Dark Lullaby by Mayra Calvani--Book Review

Dark, exotic, and filled with chilling twists and turns, Dark Lullaby by Marya Calvani is horror story that grabs you right away and doesn't release its grip until the final word is read.

Astrophysicist Gabriel Diaz believes in the higher good and that everything can be explained by science and logic. One night in a tavern, a mysterious and intriguing woman captivates his body and soul. After spending the next several days with the mysterious Kamilah, Gabriel is convinced to join her in Turkey to visit her family's cottage, even though he can't push away the nightmares of his sister Elena's unborn child.

Plagued by a strange illness that leaves him weakened and sore, Gabriel begins to wonder who or what Kamilah really is. With the help of a village merchant and a one-eyed witch, Gabriel makes a startling discovery, calling into question all he believes in and forcing him to come to terms with his past so he can save Elena's baby.

Equally scary and beautiful, Mayra Calvani has drawn the beauty of Turkey into a chilling paranormal tale unlike any I've ever read. The descriptions throughout this book were stunning. I walked along the hike up a Turkish mountainside, lived inside Gabriel's head during his disturbing dreams, and stood beside him as he looked into the strangely carved trees in the forest leading up to Kamilah's cottage.

A master storyteller, Calvani hooked me from the first moment in the tavern to the very last page. This is truly a unique story that I look forward to reading again.

Dark Lullaby will capture you with its rich descriptions, its exotic location, and the need to uncover the dark secrets hidden within its pages.


Title: Dark Lullaby
Author: Mayra Calvani
Publisher: Whiskey Creek Press
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-59374-908-8
Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-1-59374-907-1
U.S. Price: $5.99 (eBook)
U.S. Price: $13.95 (Trade Paperback)

Horror Author Mayra Calvani Scares us with Dark Lullaby

Today’s guest is perfect to start off the month of October. Multi-genre author Mayra Calvani is here to chat about her latest horror novel, Dark Lullaby, published as an eBook and in Trade paperback by Whiskey Creek Press.

Welcome to The Book Connection, Mayra. I’m thrilled and a bit frightened to have you with us.

It’s a treat being here, Cheryl! Thanks for having me.

Before we talk about Dark Lullaby, why don’t you tell us a bit about yourself and your fascination with the dark side of things.

I was an avid reader when I was a child and from an early age began to love scary films—those old black & white movies about mommies, werewolves, and vampires. They must have made a deep impression on me, because since then I’ve always been attracted by the supernatural. I was a quiet child and reading was my escape into a world of mystery and adventure, a way to live ‘on the edge’ yet be safe at the same time.

You create stories that thrill and chill your readers, but write for children too. How do you change gears and write heart-warming tales like The Doll Violinist?

I guess I’m one of those writers who could never write in only one genre. Many things inspire me and I write what I love. It’s like switching to different modes. When I write children’s stories it’s as if a switch turns on and I’m in my children’s writer mode. When I write horror, the horror switch turns on, and so on with the other genres. I love the idea of being a multifaceted author and don’t really care about branding my name specifically with one genre.

What’s your writing process like? Do you write every day? Is there a time of day when you are more productive than others?

When I’m working on a novel, I try to write every day, otherwise I get disconnected from the story and it’s very hard for me to jump back into it. Mornings work best for me because my mind is fresh and because the house is quiet. Late afternoons are for my family and I’m always too tired to write at night. That’s mostly when I do my reading. I’m a reviewer as well, so there’s always a book in line to read or a review to write, so in this sense I do write something everyday.

I think I’m ready to chat about Dark Lullaby, though if I get too scared I’ll have to run upstairs and get my favorite blanket. Dare I ask where you came up with the idea for this chilling tale?

Three things, actually. 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? As far as the location goes, I lived four years in Turkey, so this was a big influence. I was intrigued by the stories I heard there about the jihnn, and by the fact that so many people believed in them. My brother, who is an astrophysicist, was my inspiration for the main character. This is the first novel I write with a male protagonist, and I have to say it was very interesting getting inside the head of a man.

In Chapter One, we meet astrophysicist Gabriel Diaz, who is having a heated discussion with his ex-girlfriend, Liz at a popular bar. What can you tell us about Gabriel? Why will readers like him? Is there anything about him that readers might not care for?

Gabriel is a smart guy with a big heart and a grand sense of justice. He’s also a bit naïve, which together with his smarts, is somewhat unusual. But he is haunted by a dark childhood, one he would rather forget. When he meets the anti-heroine, Kamilah, she does everything in her power to bring his dark, buried feelings to the surface, leading to tragic consequences. I think readers will like his sense of goodness and justice, as well as his total loyalty to his sister Elena. At some point in the story this sense of justice somehow gets twisted inside his head… and he does a pretty terrible thing, something which readers may not agree with, but I’ve made Gabriel with plenty of faults and as real as possible, and this is really part of it all. He’s too temperamental and impulsive for his own good. Plus money simply slips from his fingers.

