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Interview with Author Mayra CalvaniInterviewed via e-mail by Karen MacLeod Care to tell me a little about your book, EMBRACED BY THE SHADOWS? (Please Include the publisher and URL for ordering information) Embraced by the Shadows is about a young woman's inner turmoil, a woman split between a love she cannot resist and a life she cannot accept nor understand. The bond between the hero and heroine is dark and obsessive and borders on hate. It's also about the power of one being to mesmerize another. I suspect under the horror/love story there's a hidden metaphor, an allegory for something else, though what that 'something else' is I'm still trying to decipher. Embraced by the Shadows is on sale only as an e-book for the moment, but a paperback version will follow early next year. The e-book may be purchased at: http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/ebook37961.htm . A blurb and review quotes are available at: http://www.bookswelove.net/calvani.html . I'm happy to say it was Number One Bestseller at Fictionwise under Dark Fantasy for several weeks. Give us a little taste of something that will make someone who reads our interview want to search out your work. A short teaser would work... a few sentences of plot, to make us want to pick up the review, and then the book. I guess what sets my book apart is its Hispanic and middle eastern flavor. The story begins in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul when the heroine, Alana, is merely ten years old. She glances into the shadows to see a man with deadly teeth, wondering if what she has seen is illusion or reality. Twelve years later, in San Juan, Alana is hired as the manager of a new nightclub, La Cueva del Vampiro. Soon she starts having unsettling dreams, dreams that take on a shattering reality when she finally meets Sadash, the Turkish vampire who's been haunting her since that fateful night twelve years ago. The story combines romance and horror, but also mystery, for Alana must also solve the enigma of her mother's death. Several review quotes can be found at: http://www.bookswelove.net/calvani.html In what genre do you think EMBRACED BY THE SHADOWS "fits" -- paranormal romance? It would fit better in “Horror Romance,” but since this genre doesn't exist—not yet—paranormal romance would be the closest to describe it. It is not a “sweet” paranormal romance, though. My focus on this book was characterization and atmosphere. And although the book could be described as erotic, it is erotic in the same way as Interview With the Vampire or The Phantom of the Opera (I'm referring to the latest movie version with Gerard Butler) is erotic. Is writing your career, or do you have another occupation that presently pays expenses? Tell us a little about Ms. Calvani, the person. I'm lucky in that I have a husband with a great job to support me. So yes, writing is my main occupation, together with being a mother of two children and a housewife—not easy tasks, as you may guess! How does who you are influence your writing? i.e. your favorite things, et cetera? Who I am has enormously influenced my writing. My Hispanic background as well as my years of living in other countries—Turkey, for instance—have been influential in developing my fiction. I play the violin, love classical music and art, read about all kinds of subjects besides commercial fiction, like science, history, cosmology, astronomy, philosophy, religion, etc. Whether consciously or unconsciously, all this comes across in my books. I am also a book reviewer for several websites and magazines, both print and online. Reviewing other authors' books is always a lesson in the craft and mechanics of writing. By keeping a critical eye on others' books, I'm able to keep a critical eye on what I write, too. What inspired you to become an author? My love for books at an early age, as well as a precocious imagination, got me into writing. By the time I was 15 I had read all of Agatha Christie's and Sherlock Holmes' mysteries. I also had a bad case of addiction with Barbara Cartland romances. At 12 I wrote my first novella—about a serial killer who left a rose next to each victim. The murderer turned out to be the female protagonist, who was a journalist covering the murder cases. At the same age I wrote a comedy play which was staged at the end of school. At 15 I wrote my first novel, a romance which students secretly read during class. So yes, by the time I was 16 I knew I wanted to become an author. A shy, quiet child, writing was my way of escaping to adventure and danger, and also my way of acquiring a certain level of popularity. I was considered 'strange' and I lived up to my reputation. :--) What compels me to write? Above all, I think it is that need to escape the real world, to create my own where anything can happen. Yet it is not a conscious decision. Like many authors, I am 'cursed' with those voices in my head—characters talking, persuading me to write their stories. More and more I see writing as channelling. Somewhere in another 'virtual' dimension, whole novels are finished from beginning to end, and my job is to listen carefully and write the words down. The art of creation can be quite a mystery. Anything you find difficult to accomplish in crafting your work? My biggest difficulty has always been keeping a disciplined schedule. My censor is always on, always whispering: “What makes you think you're a writer? Go do some laundry instead!” Nowadays I just tell my censor to shut up, but this used to be a major problem for me several years ago. Two books were incredibly influential in “curing” my writer's block: The Artist's Way and The Right to Write, both by Julia Cameron. As to the craft itself, I've always struggled the most with the plot, for the simple reason that I am, by nature, a stream-and-consciousness writer. I find description, characterization, and dialogue fairly easy, but plotting is always mild torture. When you can find time for your writing, do