Author's Website Category:  Horror Publisher: Twilight Times Books ISBN-10:  1933353899 Type: Fiction Pages: 179 Copyright: April 15, 2006 Against the exotic backdrop of Istanbul and San Juan, Alana is a young woman torn between a vampire she cannot resist, and a life she cannot understand. Endowed with her new preternatural powers, she sets out to reveal the identity of her mother’s killer… But is she ready to discover the truth? Twenty-five minutes later they arrived at his house. The first thing Alana noticed were the trees—huge trees with massive crowns of dark lush leaves. Then the wind blew and rustled the leaves and Alana caught a glimpse of the house. White, two-stories high, the little balconies on the second floor reminding her of Spain. The wide front yard kept it private and considerably apart from the street. A sleek black Firebird was parked in the driveway. “You have a Firebird, too? That’s my favorite car,” she said, getting out of the Porsche. “That’s your car,” he said. Her eyes widened. She felt a rush of happiness, but she couldn’t help thinking, Already trying to appease his conscience... She smiled. “It’s gorgeous. It looks like a coffin on wheels.” “Lord, how morbid you are!” Sadash said, leading her by the hand to the entrance of the house, the wind tousling his hair. “Sorry, but your first test drive will have to be tonight. We don’t have much time now.” Clasping his hand, she looked up at the velvet sky. Soon it would be sunrise. But she would not see it. She would never see the light of the sun again, but the thought didn’t bother her. She remembered how, only hours ago, she had stood on her balcony admiring the sunset. How she had been strangely affected by the beauty of the sun dipping low into the horizon, just as if she had known it would be her last. And her thoughts about God... She shivered, following him into the house. Though old, it was beautifully kept. Crossing the dark living room she could smell the light dust on the heavy velvet curtains, on the chandeliers. The light of the moon filtered through one of the windows and for a moment made the marble floor glow. The furniture was classical, as were the paintings on the walls. “The bedrooms are upstairs. There you’ll find everything you’ll need for the first few days. I’ll show them to you tonight, after we rise. I didn’t get you a lot of things because I wanted you to choose everything. We’ll go on a shopping spree tomorrow. I want you to get whatever you like. Forget all your old clothes and things. They belong to the past. Everything must be new: clothes, jewelry, makeup, perfumes. Everything. I want to spoil you, to indulge your tiniest little whim,” he said impulsively, giving her hand a tight little squeeze. So generous... But…He seduced me, he knows he did, he didn’t really give me a choice... and now he’s making up for it... He led her into another room, a study, presumably, filled with ceiling-to-floor bookcases and a state-of-the-art stereo system and a huge widescreen TV. “This is where I spend all of my time...when I’m in the house,” he said. Propped against the wall was a large, beautifully wrapped package. Shiny red wrapping paper, sparkling golden ribbons. “That is for you,” Sadash said. She looked at him. She felt overwhelmed. Curiously, she walked up to it. “It looks so pretty. I’m almost afraid to tear off the paper.” But she did. When she saw what was inside it she gasped and stepped back. “I have been saving it for you for the last twelve years,” he said. It was the oil painting of the fallen angel she had seen that fatal night in the Grand Bazaar. If anything, it looked even more disturbing now. “I remember,” Alana murmured, studying the intricate details, the virulent clouds and rising winds, the agonizing faces of the angels surrounding the fallen one, whose expression radiated incredulity and rage. The wooden frame was beautifully carved and painted in antique gold. She lifted it from the floor and gazed at it at arms’ length. She sighed. “It is magnificent… and very appropriate.” There was a heavy silence. “Is this me—this fallen angel?” “I won’t have you talking this nonsense. You had fallen in love with it, and I went and got it for you.” “You have to admit the strangeness, the morbidity of it.” After studying it for a long time she gingerly placed it back against the wall. He turned her to him. “Just rip it apart if it offends you. Do you want me to bring a knife?” She could tell he was serious. “Don’t be silly. I would never destroy such a beautiful painting. Besides, I love it. I want to keep it.” She held him suddenly, wrapping her arms round his waist and burying her face in his chest. She felt him relax under her affectionate, almost desperate gesture. She could feel him kissing the top of her head and stroking her long hair. Sadash led her by the hand. “Come, my love.” They went into another room, this one without windows and empty and smaller, with a heavy wooden door at the end of it. The door had four locks. Sadash looked at the door and the locks jerked open. After following him down a steep set of stairs, Alana found herself in a cellar. Total darkness, and yet she could see everything, like a cat. The air was cool and heavy with humidity. “Coffins,” she said, a bit startled by their blackness, by their sleek crudeness. They were the only two things in the cellar. Two open black coffins with red silk interiors...side by side. “I told you they make me feel safe. What can I say? I’m an old-fashioned kind of guy.” “No torchlights? There are always torchlights in the movies,” she said. “The only torchlight we need is already in our eyes. Now, stop making fun of me and come here,” he said, standing between the two coffins. Alana stepped towards him. He had turned oddly quiet, his features solemn. He ran his fingers through her hair, gently pushing the strands away from her forehead. Instinctively, she clasped her arms around his waist. Gazing at her, Sadash took a long deep breath. She did the same, mimicking him. For a long moment they stood looking at each other. Then she glanced at one of the coffins. “I don’t want to sleep there—alone, I mean. I want to sleep with you. I don’t care if I’m a coward,” she said. He seemed surprised. “Who said you would sleep alone? I bought the extra coffin only for when we have fights.” Even in a situation such as this, he still had the power to make her laugh.

