About Me
- Satima Flavell
- Perth, Western Australia, Australia
- I am based in Perth, Western Australia. You might enjoy my books - The Dagger of Dresnia, the first book of the Talismans Trilogy, is available at all good online book shops as is Book two, The Cloak of Challiver. Book three, The Seer of Syland, is in preparation. I trained in piano and singing at the NSW Conservatorium of Music. I also trained in dance (Scully-Borovansky, WAAPA) and drama (NIDA). Since 1987 I have been writing reviews of performances in all genres for a variety of publications, including Music Maker, ArtsWest, Dance Australia, The Australian and others. Now semi-retired, I still write occasionally for the ArtsHub website.
The Dagger of Dresnia
The Cloak of Challiver, Book two of The Talismans
Available as an e-book on Amazon and other online booksellers.
Mythic Resonance
Mythic Resonance
Mythic Resonance is an excellent anthology that includes my short story 'La Belle Dame', together with great stories from Alan Baxter, Donna Maree Hanson, Sue Burstynski, Nike Sulway and nine more fantastic authors! Just $US3.99 from Amazon.
Got a Kindle? Check out Mythic Resonance. 
My Blog List
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‘You Talk, We Act’: A Remarkable Dialogue from the Middle Ages - This remarkable text captures a dialogue between a Parisian Master of Theology and a Beguine, recorded in the late 13th century.7 hours ago
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View From a Hotel Window, 11/15/24: Cincinnati - And in what is possibly a first for this series of photos: an ice rink! Because I guess it is that time of year, isn’t it. This is also the last hotel shot...9 hours ago
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Science Fiction, Laura Lee Guhrke, & More - *The League of Gentlewomen Witches* *The League of Gentlewomen Witches by India Holton is $1.99! This is book two in the Dangerous Damsels series, which ...14 hours ago
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Sideshow Alley anthology… - Drabbles are described as one hundred-word stories. In this book, you’ll find a mix of fantasy, horror, and tragedy, just enough to creep you out. Get read...16 hours ago
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A Tale of Two How-Tos - As a connoisseur of writing how-tos (and yes, I had to look up how to spell connoisseur – and okay, “addict” might be a more accurate word), I have read ...20 hours ago
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"Goings-on" in medieval nunneries by Carolyn Hughes - I have just finished writing the next book in my Meonbridge Chronicles series, set in medieval England. This story centres, not on Meonbridge, as the oth...
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HIV and AIDS Archives: a workshop and a symposium - We're hosting events to explore the wider landscape of HIV and AIDS-related records. The post HIV and AIDS Archives: a workshop and a symposium appeared ...1 day ago
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Alex Kenna - Alex Kenna is a prosecutor, writer, and amateur painter. Before law school, Kenna studied painting and art history at Penn. She also worked as a freelance ...
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Top 15 Lies Slam Reviewers Share Online: Writers, Have You Had Any Of These? - All About Slam Reviewers Slam Reviewers are different to actual reviewers. Here’s why: my objection is not that slam reviewers didn’t enjoy a book, TV sh...5 days ago
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What “Mama” Can Teach Us About Tension & Suspense - *By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy * *Want a bestselling novel? Grab your readers and don't let them go until the end.* Once in a while, a story comes alon...
6 days ago -
About Holly - There is no way to soften the blow of this and Mom never liked euphemisms, so I’m just going to speak plainly. Mom died due to complications from cancer on...1 week ago
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The crisis in the palm of our hand: smartphones in contexts of conflict and care - [image: A man sitting with a cellphone on a Motorbike at night.] The crisis in the palm of our hand: smartphones in contexts of conflict and care The rapi...1 week ago
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How to be a Fascist Dictator in 3 Easy Steps - Ah; so you want to be a Fascist Dictator, eh? Or perhaps a More Effective Sociopath? How about Becoming a Populist President (the Democratic Gateway to Unb...1 week ago
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Calm down a little - I’ve just checked and my last post was October 17. Where did the time go? I’ve been to Adelaide, tick. Then, we had family visiting from the UK so lots of ...1 week ago
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Calm down a little - I’ve just checked and my last post was October 17. Where did the time go? I’ve been to Adelaide, tick. Then, we had family visiting from the UK so lots of ...1 week ago
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Eric Idle At Hamer Hall - Tonight I went to see Eric Idle, one of the members of the Monty Python group. I only found out it was on last night because he is on Twitter and mentio...1 week ago
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The Time Machine Australia Bound - Announced in the PS Publishing newsletter today, The Time Machine Australia Bound is up for pre-order now. Featuring stories of H G Wells’ famous machine...2 weeks ago
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WRAP UP OF HORRORFEST POST, OCTOBER. - Hi all! Thank you so much for posting to WEP's Horrorfest in October. I'm sure everyone enjoyed reading the entries. So good to see so many of the 'oldi...
