Hi, everyone!
I am pleased to participate in Mayra Calvani's Dark Lullaby Virtual Book Tour hosted by Bewitching Book Tours.
About Mayra:
Mayra Calvani writes fiction and nonfiction for children and adults and has authored over a dozen books, some of which have won awards. Her stories, reviews, interviews and articles have appeared on numerous publications such as The Writer, Writer’s Journal, Multicultural Review, and Bloomsbury Review, among many others. A reviewer for over a decade, she now offers online reviewing workshops. When she’s not writing, reading, editing or reviewing, she enjoys walking her dog, traveling, and spending time with her family.
Visit her website at the link below to join her mailing list and receive the first two lessons of her book reviewing workshop, as well as her free ebook, Reviewers Talk About Their Craft.
Visit her website at the link below to join her mailing list and receive the first two lessons of her book reviewing workshop, as well as her free ebook, Reviewers Talk About Their Craft.
CONNECT ONLINE WITH MAYRA:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
Welcome to Darlene's Book Nook, Mayra!
Mayra has written a guest post, so I will now turn the floor over to her.
The Myth Behind my Novel, Dark Lullabyby Mayra Calvani
First of all, thanks to Darlene for having me as a guest on her cool blog! Today, as part of my Dark Lullaby Virtual Book Tour, I’d like to talk about the myth behind my novel.
During my early to mid twenties, I lived in Turkey. It was an incredible experience. Not only did I learn to speak Turkish, but I also made wonderful friends and learned a ton about their customs and folklore.
In Turkey, a lot of people, especially in the villages, believe in the cin (pronounced ‘jiin’). However, this isn’t the jinn as westerners know it, like the genie that comes out of magic lamps. It is a much darker creature that could better be compared to the fairy. In Turkish myth, it is a being that lives in the forests. It can be good or evil. It is of spirit form but can shapeshift into an animal or human. Like the western fairy, it is often volatile, mischievous and prone to pranks, some of which can be deadly. It loves milk products.
Want me to get creepier? It has a bizarre taste for live human liver and, when in human form, its feet are set backwards!
Oh, and those little lights that you often see in the woods on warm summer nights, otherwise known as fireflies? They aren’t fireflies. They’re cin.
I was fascinated with the accounts I heard, fascinated enough to write a novel. Thus, Dark Lullaby was born.
If you want to try something different, I hope you’ll check out Dark Lullaby. You can read the first chapters free on Kindle and Smashwords.
Thanks for your support!
Thanks so much for joining us today, Mayra!
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 a strangeness in her–her skin’s abnormally high temperature, her obsession with milk products, her child-like and bizarre behavior as she seems to take pleasure in toying with his conscience.
The young woman, Kamilah, invites him to Rize, Turkey, where she claims her family owns a cottage in the woods. In spite of his heavy workload and the disturbing visions and nightmares about his sister’s baby that is due to be born soon, Gabriel agrees to go with her.
But nothing, not even the stunning splendor of the Black Sea, can disguise the horror of her nature. In a place where death dwells and illusion and reality seem as one, Gabriel must now come to terms with his own demons in order to save his sister’s unborn child, and ultimately, his own soul…
*Dream Realm Awards Finalist!
What readers are saying…
“Mayra Calvani is a masterful storyteller… Dark Lullaby is complex and compelling…” –Habitual Reader
“Dark Lullaby is an atmospheric paranormal horror that grips you from page one and refuses to let go until you’ve raced, breathless, to the end.” –ePinions
“Dark Lullaby is a page-turner. A horror story from the top shelf! You’ll love it.” –5 stars from Euro-Reviews
“This is a terrific horror…” –Harriet Klausner
“Dark Lullaby will capture you with its rich descriptions, its exotic location, and the need to uncover the dark secrets hidden within its pages.” –Cheryl Malandrinos, The Book Connection
Notes from the author...
"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 Turkey for five years and the culture, the people, the stories I heard there had a big influence on my writing."
Why I decided to use Turkey as my setting...
"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."
What appeals to me about the supernatural...
"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’ à 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."
Tour Participants
May 2 Promo and review
Kindred Dreamheart
May 3 Guest Blog (have)
Fang-tastic Books
May 4 Guest Blog (have)
The Creatively Green Write at Home Mom
May 5 Promo
Books, books the magical fruit
May 6 Review
Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer
May 8 Interview and Promo
Carly Fall - Where Fantasy Meets Romance
May 9 Promo and review
Picked by Poison
May 14 Guest blog
J.D. Brown's Book Blog
May 15 Guest Blog
Soliloquy
May 20 Excerpt/Promo
Read2Review.com
May 23 Review
Reviews By Molly
May 25 Guest blog
Darlene’s Book Nook
May 27 Review
Books, Books, and More Books
May 28 Interview and review
Froggarita
May 30 Interview and review
Storm Goddess Book Reviews & More-
May 30 Guest Blog
Paranormal Romantic Suspense,
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Dear Darlene,
ReplyDeleteI'd like to thank you for having me as a guest on your lovely blog. I really appreciate it!
regards,
Mayra Calvani
You're welcome, Mayra! It's been my pleasure!!
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