DeAnna Cameron's Blog, page 15
April 23, 2012
Contest: Week 7 winner
What a great weekend! Thank you to everyone who came out to the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books for the signing at the Mysterious Galaxy booth on Saturday and to the fiction panel and booksigning on Sunday! It was fun to see so many friendly faces, and to meet so many new readers. It took a a whole pot of tea to get my brain working again this morning, but I'm finally caught up with all the contest entries, so let's get to the fun part : picking the winner for this week's prize of a Victorian-inspired key pendant with embedded timepiece on an 18-inch chain, a 6-inch vintage-inspired hat pin, and a collection of four (4) postcard artifacts dating from 1907 to 1913.
I've plugged the numbers into the random number generator at Random.org, and we get...
And lucky No. 1,059 in the official contest entry spreadsheet belongs to...
Melissa Keith
Congratulations, Melissa! I'll email you in just a moment to get a mailing address for you.
If you didn't win, no need to re-enter. All the non-winning entries will automatically be added to next week's drawing. If you want to improve your chances, you might want to visit the Contest page on my website and make sure you're doing all the things that earn entries.
Good luck!
I've plugged the numbers into the random number generator at Random.org, and we get...
And lucky No. 1,059 in the official contest entry spreadsheet belongs to...
Melissa Keith
Congratulations, Melissa! I'll email you in just a moment to get a mailing address for you.
If you didn't win, no need to re-enter. All the non-winning entries will automatically be added to next week's drawing. If you want to improve your chances, you might want to visit the Contest page on my website and make sure you're doing all the things that earn entries.
Good luck!
April 18, 2012
Contest: Week 6 winner
What a great week in Chicago! The RT Book Lovers Convetion was amazing, but it was more difficult to keep up with the contest entries than I had anticipated. I'm back now and all caught up, so let's get to this week's winner of the chocolate and dancer portraits, shall we?
I'm heading over to Random.org to plug in the numbers...
And on the official contest entries spreadsheet, No. 751 is...
Krista "Nayana" Reince
Congratulations, Krista! I'll be sending you an email in just a moment to get a mailing address.
If you didn't win this week, all existing entries will automatically be added to next week's drawing, as well as the drawing for the grand prize e-reader. You can also increase your chances of winning by doing more things listed on the Contest page.
Good luck!
I'm heading over to Random.org to plug in the numbers...
And on the official contest entries spreadsheet, No. 751 is...
Krista "Nayana" Reince
Congratulations, Krista! I'll be sending you an email in just a moment to get a mailing address.
If you didn't win this week, all existing entries will automatically be added to next week's drawing, as well as the drawing for the grand prize e-reader. You can also increase your chances of winning by doing more things listed on the Contest page.
Good luck!
April 16, 2012
A slight delay...
Sorry about this but I haven't quite made it home yet from the RT Book Lovers convention. This week's winner will be posted Wednesday morning and will be chosen from the pool of entries that were submitted by midnight Sunday. Everyone who submitted after that will be added to next week's (and subsequent weeks') drawings.
Thanks for understanding!
Thanks for understanding!
April 9, 2012
Contest: Week Five Winner
DANCING AT THE CHANCE takes place in the topsy-turvy world of vaudeville in Old New York, so the present we're giving away this week is a little gift package from the past. This week's winner will receive a vintage-era ivory beaded drawstring purse filled with an antique-store-find tiger eye hat pin and a new-but-looks-vintage 6-inch hat pin.
And who is this week's winner? Let's check the random number generator at Random.org....
No. 60. And who is No. 60 on the Official Contest Entry Spreadsheet?
Deanna Stillings
Congratulations, Deanna (nice name, btw!). I'll send you an email to get a mailing address for you.
If you didn't win this week, don't worry. Your name will automatically be added to next week's contest, as well as the grand prize e-reader. You can also improve your chances by doing all the things listed on the Contest page that will earn you entries.
Good luck!
And who is this week's winner? Let's check the random number generator at Random.org....
No. 60. And who is No. 60 on the Official Contest Entry Spreadsheet?
Deanna Stillings
Congratulations, Deanna (nice name, btw!). I'll send you an email to get a mailing address for you.
If you didn't win this week, don't worry. Your name will automatically be added to next week's contest, as well as the grand prize e-reader. You can also improve your chances by doing all the things listed on the Contest page that will earn you entries.
Good luck!
April 6, 2012
Friday Flicker: The Kiss (1896)
May Irwin was starring in the title role of "The Widow Jones" with John C. Rice when Thomas Edison saw them exchange an onstage smooch. He invited them to his studio to re-create the moment in front of one of his new moving picture cameras, and presto! the first onscreen kiss was captured. As you can imagine, such a public display of affection was quite an eyebrow raiser at the time. But the short film was also wildly popular and much requested at movie parlors. It's still quite charming today, don't you agree?