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A Franchise Ian Likes One Entry Of: Highlander - Russel Nash appears to be a successful antiques dealer in New York in 1985. But when Brenda Wyatt, a forensics expert with the police, begins to investigat...2 weeks ago
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Introducing Maneyacts Media - At Maneyacts Media, we specialize in professional video recording for events, seminars, and competitions. With a diverse selection of standard and PTZ (pan...4 weeks ago
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Little, Big - Web Goblin here. Two years and five blog posts ago, we were introduced to the 25th Anniversary edition of *Little, Big or, The Fairies' Parliament*, by J...2 months ago
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PhD Milestone 3 at Curtin University - Yesterday I had the pleasure of doing my Milestone 3 presentation for my PhD at Curtin, which is in its final stages before it goes off to be examined. App...2 months ago
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Aurealis Awards Ceremony - This is very late in the writing, but I did have a fab time in Melbourne at the Aurealis Awards Ceremony. Kudos to all the finalists and winners. It was ...
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Surving Loss on Our 40th - Sunday the 4th marks 40 years since Myra and I said 'I do' and chose to be parted by nothing other than death. Eleven years ago, death did just that. Yet...
3 months ago -
Mastering Engaging Opening Lines: 11 Creative Strategies to Hook Your Readers - The post Mastering Engaging Opening Lines: 11 Creative Strategies to Hook Your Readers appeared first on ProBlogger. My wife’s first words to me were… ‘H...4 months ago
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A personal thought on the passing of publishing legend Tom McCormack - The passing of publishing giant Tom McCormack makes me recall the interaction he had with my father, Leonard Shatzkin, from the very beginning of Tom’s p...4 months ago
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My Spring Tour 2024 – Part 2: From Turku back to Kiel - Helsinki also offered the chance for a day trip. Turku, the oldest town in Finland, is only about two hours bus ride away, and a nice ride through an inter...
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CHAT GPT, Open AI and Me: A Bootless Manifesto - It’s a hopeless battle but I’m not going down without a lot of (customized, original, hand-crafted) protest. Dear World: Please be advised that I will be r...5 months ago
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The Shark Is Closed for Queries - Please visit In Memoriam: Janet Reid for more about the late great Shark.6 months ago
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Henry of Lancaster and His Children - The close bonds which Edward II's cousin Henry of Lancaster, earl of Lancaster and Leicester, forged with his children have fascinated me for a long time...7 months ago
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Urbenville Adventure - Wow, Urbenville, what an adventure! An approach so tough I nearly threw up. Climbs so hard I’m still hurting. Plants so vicious, one grass-spike tore my co...
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Trip to Brazil 2024 - Landing in the Megalopolis of Sao Paulo On February 7th I flew to Sao Paulo, Brazil to start a 17 day teachi...
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Happy Public Domain Day 2024, the end of copyright for 1928 works - My annual reminder that January 1st is Public Domain Day, and this year copyright has ended for books, movies, and music first published in the U.S. in 192...10 months ago
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The White Horse Band - Live Blues/Rock - 31 March 2023 Hi All, Time for some LIVE Video Music from me… (as opposed to my original stuff)…. I got into a blues/rock band for a one off gig at ...11 months ago
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Konrath Thanksgiving - Black Friday - Cyber Monday Kindle Bundle Sale - *Get all of my ebook box sets on Amazon Kindle for 99 cents each, November 23 - 28.* *THAT'S 33¢ PER BOOK!* Almost my entire backlist of fifty-four ebooks...
11 months ago -
Questions from year 9 students - Recently – actually, not very recently but I somehow forgot to write this sooner – I did what has become an annual online Q&A with the Year 9 girls at Bedf...1 year ago
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Flogometer 1180 for Christian—will you be moved to turn the page? - Submissions sought. Get fresh eyes on your opening page. Submission directions below. The Flogometer challenge: can you craft a first page that compels me ...1 year ago
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Storny Weather - I've just been out fixing up the damage from last night's storm. This is pretty much the first time I've been able to spend much time outside and do any...1 year ago
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Parody - The other day, for the first time in a very long time, I heard the Barbie Song. So, being me, I decided to parody it, in hour of Alianore Audley and *The...1 year ago
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Parody - The other day, for the first time in a very long time, I heard the Barbie Song. So, being me, I decided to write a parody. Hope you like it! *Hiya, Ali...1 year ago
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#MemorialDay, remembering a female patriot ancestor - *© 2022 Christy K Robinson* We are taught stories about heroic men who gave their lives to bring independence and liberty to their families, friends--and...
