney

In Her Wake by Amanda Jennings
Untouchable by Ava Marsh

What all these books have in common is an enigmatic female lead. I’m so bored of ‘typical’ characters, but equally I don’t want a character completely out of the left field either. The five above have female protagonists whose behaviour can be surprising, conflicting, even morally ambiguous – I’m certainly never bored by them!

Top 5 authors you think everyone should read?

Gillian Flynn
Chinua Achebe
Joe Hill
Maya Angelou
Peter James

These writers consistently knock it out the park not only with their storytelling, but the actual WAY they write. I’m a lover of literary prose that takes us to the next level of description … And these guys can take us into other places (literal and metaphorical), bringing forth the five senses AND the storyworld to life. Brilliant!

Top 5 books you want to read before the end of 2017?

The Divergent Trilogy by Veronica Roth. I love the first novel, but haven’t got round to the rest, so must catch up. After all, I LOVE my dystopia!

I See You by Clare Mackintosh. I missed out on an ARC for this one, noooooo! I loved I Let You Go though, so hoping to catch up on this one.

Orphan X by Greg Hurwitz. I’m a sucker for an assassin with a dark past, so I *just gotta* read this one and luckily for me, I found a hardback copy in a charity shop recently for £1!

I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes. Terry Hayes wrote one of the instalments of my favourite franchise, Mad Max, back in the 80s. My other job is as a script editor for movies, so I can’t resist this one, but it is a mahoosive tome at 700+ pages. I could read at least two books in the time it takes me to read this one and time is always at a premium for me.

The Marsh King’s Daughter by Karen Dionne. I DID manage to get my mitts on an ARC for this one, it looks so good. I love reading books that aren’t even out yet, so this will probably be next on my TBR.

Top 5 blogging tips that you would give to new bloggers?

Goodness, I have so many! My top 5 would be:

Have a strategy

ALWAYS write great headlines

Pay attention to traffic (but don’t become obsessed with it)

Use social media WELL

Evaluate your strategy at various intervals

For those who want more detail on the above, I was interviewed in 13 Tips from Popular Bloggers to Beat Procrastination and Write Productively. http://bit.ly/1WS7elJ

Top 5 book blogs you follow?

Again, so many that I love, but here’s my favourites I visit most days/weeks:

https://ifonlyicouldreadfaster.com/

http://www.crimefictionlover.com/

http://crimebookjunkie.co.uk/

http://www.booksbywomen.org/

https://damppebbles.com/

Lucy V Hay is a writer, author and script editor. Her crime novel, The Other Twin will be published by Orenda Books in 2017 and her latest work, Skyjack, a dystopian, action-adventure novella is available for download NOW. For news, giveaways and offers first, JOIN HER MAILING LIST. You can also follow her as @LucyVHayAuthor on Twitter.