Enjoy!
And thank you to RonaldEmmis for posting!
Enjoy!
And thank you to RonaldEmmis for posting!
April 5, 2012
Interview with Dancer and Modern Vaudevillian Jen Rae
In DANCING AT THE CHANCE, I write about the world of vaudeville as it existed at the turn of the last century, but if you haven't already noticed, there's a good deal of vaudeville to be found in the world even today. You can find it in theaters, in nightclubs, even on the street, if you know where to look. Thanks to modern performers like Jen Rae of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, who infuses her background in belly dance into her act, vaudeville is still vibrant and thriving, even across the border.
Jen Rae caught my attention in a recent newspaper article (which you can find here), but I wanted to know more. I'm pleased to say she graciously accepted my questions and responded with thoughtful and entertaining answers – which it is my pleasure and delight to share with you.
Please allow me to introduce the lovely and talented Jen Rae…
Q: WHAT LED YOU TO DANCE?
A: I danced jazz as a child and found through that that I have a love of performance. I re-entered the dance world through Egyptian Bellydance in my early twenties, and then discovered American Tribal Style (ATS) Bellydance in my early thirties. This unique style, created by Carolena Nericcio in San Francisco, captured my passion with its earthy, synchronized group improvisation. I received my teacher's certification in 2006, and have been teaching ATS in Canada since.
Q: HOW DID YOU BECOME INVOLVED IN THE VAUDEVILLE STYLE?
A: Hopefully, it's not too odd to say that Vaudeville found me when I needed it the most! I had been organizing the street busking of our ATS group at a local theatre festival and found it was difficult to capture and hold the attention of a wandering audience. We found the audience responded readily when we performed with a cheeky, playful style. The engagement of the audience increased if we performed "vaudeville" style with dangerous props, such as swords or a snake. We found that this family-friendly variety show format lent itself well to street-level interactions.
Our troupe has since included a vaudeville-style bellydance choreography into our repertoire, taught to us by Lava from Vancouver. The audience responds readily to that number, whether street-level or on a stage!
Q: WHO ARE YOUR VAUDEVILLE INSPIRATION AND INFLUENCES?
A: I adore watching old movies, and many of the stars from the 1930s were originally from the vaudeville circuit. I found that these stars were the most multi-talented actors and really grabbed your attention when they were on the screen. Also, they seemed to be humble, down-to-earth people off-screen.
My favorite vaudeville inspiration has to be Mae West. Not only was she glamorous, cheeky and engaging on the screen, she also did so much good work behind the scenes. She taught me about attitude and "going for it" when you are on the stage.
Buster Keaton is another favorite of mine. Physical comedy is difficult and he makes it look so graceful. He was richly talented, and taught me much about projecting my stage presence even without cracking a smile.
There is a recent trend to incorporate vaudeville style into bellydance. The routines contain comedy, Jazz Age-inspired costumes, and cheekiness using Balkan and Jazz music. The dancer Rachel Brice and her show Le Serpent Rouge incorporates many of these vaudeville stylings.
My modern inspirations include a bellydancer from Vancouver, British Columbia, by the name of Lava. She is the director of the troupe Sisters of Alchemy . She has a love of comedy, vaudeville and can-can dance that she incorporates into her choreographies and performances. She is a delight to watch, and like past vaudeville actors, Lava is graceful, has lots of stage presence and is down-to-earth, too!
Q: CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR ACT?
A: There is the work I do with our ATS troupe, and the work I do solo. When the ATS troupe members are together, we do strict ATS. However, the same troupe also performs the vaudeville-style tribal fusion bellydance choreography taught by Lava that I mentioned. We use different costuming to indicate we are not doing ATS, and to showcase the sassy moves!
The same troupe also performs work with props that could be described as vaudeville-style. One involves my corn snake, Lady, in a basket while I try and emulate my troupe mates who balance theirs perfectly. I open the basket to find a snake, and we work with different reactions to this situation. The audience seems to get a kick out of the absurd situation this supposedly dangerous animal was found in.
I have brought my snakes dancing and double sword balancing act onto the stage as part of a local band's act. The New Jacobin Club is a great group that has been very welcoming to my ideas. With them, I have explored the darker sides of vaudeville, more into the 1920s German Cabaret genre. I have an act where I smoke a long-handled cigarette and speak in German before bringing out the snake, the opposite of coquette. Not sure if this is classed as vaudeville, but it does garner the same reaction, and it is still over-the-top!
I also dance with my snakes in a solo act called "The Temptation of Eve." In this story, I am dressed in a coquette outfit while acting out the interaction between Eve and the snake in the Garden of Eden. Eve eats the apple right away and dances with the snake, at first shocked at the moves he evokes in her! They are all friends at the end, and Eve leaves with the snake, leaving Adam in the lurch.
