Get Lost in DeAnna Cameron's Dancing at the Chance

A chance for love...
A chance for fame...

New York City in 1907 is a kingdom of endless possibilities for anyone who dares to dream. The Gilded Age has ended, and immigrants fill the bustling streets. The glamour of Broadway lures those who desire the limelight—but only a few are fortunate enough to thrive in the lights of a city that casts long, dark, and merciless shadows…
Pepper MacClair and her mother arrived penniless in New York thirteen years ago, and their fortune has not changed. A dancer of fluid grace and motion, Pepper is still only one chorus girl among dozens, struggling for an opportunity to prove herself worthy of something bigger.
For now, Pepper dances at The Chance, a rundown venue long past its prime. It is not only Pepper’s workplace, where she has pushed her physical endurance to its limit, but also her home. And as the larger world changes around her and she is pulled into the intrigues of New York’s elite, it is her last hope, not only to fulfill her dream, but to fulfill her heart.

More About DeAnna Cameron

DeAnna Cameron spends much of her time dreaming up romantic historical adventures featuring feisty heroines destined for passion and fame—an endeavor that was not so useful when she was a newspaper reporter, and even less so when she became a magazine editor. Yet, she did her best to behave like a serious journalist during her 15-year career, which included stints in newsrooms and editorial offices of many fine Southern California publications. Those daydreams never went away, however, so it’s a good thing she landed in the thrilling world of fiction, where they can finally be put to use. These days, she is dreaming up new stories from her home in Orange County, Calif., where she lives with her family and a ninety-pound chocolate Lab.

Jillian: What’s your favorite fairy tale? 

DeAnna: I suppose Alice in Wonderland isn’t technically a fairy tale but it is my favorite children’s story. I love the upside-down world that Alice discovers and the journey that makes her grow and change as a person. And of course there’s the Mad Hatter, too. Who doesn’t love the Mad Hatter?

Jillian: What sound or noise do you love?

DeAnna: My 3-year-old daughter’s laugh.

Jillian: What’s your favorite movie of all time?

DeAnna: There are two that make me swoon every time I see them: A Room With a View and Say Anything. The second probably comes as no surprise to anyone who read my interview here last month about the reissue of THE BELLY DANCER. 

Jillian: Is writing or story-telling easier for you?

DeAnna: I would say the storytelling is easier. The story generally appears like a movie in my brain, with very broad brush strokes. I get it all down as quickly as I can while it’s there, and then I go back over the prose again and again to be sure the words are conveying to the reader all the emotion and mood and details I found so compelling.

Jillian: If you could interview one person (and it doesn’t have to be a writer) who would it be?

DeAnna: Does it have to be a living person? I hope not, because I’ve been re-reading some of Shakespeare’s classics and I would love to chat with him. I would love to know – once and for all – if he truly wrote everything we credit to him. I suppose that’s a bit of the curmudgeonly journalist in me wanting to believe, but still being a little skeptical. 

Jillian: What do you do to unwind and relax? 

DeAnna: Unwind? Relax? What’s that? No, seriously. If I have hours, I like to cook. Cajun-Creole food is a favorite. I can make a pretty great gumbo (in my own humble opinion…) and a not-too-shabby jambalaya. If I can steal away for just an hour or so, I’ll curl up with a book and get lost in a story.

Jillian: Which of your characters would you most like to invite to dinner, and why?

DeAnna: In DANCING AT THE CHANCE, there is a male impersonator named Em Charmaigne who is like a surrogate parent to Pepper MacClair, the heroine, and she is the brashest, sassiest, funniest, most outlandish character I have ever had the pleasure to meet on a page. I don’t even feel as if I invented her because she arrived in the story as a full-fledged individual. I could see her and hear her instantly, and I absolutely adore her. I would certainly love to spend more time with her.

Jillian: What’s your favorite kind of story to get lost in?

DeAnna: I love stories that are very different from my ordinary life. I suppose that’s what initially attracted me to historical fiction. I love to experience different eras and different places in the way you can only when you’re immersed in a novel and inside a character’s head. 

OK, here’s a question for you: What is your favorite kind of story to get lost in? One commenter selected at random will win a signed copy of DANCING AT THE CHANCE! 

For those who don’t win today’s giveaway, I have another one going on at my website. I’m giving away weekly prizes until April 30 and one lucky winner will receive an e-reader grand prize. Stop by www.DeAnnaCameron.com for details. You can also find me on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/deanna.m.cameron) and Twitter at (http://www.twitter.com/DeAnnaMCameron)