This heated discussion is about the discrepancies between law and justice. Why does Gabriel feel so strongly about this topic?

Gabriel has always loved philosophy and arguing about it. Being a scientist, he has an analytical mind and enjoys a heated debate. The conversation about law and justice they have in the beginning sets the ground for what happens later in the story. Will his ideals stay true, or will they collapse?

Having broken up with Gabriel just four months ago, Liz still carries a torch for him. And even more than that, she seems to enjoy bating Gabriel into these heated discussions. Is she drawn to him because of how strongly he feels about things or does she just enjoy the debates?

Liz still loves him, not because of the debates they have, but because of who he is as a person. More than anything, she loves the sweet, sensitive part of him. She can never forget how supportive he was during her mother’s illness. But Liz is too jealous and independent to be compatible with Gabriel, who unconsciously needs a vulnerable woman by his side, a woman who will need him to be protective. This, of course, stems directly from his childhood and relationship with his sister.

We met Kamilah in Chapter 2, when she joins Gabriel and Liz’s conversation. You painted a very detailed picture of Kamilah—her looks, her mannerisms, how her voice sounds. Why so much effort for this one character? How did you know what details to put in and which to leave out?

Kamilah is the center of the story, apart from Gabriel; she’s the anti-heroine, the catalyst that drives Gabriel to the extreme. I wanted Kamilah to completely overshadow Liz. Liz is merely a secondary character. I also wanted Kamilah to evoke both innocence and sensuality. I felt her mannerisms, voice, looks, were all very important in creating her powerful, alluring, supernatural nature.

Gabriel’s twin sister, Elena, is due to have a baby soon and he is debating about whether to go visit her. Why the hesitation? And what’s up with these disturbing daydreams he has of Elena and her unborn child?

He hesitates simply because he’s too busy! Astrophysicists don’t just take off to Europe whenever they feel like it! LOL. Did I mention how money slips through his fingers? He’s up to his neck in credit card bills, and cross-Atlantic airplane tickets are expensive. About the dreams… Yes, his sister is about to give birth to a child, but Gabriel keeps picturing this empty pram in a wooded park. This ominous daydream serves to foreshadow what happens later in the story. He has a bad feeling about the whole thing, a feeling that intensifies when he notices Kamilah’s fixation upon his sister, even though she is thousands of miles away. His sister Elena had lost her child a few hours after delivery 3 years ago, so this also adds to his apprehension.

Alright, I’ll be forced to stop myself there before I start shivering. I think we’ve given readers enough to whet their appetites. Where can readers purchase a copy of Dark Lullaby?

Dark Lullaby is available in both ebook and print form.

The book is available on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Lullaby-Mayra-Calvani/dp/1593749074/ref=sr_1_4/103-8834202-9064634?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1189507282&sr=1-4

Also from the publisher:

http://www.whiskeycreekpress.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=571&zenid=c790ed40a08746e18c58f83270ea4091

You’ll be touring the blogosphere the entire month of October. Where do you journey to next?

Tomorrow I’ll be on Caridad Pineiro’s blog, http://www.caridad.com/blog/.
You may view the complete tour schedule on my website, http://www.MayraCalvani.com.

What’s up next in your writing world? Any exciting or spooky projects you would like to share with us?

I’m working on a paranormal thriller about wolves set in the French countryside. Wolves are my favorite animals and I’m enormously enjoying the writing and researching. The book will be out in the fall of 2007.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

For a blurb and excerpt of Dark Lullaby, readers may go to my website, http://www.MayraCalvani.com.

For the book trailer, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZgbg5wk5Ug

I also have a book review blog and a newsletter:

The Dark phantom Review, http://www.thedarkphantom.wordpress.com .
The Fountain Pen, http://www.thefountainpennewsletter.blogspot.com.

For my children’s books, the links are:
http://www.mayrassecretbookcase.com
http://www.mayrassecretbookcase.blogspot.com

Thank you for scaring…er…I mean joining us today, Mayra. It’s been fun to be exposed to the dark side for a while. I wish you much success.

Thank you, Cheryl! I enjoyed your questions!


Look for my review of Dark Lullaby coming soon!

This Virtual Book Tour has been brought to you by:

Erotic Romance Author C.J. Maxx Tours with Coming Back a Virgin

It’s about to get hotter in here. Joining us today is author C.J. Maxx. C.J. has written military citations and efficiency reports, articles for trade journals, and his work has appeared in newsletters for volunteer organizations. But that’s not what we’re going to chat about today. Get your fans ready, because C.J. is going to tell us about his novel Coming Back a Virgin, which from this book’s synopsis is going to be a real hot one. We’ll also discuss his writing process and his feelings on censorship.