I adore modern vaudeville for the paradox between a dangerous object such as swords or snakes, and projecting some lightheartedness into the situation. Members of the audience approach my snakes after such a performance, wanting to touch him and ask great questions, or try to balance one of the swords. That open and curious interaction is important to me, and I think a direct result of the approachability of modern vaudeville dance. I find that people appear very entertained by this style of dance, and that's the reason I am on the stage!
Thank you, Jen Rae! Look for her on vaudeville bills near you!
Photo credits: Top photo: Jackie LatendresseMiddle photo: Laurie BethelBottom photo: Charlene Bosiak
Jen Rae caught my attention in a recent newspaper article (which you can find here), but I wanted to know more. I'm pleased to say she graciously accepted my questions and responded with thoughtful and entertaining answers – which it is my pleasure and delight to share with you.Please allow me to introduce the lovely and talented Jen Rae…
Q: WHAT LED YOU TO DANCE?
A: I danced jazz as a child and found through that that I have a love of performance. I re-entered the dance world through Egyptian Bellydance in my early twenties, and then discovered American Tribal Style (ATS) Bellydance in my early thirties. This unique style, created by Carolena Nericcio in San Francisco, captured my passion with its earthy, synchronized group improvisation. I received my teacher's certification in 2006, and have been teaching ATS in Canada since.
Q: HOW DID YOU BECOME INVOLVED IN THE VAUDEVILLE STYLE?
A: Hopefully, it's not too odd to say that Vaudeville found me when I needed it the most! I had been organizing the street busking of our ATS group at a local theatre festival and found it was difficult to capture and hold the attention of a wandering audience. We found the audience responded readily when we performed with a cheeky, playful style. The engagement of the audience increased if we performed "vaudeville" style with dangerous props, such as swords or a snake. We found that this family-friendly variety show format lent itself well to street-level interactions.
Our troupe has since included a vaudeville-style bellydance choreography into our repertoire, taught to us by Lava from Vancouver. The audience responds readily to that number, whether street-level or on a stage!Q: WHO ARE YOUR VAUDEVILLE INSPIRATION AND INFLUENCES?
A: I adore watching old movies, and many of the stars from the 1930s were originally from the vaudeville circuit. I found that these stars were the most multi-talented actors and really grabbed your attention when they were on the screen. Also, they seemed to be humble, down-to-earth people off-screen.
My favorite vaudeville inspiration has to be Mae West. Not only was she glamorous, cheeky and engaging on the screen, she also did so much good work behind the scenes. She taught me about attitude and "going for it" when you are on the stage.
Buster Keaton is another favorite of mine. Physical comedy is difficult and he makes it look so graceful. He was richly talented, and taught me much about projecting my stage presence even without cracking a smile.
There is a recent trend to incorporate vaudeville style into bellydance. The routines contain comedy, Jazz Age-inspired costumes, and cheekiness using Balkan and Jazz music. The dancer Rachel Brice and her show Le Serpent Rouge incorporates many of these vaudeville stylings.
My modern inspirations include a bellydancer from Vancouver, British Columbia, by the name of Lava. She is the director of the troupe Sisters of Alchemy . She has a love of comedy, vaudeville and can-can dance that she incorporates into her choreographies and performances. She is a delight to watch, and like past vaudeville actors, Lava is graceful, has lots of stage presence and is down-to-earth, too!
Q: CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR ACT?A: There is the work I do with our ATS troupe, and the work I do solo. When the ATS troupe members are together, we do strict ATS. However, the same troupe also performs the vaudeville-style tribal fusion bellydance choreography taught by Lava that I mentioned. We use different costuming to indicate we are not doing ATS, and to showcase the sassy moves!
The same troupe also performs work with props that could be described as vaudeville-style. One involves my corn snake, Lady, in a basket while I try and emulate my troupe mates who balance theirs perfectly. I open the basket to find a snake, and we work with different reactions to this situation. The audience seems to get a kick out of the absurd situation this supposedly dangerous animal was found in.
I have brought my snakes dancing and double sword balancing act onto the stage as part of a local band's act. The New Jacobin Club is a great group that has been very welcoming to my ideas. With them, I have explored the darker sides of vaudeville, more into the 1920s German Cabaret genre. I have an act where I smoke a long-handled cigarette and speak in German before bringing out the snake, the opposite of coquette. Not sure if this is classed as vaudeville, but it does garner the same reaction, and it is still over-the-top!
I also dance with my snakes in a solo act called "The Temptation of Eve." In this story, I am dressed in a coquette outfit while acting out the interaction between Eve and the snake in the Garden of Eden. Eve eats the apple right away and dances with the snake, at first shocked at the moves he evokes in her! They are all friends at the end, and Eve leaves with the snake, leaving Adam in the lurch.