you follow any specific routine? I like writing in the mornings because that's when my mind feels fresher. Also, that's when the kids are at school and the house is quiet. So when I'm working on a book I'll write from 9am to 2pm, though if I have errands to run I can be out of the office earlier than that. If I suddenly feel claustrophobic at home—and this can happen often—I'll go and write at a coffee shop. The afternoons are for my kids, pets, house chores, playing the violin. I'm usually too tired to write at night. Besides, that's when I do all that reading I love. Of your characters in EMBRACED BY THE DARKNESS, which is your favorite? Hmm. That’s a tough question. My main characters are like my children and I love them all, but if I had to choose one in my novel, it would have to be Sadash, the vampire hero. Even though he is 100% a figment of my imagination, he’s as alive to me as if he were real. What makes them your favorite characters? The fact that he’s controversial. When you read the novel, you can’t really be sure whether he’s good or evil, even at the end. He’s a vampire, he kills people, yet he has a “code of honor” and he loves Alana unconditionally. He surprises the reader with his good deeds once in a while. His past is intriguing, too. He was an Ottoman prince, a fierce warrior, before he was turned into a vampire. But nowadays he’s a businessman. Do you believe its possible for authors to write characters opposite their own gender, successfully? I think it is not easy, but certainly possible. My horror novel, DARK LULLABY, which I’m trying to sell to a publisher at the moment, has a man—an astrophysicist—as main character. I think it helps to partially base the character’s reactions and behaviour on someone you know. In this case, my brother was my inspiration for the character, so it was fairly easy to get inside the character’s mind as I wrote. I’m not saying you should base your character on a real person to the point where you could be sued, don’t get me wrong. I’m referring to human emotions and behaviour, not to situations, names or physical descriptions. Knowing how someone you know would react to a certain situation makes you sound more genuine when you write about it. How do you control your characters? I know of several authors who are driven to write 'what their characters tell them'. I have to smile when I hear your question. Yes, many times a character seems to take over and tell me what to do. But what's even nuttier, sometimes I go to them for ideas. I'll actually ask them questions about the plot and how the story is moving, hoping that they'll offer advice. And you know what? They always do. One thing I've learned about characters is that they're always opinionated, and they'll find a way to let you know. I've learned to listen to them. Last year I took part in The National Novel Writing Month, where you get to write a whole book in thirty days. Well, as soon as I started writing, the characters took complete control. I just listened to them, and wrote what they said. It was an interesting adventure, and quite creepy! The funny thing is, the plot unravelled itself without pre-planning of any kind, and it is the most complicated plot I've conceived so far. What do you suppose is your greatest strength as a writer? Character development? Place? Something else? I think my strengths are character development and mood, the things that come easiest to me. Needless to say, I love to read books that focus on these two things. I don't care very much about plot. A book with a weak plot but strong characterization can still be a great book, but one with weak characterization, no matter how good the plot is, will still be a weak book. There are exceptions to this, of course, as with Agatha Christie's mysteries, where the cleverness of the plot is everything. Who were/are your major influences that guided you to become an author? My major influence came from all those books I read when I was in my early teens—Agatha Christie, Conan Doyle, Barbara Cartland. Their worlds really captured my imagination and changed my life. Later on, when I went to college, Tama Janowitz became a major influence. More recently—or at least for the past ten years—it's been Anne Rice. Her books (which by the way are pretty much plotless) have just the right amount of characterization and mood I adore. I simply love her embellished, baroque style, filled with sensory description. But if you're referring to a live person, my mother has definitely been the most important . Her constant love and support for my writing has always been, and continuous to be, invaluable to me. Answer this one in any way you wish.... What advice do you have for potential authors? Read a lot. Get yourself a copy of The Right to Write, by Julia Cameron. Follow your vision and don't let anybody deter you from it, no matter what. But above all, keep writing and submitting. If you're hardworking and persistent enough, you'll make it. I don't remember who said this, but I've never forgotten it: What differentiates a published author from a non-published author is not talent, but hard work. Where do you see yourself going in the future with your writing? I have so many future novels in mind I'll have my hands full for at least the next ten years. I'm not a one-genre author and love to explore different categories and styles. During the next few years I see myself publishing children's picture books, young adult novels, horror, dark romance, romantic comedy, as well as non-fiction. Do you have further adventures of Sadash, Alana, and Valeria planned? Tell us a little about them if you do have such plans. Funny that you ask that. Lately I've “seen” Alana and Valeria opening a detective agency in San Juan. I also see Alana and Sadash having a major fall out. We'll see. There are several projects I need to finish first, including two horror novels already under contract with Zumaya Publications, and a non-fiction book, among others. |
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