Questions and Answers Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1967, Mayra Calvani holds a B.A. in Creative Writing and has had several short stories published in small literary and horror magazines. She has lived in Latin America, USA, Asia, and is now settled in Brussels, Belgium, where she lives with her husband and two children. DARK HUNGER is her first book, a horror/dark romantic vampire novel published by RFI West, www.rfiwest.com. What are you currently working on? Right now I'm aggressively trying to promote my vampire novel, DARK HUNGER. I also have two other novels in the planning stage, both dark fantasies. Who or what has been a major influence in your writing and why? My Hispanic childhood and having lived in Turkey for several years have been a great influence. You can see this clearly in DARK HUNGER. Writers like Tama Janowitz, Hemingway, Kate Chopin, Agatha Christie, and Anne Rice have also been strong influences. Reading books from these authors always inspire me. Is there a book or story you wished you had written? I wished I had written Interview with the Vampire. The writing in this book flows like blood. Its beautiful, darkly poetic language has a hypnotising quality. The story "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber", by Hemingway, is another jewel. You can learn a lot about an author's style by studying this classic. As a reader do you prefer Science Fiction, Fantasy or Horror? I prefer horror, but I hate graphic horror. When horror is suggested it is much more scary and chilling. Mood and atmosphere are the keys. It always put me down reading blood-and-splatter scenes. As a writer, I try to follow this philosophy. What was your first professional sale? How did it feel when you received the acceptance? My first sale was a poem for a national magazine when I was 19 years old. I was a student of Creative Writing then. I felt shocked and filled with blissful happiness when I received the acceptance. I shouted, cried, jumped up and down. I felt invincible. It's really amazing what a simple letter of acceptance can do to a starting writer. Who is your favourite author? I have a few: Hemingway, Tama Janowitz, Anne Rice. If you could give one piece of advice to a would-be author, what would it be? Follow your vision. Don't let anything or anybody stand in your way. Don't be put down by rejection slips, they don't mean a thing. And write, write, write. When did you first feel that you were an author? When I was in my sophomore year of high school I wrote a 125-page romantic novella which was passed secretly from student to student during class hours. It was thrilling to see my classmates' enthusiasm for my writing. I guess this was the first time I felt like an author. Are you for or against e-books? If you can print them out, or if you don't mind reading them from your computer, e-books are great. They're cheap, and you can download them right away. There are many e-book publishers out there that only published quality books. RFI West, Avid Press, Hard Shell Word Factory are the first that come to mind. Do you have a favourite place to write? In my small office at home, surrounded by books. Dark, misty, cold rainy weather helps a lot. What is the scariest story you have read? Exorcist is the scariest book I've ever read. The movie doesn't come close to it. I was "jumpy" for three weeks after I read it. What gives you nightmares? Scary books and movies. Once, for research purposes, I read several books on the Devil and this affected my sleep. What book are you reading at the moment? I just started reading "Dark Changeling", by Margaret L. Carter. Do you always know a story's ending before you begin writing? Not always! I'm more of a stream-of-consciousness writer. Writing a book is an adventure… I can't always tell where it's going to take me. Plug Away - what do you have coming out? DARK HUNGER in paperback. Many Thanks, Mayra! Relevant Links Mayra Calvani Main Bibliography