Mayra Calvani, Author of Dark Lullaby
October 19th, 2007 by MelanieWelcome, friends! Today we have an interview with author Mayra Calvani as one of her many stops on her virtual book tour for Dark Lullaby. Visit her website at www.mayracalvani.com for more details about Mayra and her book.
Thank you, Mayra, for stopping by today. As a fellow writer, I’m curious what generated the concept for Dark Lullaby. What inspired the idea behind the story?
Three things, actually. I lived in Turkey for almost five years, so this was a major influence in my writing. It was there that I first heard about the cin (jihnn), the supernatural beings that, in Turkish folklore, live in the woods and are similar to what we call fairies. The tales I heard both scared and fascinated me and I knew I would eventually use them as an inspiration for one of my books.
Besides that, I have always been fascinated with moral dilemmas and with the idea of a ‘higher’ good, of the end justifying the means. I incorporated this into the story to add an element of moral conflict and to make the protagonist’s dilemma more compelling.
Finally, my brother, who is an astrophysicist, was my inspiration for the protagonist. I love reading about astronomy and cosmology and it was really fun being able to add this ‘science’ ingredient to the novel.
Did you use anything in the cultures of the book as the basis for the paranormal element?
As I said, the cin exists in Turkish folklore, so I used this real aspect of the culture. The concept of the ‘melinka,’ however, and the real nature of the anti-heroine, was totally my creation. So in the end I used both, the real and the fantastic, and I mixed them to create my own mythology.
Did you actually travel to Rize, Turkey or the Middle East/Black Sea region?
I didn’t actually go to Rize, but, as I said, I lived in Turkey for a few years (Istanbul and Ankara) and had friends and relatives from the region. My husband was born there and visits often, so what better way to learn about the place? I listened to his detailed descriptions and saw dozens of photographs; I did research as well on the internet. By the time I started writing the story, I already had a crystal clear picture of the place.
Tell us something about your main characters, Kamilah and Gabriel, and your world, something not in the book. Authors develop so much material but to avoid info dumps have to leave them out.
Gabriel Diaz 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.
Kamilah is the anti-heroine, the catalyst that drives Gabriel to the extreme. I wanted Kamilah to completely mesmerize Gabriel, and to evoke both innocence and sensuality. I felt her mannerisms, voice, looks, were all very important in creating her powerful, alluring, supernatural nature. Let‘s put it this way: Kamilah is a young lady with a very serious agenda.
Which character do you relate to most and why?
Definitely with Gabriel, the protagonist. I love his profession, and I also share his views on law and justice. I admire his close relationship with his sister. It was so interesting getting into the mind of a male character. Not easy, but fascinating.
How has writing this story affected you?
Interesting question. The story has made me ponder about the concept of goodness and the higher good. It has made me realize that sometimes ideals collapse in the face of real-life situations. It also has made me wonder about abortion. I don’t want to go further because I wouldn’t want to give any spoilers. 
What was your favorite scene to write? What was the toughest scene to write?
That’s an easy question. My favorite scene in the novel is when Gabriel is searching for Kamilah in the woods and he sees the faces of infants on the barks of the trees. Writing this scene was a very eerie, creepy experience. I have used this scene as your answer to [the last] question.
The toughest scene to write was the one towards the end of the novel where Gabriel is in bed at one of the Turkish village clinics. There was a lot of loose ends that I needed to connect there, and I had to give a lot of thought as to how much to explain and how much to leave to the reader’s imagination to figure out. One other scene which was hard to write is when Gabriel and the village translator are visiting an old psychic woman and the three of them get attacked by a swarm of bees. It was difficult handling such a scene while keeping it realistic and not over dramatic.
How long did it take you to write the book?
I didn’t work on this novel continuously until it was finished. I think I wrote several chapters, then for some reason put it aside for a year or two before I decided to get back to it. I tend to do that a lot with my manuscripts—not always, but often. Once I got back to it I finished it in a few months.
Along those lines, I’m sure there are aspiring writers out there who would like to know what you went through to reach this point of publication.
For Dark Lullaby it was a bumpy ride to publication. From the time I finished writing the novel to the time it was published about three years went by. The first year I spent a lot of time submitting queries to agents and publishers, without much luck. Then, during the second year, it got accepted by a reputable agent who edited it scrupulously and believed she could sell it to a big publisher. Unfortunately, it didn’t end up that way because major personal problems forced her to quit her job as agent. Once again, my novel and I were homeless. Once again, I had to start the process of composing query letters to publishers. This time, though, I concentrated on small presses. Eventually Whiskey Creek Press loved it and offered me a contract. All in all, the book has gone through many edits—maybe six or seven.
Is there an excerpt you’d like to share?
“Who’s that woman?” Gabriel demanded.