Midwest Book Review
Mystery and intrigue are the backbone of this outstanding novel by Mayra Calvani. Do all vampires have black hearts? Do they cry blood? Are they capable of controlling their deep hunger to achieve a final goal? Do we secretly have a dark side that calls to the shadows? Alana dreams of such a call, what meaning does it have to her and what does her future hold? How is it intertwined with her childhood? And is it truly her destiny? Mystery, upon mystery is layered within these pages as you are caught up in a web of dark suspense.

Ms. Calvani brings into play many hidden emotions of our souls as you struggle to discern who is the villain in Dark Hunger. Talk about a love/hate relationship, the characters in this novel can only be described as having such.

Mysterious, intriguing and somewhat unsettling at times, this novel is a must for all vampire reading fans. A rich, twisting plot and a surprising ending awaits you.


Murder & Mayhem Book Club
A dark brooding novel, Calvani takes us on a journey into the darkest
corners of our hopes and desires, especially the desire of all humans to somehow survive and how far would we go if we were given the chance to live forever. Set against the exotic backdrops of Turkey and Puerto
Rico, she explores the side of all of us that, despite ourselves, is
attracted to the dark side. Sadash is a tempetuous, moody vampire, who seems more human at times than the people around him. This is a must read for all fans of vampire romance novels.


The Blue Iris Journal
In a bazaar in Istanbul one evening, ten-year-old Alana Piovanetti glances into the shadows to find a man watching her. He smiles, and over time she convinces herself that it was just her imagination that placed sharp fangs amongst those flashing teeth.

Twelve years later, Alana is surprised when she is chosen to manage a new restaurant opening in her home city of San Juan. She has neither training nor experience to justify her success. But La Cueva del Vampiro has the kind of ambience she adores, for Alana has always had a penchant for horror and the dark side of life. Yet she is also plagued with dreams of dark sensuality, dreams that take on shattering reality when she meets the stunningly handsome, charismatic Sadash.

For Sadash is the man she saw in the shadows so many years before...and Sadash isn't human.

Told with the rich imagery and compelling characterization of Anne Rice at her best, [Embraced by the Shadows] is more just a vampire story. Ms. Calvani uses the lore of the undead to explore a deeper issue--the hidden and mostly unacknowledged desires for the darker side of life that lurk in all of us. She does so with consummate skill, making her protagonist walk a thin line so that Alana both attracts and repels. Her vampire is a masterpiece, tempestuous and yet rigidly controlled, an emotional contradiction Ms. Calvani handles beautifully; and yet there is never any question that this is Alana's story, and that Sadash is but the catalyst that causes the unresolved conflicts that are the basis of the novel to precipitate.

[Embraced by the Shadows] is a superbly written, deftly balanced story of love and death and twisted loyalties that will keep you enthralled from beginning to end. More importantly, it will make you think and perhaps take a closer look at the shadowed corners of your own psyche.