I adore modern vaudeville for the paradox between a dangerous object such as swords or snakes, and projecting some lightheartedness into the situation. Members of the audience approach my snakes after such a performance, wanting to touch him and ask great questions, or try to balance one of the swords. That open and curious interaction is important to me, and I think a direct result of the approachability of modern vaudeville dance. I find that people appear very entertained by this style of dance, and that's the reason I am on the stage!
Thank you, Jen Rae! Look for her on vaudeville bills near you!
Photo credits: Top photo: Jackie LatendresseMiddle photo: Laurie BethelBottom photo: Charlene Bosiak
April 3, 2012
Dancing at The Chance debuts today! Or, how a book mama spends the day wringing her hands...
It's finally here -- release day for DANCING AT THE CHANCE, my historical about vaudeville in Old New York. Yay! For me, it's always a bittersweet feeling when a novel enters the world, though. Up till now, this story has been mine -- all mine. I've lived with it, cared for it, cried with it and stayed up late at night with it. I've protected it and loved it, but now it's time to send it out into the world. I know you'll say that it's not going out there alone. It has a several glowing reviews from respectable reviewers, as well as a healthy number of 5-star reviews at Goodreads. What more could a book mama want, right? As any mother knows, we always want more for our children, whether they are book babies or real babies. But the time has come to let go. The book must find it's own way now. It'll have good days, and I'm sure it will have some bad ones, too. What I know is that it's a good novel -- it comes from a good family who loved it and made it the best it could be, and with any luck, it'll find the readers who will love it, too. *** By the way, I'm over at Historical Tapestry today talking about, what else? Vaudeville. Please stop by if you can. I'd love to see you there. http://historicaltapestry.blogspot.com/2012/04/why-i-love-vaudeville-by-deanna-cameron.html 
April 2, 2012
Contest: Week 4 Winner
Tomorrow DANCING AT THE CHANCE hits bookshelves, so this marks our final belly dance-themed prize package. And this one is a fun one -- it's everything you need to awaken the belly dancer in you! A belly dance hip scarf, two pairs of finger cymbals, and the Beginning Belly Dance DVD.
So who is this week's winner? Let's find out, shall we?
I'm heading over to Random.org to plug in the numbers, and...
So who is this week's winner? Let's find out, shall we?
I'm heading over to Random.org to plug in the numbers, and...
And now checking the very official spreadsheet of contest entries, we find that No. 2 is ...
Erica R.
Congratulations, Erica! I'll send you an email in just a moment to get a mailing address.
If you didn't win this week, don't despair. You will automatically be entered into next week's drawing, as well as the drawing on April 30 for the grand prize e-reader. You can also improve your chances by doing the things listed on the Contest page of my website.
In the meantime, I hope you'll find time this week to check out DANCING AT THE CHANCE. :)
March 30, 2012
Friday Flicker: Star Theatre Demotion (1901)
You probably wouldn't recognize it from this early time-lapse film showing the dismantling of the Star Theatre, but this is the building that stands in for The Chance Theatre on the DANCING AT THE CHANCE cover.
In its day, the Star Theatre was a popular venue on the corner of Broadway and 13th Street in New York City. It opened in 1861 as Wallack's Theatre and was renamed the Star Theatre in 1882.
The film, sold by American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, was also quite popular with audiences. AMB Picture Catalogue (1902) via IMDB.com describes its creation this way: "To secure this unique picture a Biograph camera was kept constantly at work by specially devised electric apparatus for weeks, during which time exposures were made every four minutes, 8 hours a day." It was stunning feat to watch for early movie audiences, and is still quite impressive today.
Thank you to TigerRocket for uploading it.
In its day, the Star Theatre was a popular venue on the corner of Broadway and 13th Street in New York City. It opened in 1861 as Wallack's Theatre and was renamed the Star Theatre in 1882.
The film, sold by American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, was also quite popular with audiences. AMB Picture Catalogue (1902) via IMDB.com describes its creation this way: "To secure this unique picture a Biograph camera was kept constantly at work by specially devised electric apparatus for weeks, during which time exposures were made every four minutes, 8 hours a day." It was stunning feat to watch for early movie audiences, and is still quite impressive today.
Thank you to TigerRocket for uploading it.
March 26, 2012
Contest: Week Three Winner
Who will win this prize of a bottle of Kiehl's Liquid Body Scrub and Cleanser and a bottle of Kiehl's Crème de Corps? Let's plug the numbers into the random number generator at Random.org and find out...
Scrolling down the Contest Entry spreadsheet (nearly 600 entries this week, btw)...
And the winner is...
Larisa LaBrant
Congratulations, Larisa! I'll email you in just a moment to get a mailing address...
BTW, if you didn't win this week, you will automatically be entered into next week's contest, and the contest for the grand prize e-reader.
Thanks for playing, everybody!
