Today's winner is...

It's been a great publication day! I discovered more good reviews (Bookreview.com and BarnesandNoble.com, to name a couple) and that book sales are already strong. Yay :-)


For all of you who bought the book: THANK YOU! I haven't had much time to soak it all in yet -- most of the day has been spent with the little one running to and from the post office to get the bookmarks and other materials out to all the people who have requested them from here and the belly dance forum on Bhuz.com, along with some bookstores around the country.


But here's the fun part of the day: giving away a belly dance hip scarf to today's lucky winner.


So, here we go:

Entries:

My little independent auditor:

Winner:

Congratulations, Catherine; I'm e-mailing you now to get your address.


Thanks to everyone who entered! I'll be doing more contests, so stay tuned!

THE BELLY DANCER is out!

It's release day for THE BELLY DANCER! Woohoo! I'm celebrating with a guest blog over at Historical Tapestry on why I love the legend of Little Egypt. That one is up now, and an interview with author Shauna Roberts on her For Love of Words blog that will be up a little later on.

I'll also announce the winner of today's contest at 4 p.m. -- so if you've entered, be sure to check back!

The third week winner is...

I can't believe publication day is so close now... just one more week! I'm thrilled with all the requests for bookmarks, stickers and postcards. I still have a few left, so e-mail me your request at deanna[at] deanna[dot]com if you'd like me to mail you some...

And the prize up for grabs this week is a belly dance necklace and earrings set, purchased from Artemis Imports at Raqs L.A. You probably know the drill by now, so here it goes:

Entries:

Winner:

Melody, I'm sending you an e-mail confirmation now...

Again, thanks to everyone who entered and if you didn't win this week, you'll automatically be included in next week's contest for a belly dance hip scarf [black shown, but other colors available].

Don't forget -- if you're planning to buy THE BELLY DANCER, Amazon and Barnes & Noble are offering a great discounts on the $14 retail price ($10.29 and $10.08, respectively) and are taking pre-orders that will ship on Tuesday.

A great review in The Chronicles

I was so delighted to open the summer issue of the popular belly dance magazine The Chronicles to find a wonderful two-page review of THE BELLY DANCER, by reviewer Karyana. The novel grew out of my love for belly dancing, which makes these accolades especially sweet.

Here are some highlights:

Ms. Cameron does a wonderful job of setting the tone of the book in late Victorian America. Her descriptions of the ornate houses, city streets, gas lamps, and even the smells of old Chicago, make the history of this particular era in America palpable.

[skip]

But what about the belly dancers, you ask? This is where Ms. Cameron shines – you hear the drums, oud and ney as they accompany the troupe of Ghawazee dancers playing their zills. You see the hip drops, should shimmies and hip circles ...

[skip]

Whew, this book has it all! ... As young women, as experienced women, as a dancer – you will love this book!

The second week winner is...

We had a lot of new entries this week for the Countdown to Publication contest for THE BELLY DANCER, so the competition was a little tougher. I'm not surprised, though. Who wouldn't want a free copy of the Bellydance Superstars' "The Art of Bellydance"? So, once again, here is my ultra-scientific random drawing process:

Entries:

Winner:

Diana Lindsay

Diana, I'm sending you an e-mail confirmation now...

Thank you to everyone who entered. Remember, if you didn't win this week, you'll automatically be included in next week's contest for this belly dance necklace and earrings set, purchased from Artemis Imports at Raqs L.A.

More on Cairo Caravan

Here's a pic of my friend Ed Lee (left) playing the frame drum for an impromptu performance by Rachel Brice at the Cairo Caravan drumming tent. Also drumming is, from left, Josh Fint and Donavon Lerman, while Andy DesChenes looks on.

You can also see a bunch of really great photos from the event at Lee Corkett's Weathervane Images site. Here's a peek at the gallery with a link at the bottom (thanks, Lee!):


090615-Cairo-#Highlights - Images by Lee Corkett

Cairo Caravan 2009

Cairo Caravan -- formerly known as Cairo Carnival -- made its debut at the Queen Mary in Long Beach this weekend after spending the past few years at the Santa Anita Racetrack (and before that at the Glendale Civic Auditorium, and before that at Rio Hondo College in Whittier... which to me is still the best venue ever). It's the biggest and best-known local belly dance festival, and this is the first time in years I've missed it. Having a newborn at home took precedence, though (BTW, Chloe turns 1 month old today! Yay!)

Anyway, I was disappointed to miss the event, but I received this great photo from my friend, the fabulous dancer Marlena Shaw, who performed a duet with Taji, another fabulous dancer, on Sunday just before 1 p.m. on the Luxor stage.

I asked her to share her thoughts on the new venue:

Well, the positive comments I have is that because it was on three levels, you weren't so tired at the end of the day from walking. However, it seemed like the vendors on the top floor got the most business. The bottom floor did great too - possibly because these floors had a stage. The middle floor didn't have a stage and it seemed not too many people were walking about that level. The stages were nice, the MCs were great. The dancing was great, good variety of styles.

The price to get in for non-members was too high. I think it was $18 as opposed to $5 for MECDA members. The food was bad, really bad. Sandwiches and salads. The dressing rooms were okay except the carpet was so gross your feet stuck to the floor - ugh! We just kept our sandals on until just before our time to dance. Also, the escalators were down and people who had any physical limitations were have difficulty.

I guess on a scale of 1 to 10, I would give it a 6 or 7.

I've heard from a couple of other people who attended that they thought the price was a bit high, too, considering people had to pony up something like $8 to park in addition to the entry fee. But everyone said they were impressed with the stages and general set-up. All in all, it sounds like it was mostly a success for its first time in the new location -- with maybe some room for improvement if MECDA decides to stay there next year.

And I'll be there next year no matter what. (Maybe Chloe will even be able to shimmy by then!)