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197 ratings | 125 reviews | avg rating:4.72

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Mayra Calvani

Goodreads Author

Born

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Website

http://www.mayracalvaniauthor.com

Twitter

mcalvani

Genre

Mystery & Thrillers, Children's Books, Literature & Fiction

Influences

Anne Rice, Albert Camus, Charlotte Bronte, Tama Janowitz, Daphne du Ma ...more

Member Since

August 2010

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Mayra Graciela Calvani is a Puerto Rican gothic fiction writer, though she also dabbles in picture books. She holds a B.A. in Creative Writing and an M.A. in Western Literature, both magna cum laude, and writes fiction inspired by her travels and Lebanese, Spanish, and Corsican heritage.

Her works have won multiple awards, among them the SCBWI “Work of Outstanding Progress” grant and the International Latino Book Award. After having lived in Puerto Rico, the United States, and Turkey, Mayra is now settled with her family in Belgium, where she volunteers as Assistant Regional Advisor for SCBWI Benelux. She loves “dissecting” movies, collects creepy dolls, and has two cats, one of them a ghost. Mayra is represented by Jolene Haley at the Don ...more

264 posts
Mayra Calvani's Blog

An Interview with Barry Wilker, Author of 'The Lapone Sisters'

Barry Wilker spent forty-three years working as an interior designer for a myriad of clients across the United States. Retirement has provided him time to assemble all the fragments of his wild imagination into this, his first novel. He lived for a number of years in the Los Angeles area and currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee. Here's here today to talk about his novel, The Lapon Read more of this blog post »

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Published on November 29, 2022 10:36 • Tags: author-interview, bucharest-stories, coming-of-age, satire, wwii

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Combine Editions
Mayra Calvani’s books

Average rating: 3.9 · 576 ratings · 237 reviews · 27 distinct works

	The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing by Mayra Calvani (Goodreads Author), Anne K. Edwards 3.51 avg rating — 176 ratings — published 2008 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Luthier's Apprentice (Violinist Detective Series, #1) 3.84 avg rating — 67 ratings — published 2014 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Frederico, the Mouse Violinist by Mayra Calvani (Goodreads Author), K.C. Snider 4.46 avg rating — 26 ratings — published 2010 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dark Lullaby 4.35 avg rating — 26 ratings — published 2007 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Magic Violin by Mayra Calvani (Goodreads Author), K.C. Snider (Illustrator) 4.28 avg rating — 25 ratings — published 2007 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Doll Violinist by Mayra Calvani (Goodreads Author), Amy Cullings Moreno (Illustrator) 4.65 avg rating — 23 ratings — published 2011 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Mamá Graciela's Secret 4.52 avg rating — 23 ratings — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Bad Mad Sad Day for Mama Bear 4.60 avg rating — 20 ratings — published 2013 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sunstruck 3.95 avg rating — 20 ratings — published 2009 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Latina Authors and Their Muses by Mayra Calvani (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Margo Candela (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa (Goodreads Author) 4.40 avg rating — 15 ratings — published 2015 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Series by Mayra Calvani

Violin Picture Book Trio (3 books)
by

Mayra Calvani (Goodreads Author),

Amy Cullings Moreno (Illustrator)

4.46 avg rating — 74 ratings

Violinist Detective Series (2 books)
by

Mayra Calvani (Goodreads Author)

3.84 avg rating — 67 ratings

Water Play Series (1 book)
by

Mayra Calvani (Goodreads Author)

4.92 avg rating — 12 ratings

Mayra is Currently Reading

Mayra is currently reading

River Aria (Rivers Book 3)

by Joan Schweighardt (Goodreads Author)

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Mayra said: " From the pen of talented historical novelist Joan Schweighardt comes another well-crafted, meticulously researched story about family, community, immigration, oppression, the environment, and having to face the consequences of one’s actions.

It’s 1928 From the pen of talented historical novelist Joan Schweighardt comes another well-crafted, meticulously researched story about family, community, immigration, oppression, the environment, and having to face the consequences of one’s actions.

It’s 1928 and the Great Depression is looming around the corner when two impoverish but talented mixed-raced—Amerindian and European—Brazilian immigrant cousins travel to NYC to find a better life and fulfill their dreams. Estela, a singer of arias and a product of the Teatro Amazonas during the time of the rubber boom, has a beautiful voice and dreams of becoming a famous opera singer; Jojo is a fisherman and a gifted artist. As a start, Estela is offered a seamstress position at the Metropolitan Opera House while Jojo is offered a scholarship at an art school. Will they achieve their dreams against all obstacles? If yes, at what price?

River Aria is the third installment in this author’s series and is focused on the next generation of the family featured in the first book. There is so much I enjoyed about this novel! The worlds of art and music in 1920s NYC come together engrossingly. The multifaceted, original characters—you don’t often read stories about indigenous people from Brazil—and their struggles to find purpose and meaning in a complex, ruthless city that is a character all on its own, kept me riveted. Parentage and identity are big themes with both Estela and Jojo as they struggle with their origins and how it affects their lives. Having read other books by Schweighardt, I’ve become familiar with her literary prose. She always strives for depth, and she pays great attention to detail.

The author visited the rainforest, as well as Manaus, the Amazon, and Rio Negro as part of her research, and considering the authentic feel of the plot and characters, I’m not surprised. In spite of this, however, the writing doesn’t get too heavy-handed, which is sometimes a problem in this type of book. I particularly recommend River Aria to historical fiction fans who have a special interest in the rubber boom that took place in Brazil in the early 1900s and how it affected the fishing villages and the indigenous people living there. ...more "

Dec 15, 2020 06:27AM · see review

Mayra is currently reading

Dark Companion

by Marta Acosta (Goodreads Author)

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Aug 26, 2012 06:51AM

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