Interview and Book Contest with Mayra Calvani

“...a journey into the darkest corners of our hopes and desires, especially the desire of all humans to somehow survive and how far would we go if we were given the chance to live forever...This is a must read for all fans of vampire romance novels.”

Murder & Mayhem Book Club

I'm very happy to have author and reviewer Mayra Calvani at Vampire Wire today to talk about her otherworldly novels, Embraced by the Shadows and Dark Lullaby. Mayra, wo was born in Puerto Rico and is now a resident of Belgium, brings her understanding of different lands and cultures to her stories of vampires and horror.

You can read the summary of Dark Lullaby here. "At a trendy Turkish tavern one Friday night, astrophysicist Gabriel Diaz meets a mysterious young woman. Captivated by her beauty as well as her views on good and evil, he spends the next several days with her. Soon, however, he begins to notice strangeness in her..."

You can also go to Mayra's website to learn more about Embraced by the Shadows and to read an excerpt. "Alana is surprised when she is chosen to manage a new restaurant. She has neither the training nor the experience to justify her success. But La Cueva del Vampiro has the kind of ambiance she adores, for Alana has always had a penchant for the dark side of life."

Mayra will be giving away a copy of one of her books to someone who leaves a comment. Just name the country that you think is the best location for a romantic, eerie vampire story. The contest runs through Saturday night, and the winner will be chosen at random.

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MARTA: Welcome, Mayra! Your stories sound marvelously creepy. Can you please tell us about Dark Lullaby and Embraced by the Shadows?

MAYRA: Thanks for this opportunity, Marta.

Dark Lullaby is about a young astrophysicist who is lured into the Turkish countryside by a mysterious young woman—of course, she ends up being something totally unexpected. In the end, he has to face his own demons in order to save his twin sister’s unborn child.

I’ve always been very interested in moral dilemmas and in the concept of a higher good. For instance, is it okay for a man to steal in order to have money to save his little girl, who is dying? In the case of Dark Lullaby, I went a step further: is it okay for a man to kill for the higher good? More than horror, it is a bizarre, suspenseful tale. It is based on Turkish lore. I lived in this country for five years and the culture, the people, the stories I heard there had a big influence on my writing.

I wrote Embraced by the Shadows many years ago. It was previously published by another press under the title, Dark Hunger. Now it will be released in paperback by Twilight Times Books this March. The ebook version is already available from the publisher and Fictionwise.

Embraced by the Shadows is about a young woman trying to live with her new vampire nature, and about her love/hate relationship with the Turkish vampire that brought her into the world of the undead. It is about the power of one being to mesmerize another. It is a dark, brooding novel focusing on characterization more than plot.

MARTA: Why did you decide to use Turkey as a setting for Dark Lullaby? Why is the setting in Puerto Rico important to the plot of Embraced by the Shadows?

MAYRA: The first part of Dark Lullaby takes place in Baltimore, but it was inevitable for the setting to move to Turkey. This has to do with the nature of the anti-heroine—which I will not reveal here, of course. I also wanted to add a primitive, exotic flavor to the story, and what could be more primitive and exotic than a small village in the Black Sea coast, a place surrounded by woods and influenced by strange lore? I don’t think there are many scary stories out there connected to Turkish lore, so I thought: hey, this is something different, something readers may find unusual and original. So for this novel, I felt the setting was very important for the plot.

I can’t say the same about Embraced by the Shadows, though. Embraced is a story that could have taken place anywhere. But I love setting my fiction in Puerto Rico because I was born there and lived there until I was eighteen so the place has a special place in my heart. Setting my books there is a way to keep myself connected with the place, a way to fight homesickness. I also thought the Latino/Hispanic element would go well with the vampire element. Both are sort of decadent, right? LOL

MARTA: You said it, not me! You write in a variety of genres. What appeals to you about paranormal/horror?

MAYRA: I detest gore. What appeals to me are the unknown, the unexplainable, and a good story with good characterization and a lot of dark atmosphere. Paranormal is probably my favorite of all genres, but I hesitate to say I like horror because horror has turned to trash these days. I like the classic, traditional "horror" a la Edgar Allan Poe, very different from the average horror being written these days.

I can think of a novel I read a couple of years ago, a ghost story with stunning writing: The Ghost Writer, by John Hartwood. I guess what I like falls more under paranormal or supernatural suspense, but the lines are so thin between genres and subgenres these days, sometimes it’s hard to categorize a book.

MARTA: Who are a few of your favorite authors? Is there a wonderful writer that is too little noticed?

MAYRA: My favorite author is Anne Rice. I have read every book she’s ever written, though I don’t really care for her latest works. Ironically, I think her very first novel, Interview with the Vampire, was her best work. She writes the type of novels that I love to read: embellished, baroque prose, heavy characterization (plotting is not her strong point, but I don’t mind) and elements of art and history interwoven in the story. When I read her books, I always end up learning something about history, art and religion. It isn’t just a story; it’s also knowledge.

