And the November Contest winner is...

Are you in the holiday spirit yet? The weather here has been cold and windy, just perfect for cozying up with the laptop. It's been great for writing, which is a good thing since my book deadline is coming up fast.

It's always fun, though, to take some time out of the writing day to pick a contest winner. This time we're giving away the awesome THE ART OF BELLYDANCE CD from Bellydance Superstars. We had about 65 entries this time around, and thank you to everyone who took time to play along. This winner was chosen, as usual, by my ever-helpful assistant. She was so excited to pick the winner, she nearly jumped out of the frame altogether. See:




And the winner is:



Taliba Lafleur




(Hooray!!!)


Taliba, I'll be sending you an email message in the next couple of minutes to get your mailing address.


To everyone else, thank you for playing! I'll be posting a new contest soon, so please check back to http://www.deannacameron.com/ to see what's up for grabs.


Happy Tuesday!

And the July contest winner is ...

This has been such a fun contest. First, I'd like to say I really appreciate all the kind notes people sent along with their entries, both from those who have read "The Belly Dancer" and others who plan to. And it's no surprise there were a lot of entries -- 102, in fact. Those lovely dancers from Bellydance Superstars draw a crowd wherever they go, don't they? I admire these ladies so much for elevating the dance form and helping it break into the mainstream. I'm thrilled to be giving away their Solos from Monte Carlo DVD, along with the belly dance starter pack.

Anyway, let's get down to business. The winner, as usual, was selected by my charming assistant. It's such a pretty day outside, she even dressed up in her summertime best for the occasion. See:

And the winner is:

Melissa Loomis

(Congrats, congrats!!!)

Melissa, I'll be sending you an email message in the next couple of minutes to get your mailing address.

To everyone else, thank you for playing! I'll be posting a new contest soon, so please check back to http://www.deannacameron.com/ to see what's up for grabs.

Happy Friday!

Anniversary Giveaway

Can you believe it's been a year since The Belly Dancer hit bookstore shelves? Me, neither! But what an amazing year it has been!

To celebrate the big day, I'm giving away the "Bellydance Superstars Solos from Monte Carlo," which is one of my favorite performance videos. It features some terrifically talented dancers, including Rachel Brice, Jillina, and Sonia (posing on the cover), as well as Adore, Bozenka, Amar Gamal, Petite Jamilla, Sharon Kihara and Saida. Of course there are great musicians, too: Issam Houshan on drum and Nabil Khalidi on the oud.

And, as an added bonus, I'm also including the cute little Art of Belly Dancing starter pack. It includes a pair of finger cymbals, adhesive jewels, and a 32-page primer.

To enter the contest, click over to http://www.deannacameron.com/. I'll select a winner at random at noon (PDT) on Friday, July 30.

Good luck!

And the June Contest winner is...

Thank you to the 200-plus people who entered the contest for the new, jingly yellow hip scarf. As always, the winner was selected by my highly official and incorruptable assistant. It was tricky this time -- Sesame Street was on and she just can't get enough of Elmo.

And the winner is:

Dana Packer

(Yay!!!)

Congratulations, Dana! I'll be sending you an email message in the next couple of minutes to get your mailing address.

To everyone else, thank you for playing! I'll be posting a new contest soon, so please check back to http://www.deannacameron.com/ to see what's up for grabs.

Happy Monday!

Celebrating 117 years of American belly dance with a giveaway

The summer of 1893 was an important one for American belly dance. While the Egyptian belly dancers were scandalizing the crowds at the Chicago World's Fair with their shimmies and hip drops, they were also introducing a generation of women to this exciting dance form.

And it seems belly dance has never been more popular than it is today. Not only can you find festivals dedicated to its art, history and practice in most major cities, belly dance classes can now be found alongside ballet, tap and jazz in many colleges and community dance programs. Imagine what those prim and proper Board of Lady Managers would say about that!

So, in honor of that momentous occasion 117 years ago, I'm giving away a cheery yellow hip scarf that's perfect for summertime!

To enter the contest, visit my website at http://www.deannacameron.com/ and follow the contest link.

I'll be choosing a name at random on Monday, June 21. There are more details on the contest page.

Good luck!

A new giveaway for February

What's red and gold and jingles all over?

The new hip scarf I'm giving away in the February contest over at DeAnnaCameron.com, of course!

To enter the contest, visit my Web site at http://www.deannacameron.com/ and follow the contest link.

I'll be choosing a name at random on Friday, February 26. There are more details on the contest page.

Don't miss this chance to add to your collection :-)

And the winner is...

Thank you to everyone who entered the contest for this lovely "All the Pretty Snakes & Belly Dancers" 2010 calendar. Unfortunately I could only pick one winner, and that person was selected by my unbiased and incorruptable contest official (well, she could probably be bribed with a squeaky toy or anything with bright colors, but that didn't happen, honest!)

And the winner is:

Nikki Hedrick

(insert applause, trumpets, mass hysteria)

Congratulations, Nikki! I'll be sending you an email message in the next couple of minutes to get your mailing address.

Everyone else, thanks for playing and please remember that I'm planning more fun contests throughout the year, so please check back to http://www.deannacameron.com/ often to see what's up for grabs.

Also, if you are dying to get your own copy of the "All the Pretty Snakes & Belly Dancers," they are still available from their creators Weathervane Arts & Tribal Bazaar, as well as Amazon and Etsy.

Happy Friday!

Giving stuff away at the Romance Book Club -- come see!

Today I'm guest blogging about my inspiration for THE BELLY DANCER over at the Romance Book Club, and one lucky commenter will win either a signed copy of the book or a belly dance hip scarf.

You can check it out here:

http://www.theromancebookclub.com/guest-blogs/2009/7/14/the-inspiration-for-the-belly-dancer-by-deanna-cameron.html

The Countdown to Publication Contest

With the publication date for THE BELLY DANCER less than a month away and positive reviews already rolling in, I’m in the mood to celebrate. And what better way to do that than to give away free stuff?

For the next four weeks, I’ll be holding a “Countdown to Publication” drawing on Tuesday afternoons to give away one of four prize packages. The first drawing will be held the afternoon of June 16, and up for grabs is a belly dance screened shirt, as well as THE BELLY DANCER postcards, stickers and book plates.

The T-shirt is a 100% cotton crew neck shirt from Dancing Rahana belly dance boutique, and the winner can choose from several colors and sizes: white and with pink accents (see photo) in small and extra large; hot pink with black accents in small and medium; white with black accents in small, medium, large and extra large; gray with black accents in small, medium, large and extra large; and black with white accents in small and medium.

To enter, visit http://www.deannacameron.com/, and click on “Enter the Contest.” A winner will be randomly selected, and all entrants will automatically be entered in the subsequent contests, with the exception of the winner. Limit of one weekly prize per person.

Good luck!