The Belly Dancer, by
DeAnna Cameron
As Reviewed by Zaina
Hart”
I am an avid reader of romance novels. About 40+ years worth and now with multiple collections on shelf after shelf, many with Middle / Near Eastern themes as well as just about every vampire romance novel out there. I have so many my daughter has begun to catalogue them. When I heard Deanna had written this book, I could hardly wait to get my hands on it. What a delightful read this has been.
Storyline:
With the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago as the backdrop, the
main character, Dora is a new bride who struggles to please her husband in both
the ways of a woman as well as that of a sophisticated wife who would hopefully
as well impress his business friends.
She has sadly been “attached” to a pompous “older” husband, whose
philandering ways and lack of compassion drive Dora into the arms of another. Her path to this other, more exciting
man is via Dora’s duties as a prim and proper Lady Manager to the Fair (keeping
an eye on those belly dancers who expose more than a proper lady should have) –
a responsibility that she took on solely to please her husband. And wow did “that backfire” on the poor
man! Through her contact
with the Egyptian dancers, musicians and people of Cairo Street she quickly
befriends, Dora finds the strength to take charge of her own life. The dance gives her new found
sensuality and confidence – something she had never experienced before. Soon she discovers a new love, and not
merely in dance, but as the other man enters her life - which will alter her
beliefs forever.
Deanna has been as historically accurate as possible given what little information is available regarding the dancers and musicians who attended and performed at the Worlds Fair. She has excellently set the scene both in Dora’s married life as well as that of the Egyptian theater and alternate settings. Add to that the romantic scenes she has set and you have a wonderful blend of elements that any Belly Dancer would want to have in a book.
Happy to have it in my collection, it is pure delight and giving it a high recommendation for purchase.
Available through Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Borders.com, Powells Books, and more.
Deanna’s web site address is included below and here are a few snippets from her bios – both as writer and as dancer.
From DeAnna’s
Biography
People often ask why I write. The answer is simple: I love stories. I love the way they gab you and take you to a different world, whether it’s the world of someone who could live next door, or in another country or on another planet. Stories more than any other medium help us transcend ourselves and see life through someone else’s eyes. I’ve always thought that was magical.
Even during my journalism career as a writer and editor for a number of Southern California publications over the past fifteen years, it has always been the human element ha captivates me most. The issues tend to fade from memory, but what remains are the people, their struggles and their triumphs. Their stories.
When I started my own story, my best writing days came when I forgot anyone else might read what I was writing. I was telling myself a story, weaving in what-ifs and then-whats, and building it around my second greatest passion: the art and history of belly dancing. The result is THE BELLY DANCER, my first novels, released I July 2009. And now I’m entertaining myself with new stories, and someday I might share those as well.
From DeAnna’s Belly Dancing Biography (http://deannacameron.com)
I can’t tell you the first time I saw a belly dancer. But the first time I belly danced? I remember that like it was yesterday. It was 1990, spring term at college, and I’d signed up for a class in Middle Eastern dance to fulfill a participatory art requirement.
And I have been learning ever since. I’ve learned a few moves. I’ve learned to love Middle Eastern music. And I’ve learned that dance class is a special place where friends are made, cares are forgotten, and women can be women.
ENJOY DeAnna and this gift of “The Belly Dancer”!