I don’t like any other author the way I like Anne Rice, but I do have a few favorite books, which I have read again and again: The Stranger, by Albert Camus, and The Awakening, by Kate Chopin.

As for a less known author I like who is less noticed is Giles Blunt. There’s this book he wrote 19 years ago, Cold Eye, that I have never been able to forget. I keep reminding myself to get a new copy on Amazon. I’d love to read it again. Blunt captured something in that book, something very dark and very sinister, and I’ve always strove for the same effect in my paranormal writing.

MARTA: You’ve lived in different places, different cultures. How has that affected your view of the world and your writing?

MAYRA: They say that living abroad is the same as attending a college course, and I agree. Nothing substitutes living there with the locals in a foreign country, talking to them in their own language and doing what they do. It’s not the same when you visit as a tourist. Bits of my travels end up in my fiction in one way or the other: the people, food, music, religion, language, lore, mythology. Living in Ankara and Istanbul for five years was an amazing experience and has had a big influence on my writing.

Dark Lullaby is set in a Turkish village; the vampire in Embraced by the Shadows is an Ottoman prince; in my parody/satire, Sunstruck, my protagonist’s best friend is a Turkish cat. France, Belgium, Egypt… they’ve all had their influence on my writing. Of course, the biggest influence has always been Puerto Rico, which I left at eighteen and miss so much.

As far as my view of the world goes, what has happened is that I feel myself more a citizen of the world than a citizen of a single country.

MARTA: What are some of your recurrent messages or themes?

MAYRA: I’m obsessed with the idea of a Higher Good. I’m also passionate about vigilantism and about taking the law into your own hands. Since I can’t do it in real life, I live it through my characters… One of the blessings of being an author!

MARTA: You’ve also written The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing, an especially useful guide for all book lovers who want to review. A lot of traditional newspaper reviewers have dissed online reviews. How do you feel about the expansion of online reviews?

MAYRA: I think the expansion of online reviews has been great, especially for small press and self-published authors. Newspaper reviewers have always focused on books from the large houses. Now it’s different. There are thousands of online review sites that review small press and self-published books. These new sites are filling a need. Also, you now have variety. When you open the Sunday review sections of big newspapers, you find the same books being reviewed, whereas nowadays, the internet is filled with reviews of a whole variety of books. This is pretty neat.

I do think that review site owners should be more selective when recruiting their reviewers, so that this can reflect on the quality of online review sites. These days there is an obsession with honesty, due to the fact that there was—and still is—a lot of criticism against "facile praise" on the net. And honesty is fine, but a reviewer should also be tactful and objective and have a basic knowledge of English and the various genres. I mean, when you have a reviewer who is honest but who can’t articulate herself or tell the difference between a thriller and a parody/satire, you have a problem.

MARTA: How does your experience as a book reviewer affect your own fiction?

MAYRA: Reviewing books has taught me a lot as far as writing goes. It has taught me what makes a book work and what doesn’t. Being aware of weaknesses in other writers’ works automatically makes me a better judge of my own writing. I’m a tougher, better and far more objective self editor now.

MARTA: Okay, obligatory inane question. Is there any really weird story that you’d like to write, but you think no one would want to read?

MAYRA: Hmm. Maybe this isn’t a weird story, but I’ve always wanted to write a memoir type of book about a writer struggling with writer’s block and procrastination and all the other sickness that writers get. A funny book. But I think: who will want to read that? It wouldn’t teach readers anything; it would be a book about an author/mom whining and ranting day after day.

MARTA: Where can people learn more about you and your books? Do you have any articles or essays online about book reviewing?

MAYRA: I have several websites and blogs. My official website is Mayra Calvani.

My blogs are: The Dark Phantom (interviews, guest posts, articles, short fiction); Violin and Books; The Slippery Book Review; and Sunstruck (a site for my upcoming parody/satire, Sunstruck)

I have sites for my children’s books: Mayra's Secret Bookcase and Crash the Puppy.

I do have a few articles on book reviewing: Virtual Book Tour; Advice from an Expert; and Reviewers vs. Bloggers.

MARTA: Last question! You’ve written about online marketing for authors. What’s a little known, or ignored bit of advice that really helps new authors?

MAYRA: I don’t know if this is little known or not, but most of the time authors are obsessed with marketing their books in bookstores and forget that their niche audience might not be found there. It’s essential to know your audience and to reach that market. I’ll give you an example. My children’s book, The Magic Violin, about a little girl who wants to play Vivaldi, is doing surprisingly well. I doubt the book would be doing that well if I hadn’t identified its audience: violin teachers and parents of young violin students. My promo efforts focused on these two types of people. I mailed flyers to hundreds of music and violin shops; I joined violin groups and forums; I became a member blogger at Violinist, and I started my own blog centered on violin-related fiction books, Violin and Books. Now the book is practically selling itself!

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Thanks, Mayra, for taking the time to answer my questions! Remember to leave a comment if you'd like a chance to win one of Mayra's chilling novels.