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t tell me you don’t know. I saw the way she looked at you–the way you looked at her.”
“She’s just an old woman, a silly superstitious old woman.”
Gabriel was sure Kamilah lied. He grasped her by the shoulders and turned her to him. “Why was she afraid of you?”
Kamilah laughed, her cheeks flushed. “Listen to what you’re saying. Why would she be afraid of me?”
“I don’t know. But it’s a fact that she gasped when she saw you, that she was afraid.”
She shrugged. “She must have mistaken me for somebody else.”
“But why did you look at her like that? I saw your face.”
She scowled. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Obviously you misread my face.” She wrestled away from his grip. “I want to go home.”
“Home?”
“Yes, home. To the forest. To the cottage.” She stomped her foot and kept going, leaving him behind.
Craning his neck, Gabriel looked back toward the scarf stand but the old woman was gone. “Damn!” he muttered.
He trotted after Kamilah.
Kamilah started running, her shrill, childish laugh defying him. Never stopping, she ran all the way to the mountain trail. With the heavy backpack and his sore leg muscles, Gabriel had a hard time keeping up with her. People turned to stare at them. Desperate to catch up with Kamilah, Gabriel clashed into a man as he crossed the street.
Gabriel muttered a curse. He felt like strangling Kamilah. Her erratic behavior was wearing thin.
“Wait!” he shouted when he saw her going up the trail.
She glanced back over her shoulder and flashed him a feral grin, her flushed cheeks contrasting deeply with her brilliant eyes. “You cannot catch me, you cannot catch me!” She sang loudly in monotone, between gasps. “You cannot catch me, you cannot catch me!”
As Gabriel ran after her the dull pain on the right side of his ribcage came back. He halted, panting. He leaned forward with his hands on his slightly bent knees and his eyes shut to concentrate on the ache.
Massaging the painful area, he made an effort to regain his breath. When he looked again to the trail Kamilah had vanished into the woods.
The hell with her. If she thought he would run after her and play her little hunting games, she was mistaken. He would very calmly find his own way back to the cottage. He reached into his backpack for the bottle of water and took a big gulp. After resting for several minutes the pain lessened and he felt better. In the deep chambers of his brain an alarm went off–for the first time the pain in his torso began to seriously worry him. He didn’t think it had anything to do with indigestion or any exotic virus or bacteria. Words like tumor and cancer flashed through his mind but he tried to shove them away. He couldn’t think about this now. Once back in Baltimore he would go to a doctor and have a complete examination.
He’d been hiking for about an hour when a sound came from deep within the woods.
Gabriel stopped, his head turning to the source.
The sound was familiar… the distant shrill murmur of children playing.
As suddenly as the sound had appeared, it vanished.
Goose bumps rose on his arms. Had he imagined it? He massaged the sides of his head while drops of sweat trickled down his back. The burning sun and the humidity didn’t help clear his mind.
After taking a few deep breaths, he continued his way up the trail.
About a quarter of an hour later he heard the sound again. This time it appeared closer.
Gabriel stopped and peered into the woods. He closed his eyes and concentrated on identifying the sound. Yes… the shrill murmur of small children playing. Ridiculous but true.
Gabriel decided to investigate.
Once under the canopy of the trees, moist coolness and shadows enveloped him. He welcomed the feeling and continued deeper into the woods, the ground soft and mushy under his boots.
After a few minutes it struck him the sound wasn’t getting closer or farther. Even though it was distant, it seemed to be everywhere, all around him.
Tilting back his head, he stared at the dense canopy of trees. Soft beams of light filtered down. He turned around slowly, light-headed and somewhat dizzy. For an instant he felt himself floating as the distant murmur of children caressed his mind.
He stopped turning and stood immobile, listening to his own heavy breathing, to his thudding heart.
“Kamilah, I know you’re here somewhere! Stop playing games!”
He scanned the surroundings. Something about the tree trunks caught his eye. Their surface wasn’t smooth as normal tree trunks. Lines marred the surface, natural lines which seemed to come from within the bark itself.
The lines, as if carved by a human hand, appeared to be forming something.
As realization dawned on Gabriel he gasped and stumbled back, nearly falling on the ground. He looked around him, terrified. Each tree trunk portrayed a different face… a baby face, crying, the mouth wide open in anguished misery.
The shrill murmur of children became louder than ever.
And then Gabriel understood it, heard it clearly. This wasn’t the murmur of children playing.
This was the sorrowful crying of infants.
He ran back toward the trail as fast as his legs would allow him.
*For a blurb, excerpt and reviews, visit www.mayracalvani.com. To view the trailer, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZgbg5wk5Ug
Thank you, Mayra, for visiting us today! It’s been an honor to have you.