Welcome to The Book Connection, C.J. It’s a pleasure to have you with us.

Thank you for inviting me. It's my pleasure.

Let’s get started by finding out more about you. How long were you in the military? How did this career lead into your fiction writing? Do you have a preference--writing fiction or nonfiction?

I was 17 on a Friday and in the Army the following Monday. By Tuesday I knew I made a mistake but it was too late. It was a slow process but I adjusted and spent 21 years in the Army.

I was a writer before I joined the military so what the military gave me was life experiences to write about, especially combat.

I prefer fiction. Writing non-fiction is not unlike writing term papers in college, you know. You have to keep your facts straight and be objective. In fiction, it just needs to be plausible. Fiction's much more fun.

Can you tell us what your writing process is like? Do you write every day? Is there a time of day when you are more productive than others?

When I'm working on a book I'll write Monday to Friday and take the weekends off unless I'm deeply involved with a scene or chapter. I'm a morning person. I normally wake up between 3 and 4 and have from then until my two lovely granddaughters get here about 8:30 to write. Now, that time includes coffee with my wife, watching the weather forecast on television and having breakfast. Once the girls get here, little gets done that doesn't involve them. We homeschool them.

All of your novels are classified as erotic romance. What kind of feedback have you received from readers? Has anyone approached you and asked why you don’t write something a little less controversial?

Most of my readers like the erotic stuff. Some are quite enthusiastic about my writing. A few tell me that I don't need to make the romance scenes so explicit. I do have an action/thriller war novel coming out next April. The few sex scenes in that aren't very explicit.

Let’s talk about Coming Back a Virgin. This novel seems to be a departure from your other books, which involve some type of military or government agency. Why switch gears now? Were you concerned this might alienate some of your readers?

Coming Back a Virgin is unique. This is the book that I taught myself to write romance with. That was the whole purpose of the book. Of course, the initial version was just about romance. No publisher was interested in it until I made it erotic.

You’ve developed an interesting plot for this story. A fictional character named Lorraine is given the mission to teach author Walter Riggins how to write romance in a meaningful and entertaining way instead of his usual pornographic style. Where did this unique idea come from?

My first book was a political thriller that never made it into print because the publisher went out of business. The sex scenes in it weren't very good. My wife and multi-published mentor thought they were gratuitous too. I'm a romantic so I know romance. I just couldn't put it down on paper. I can now.

Walter ends up physically desiring a person that he created on paper. How did you develop this relationship to make it meaningful for the reader? Do you believe readers can care enough about what happens to a fictional person to keep reading until the last page?

It's nice to write fantasy because you can have your characters do things that are not possible normally. Lorraine becomes more real as the story goes on. Her transition and Walter's lust turning into love carry the story and hold the reader's interest. The last part is my favorite, her coming back as a virgin. That wasn't in the original story.

I think readers very much identify with fictional characters. That's why they love fiction. Fiction's an escape. Romance's will always have a large following because of the happy endings. Just like in Coming Back a Virgin.

Two other characters are mentioned in the excerpt of Coming Back a Virgin posted at your website - http://www.cjmaxx.net/virgin.html. What can you tell us about Samantha and Papa H?

I write from a vague outline in my head so they were never in my thoughts until I wrote about them. Papa H. is supposed to be Hemingway. I needed someone to be in charge 'up there' and I couldn't think of anyone better. Samantha just appeared in that scene so that Walter could make his comeback about Papa H. liking his writing.

Where can readers order Coming Back a Virgin and any of your other books?

The URL for the Virgin book is:

http://www.whiskeycreekpress.com/torrid/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4&products_id=211

That's the only book available at this time.

I’m going to move away from your book to discuss something that I feel very strongly about. There are groups out there who would seek to ban books like yours. How do you feel about that? Do you think censorship is ever justified?

I'm a Libertarian. America stands for individual liberty, that's what this country is all about. Many soldiers have died over the years preventing fascism, communism and now Islamism from forcing their views upon us, dictating how we will live our lives. I don't believe in censorship of fictional works. I don't have a problem with restricting minors but adults should make their own choice. If they don't want to read sexually explicit material, they don't have to buy it.

I’ve known writers who are condemned by their friends and sometimes their churches for writing romance novels. Has something like this ever happened to you? If so, how did you handle it?

No, it's never happened to me.

What’s up next for you? Any exciting projects in the works that you would like to share with our readers?

Mardi Gras Publishing closed so I'm hoping to place my Sex and the Capital series with another publisher, hopefully Whiskey Creek Press-Torrid.

Other than that I intend to rewrite my first novel, the political thriller titled The Second American Republic.

Is there anything you would like to add?

No. I would like to thank you for this opportunity to speak to your readers about myself and Coming Back a Virgin.

Thanks for stopping by, C.J.. May the future bring you continued success.

You're welcome. I sure hope so.


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