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A tale of two titles - I have done something notably foolish. Which is perhaps nothing new, though the circumstances on this occasion are unusual. To whit, I am publishing two bo...
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Poem: If Wishes were horses - A team of horses racing toward me Brown like the uniforms of soldiers fortressing me around Speckled like a found family, salt of the earth Whit...1 year ago
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another review for the Christmas Maze - *The Christmas Maze by Danny Fahey – a Review by David Collis* Why do we seek to be good, to make the world a better place? Why do we seek to be ethi...2 years ago
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Children’s Rights QLD Ambassador - Children’s Rights QLD appointed Karen Tyrrell (me) Ambassador for Logan City, ahead of Children’s Week, 24-29 Oct 2022. I’m an award-winning child-empowe...2 years ago
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ANWERING THE CALL: LESSONS FROM THE THRESHOLD - NEXT STORY SANCTUARY "Anwering the Call: Lessons from the Threshold" Sept. 20, 7 pm eastern $30 Online Whether you're starting a project, a school year, ...
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Publishing Contracts 101: Beware Internal Contradications - It should probably go without saying that you don't want your publishing contract to include clauses that contradict one another. Beyond any potential l...
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Website Update - My website www.stephendedman.com has been updated, with details of my latest books; please check it out!3 years ago
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Non-Binary Authors To Read: July 2021 - Non-Binary Authors To Read is a regular column from A.C. Wise highlighting non-binary authors of speculative fiction and recommending a starting place fo...3 years ago
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ATTENTION: YOU CAN’T LOG IN HERE - Hey YOU! This isn’t the forum. You’re trying to login to the Web site. THE FORUMS ARE HERE: CLICK THIS The post ATTENTION: YOU CAN’T LOG IN HERE a...3 years ago
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I'M INSIDE A SHORT STORY!! - Ok everyone, you have to read this very short short story. Firstly because it is good, (check out the Bligh story within it too), but also because I'm ...3 years ago
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Grandmother Dragon Forever - It feels like centuries since the last time I wrote something for the Dragon Cave. Only something of great importance would drag me out of my retirement...
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What communicates power? - Well, I have to say, I wasn't expecting to get this far behind on my reports on the show, but the launch month was very busy, and then the next month turne...
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The Legendary Game Pac-Man Has No Meaning. - [image: The Legendary Game Pac-Man Has No Meaning.] The Legendary Game Pac-Man Has No Meaning. Let's take a look at how this word came about. Actually, P...
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Readers Notice and They Care - Readers care about story details and they care about characters. Both last night and this afternoon I had conversations with readers upset about the way au...4 years ago
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Review of Verdi's MacBeth (WA Opera) - *Our president, Frances Dharmalingham, has written a critique of a recent visit to the opera: Verdi’s ‘Macbeth’.* At Christmas 2018, my family’s gift to ...
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Breakout 3: tips for engaging your audience - Tips for engaging your audience: how to improve presentation, public speaking confidence and presence on stage, no matter how small the stage is. Present...5 years ago
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The Trains Don't Stop Here - It's been a long, long time since my last blog post. One of the main reasons for this – apart from life being way too busy in general – is that, in my dwin...
5 years ago -
Portrait of a first generation freed African American family - Sanford Huggins (c.1844–1889) and Mary Ellen Pryor (c.1851–1889), his wife, passed the early years of their lives in Woodford County, Kentucky, and later...5 years ago
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New releases - SFFBookBonanza - StoryOrigin - SciFi and Fantasy Book Sale - New Releases – Jul 2019 The latest and greatest new releases in Science Fiction and Fantasy books! New releases July 2019 99 cent sale - July 22nd - 28t...
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On Indefinite Hiatus - (Which I pretty much have been from this site for a while already, but for real now.) You can find most archive content through the On Writing page, and li...6 years ago
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Book Review - Nobody by Threasa Meads - Available from BooktopiaThe subtitle for this work is *A Liminal Autobiography*. Liminal: 1. relating to a transitional or initial stage of a process. 2...
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A whole 'nother year-and-a-bit - Well, we have let this blog slip, haven't we? I guess Facebook has taken over from blogs to a very large degree, but I think there is still a need for blo...
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2017 Potential Bee Calendar – & ladybirds and butterflies - Bees on flowers – all sorts of flowers (& bees) – and lady birds and butterflies. There were hundreds (literally) of photos to choose from. This is a small...7 years ago
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What is dyslexia? - *" **The bottob line it thit it doet exitt, no bitter whit nibe teottle give it(i.e ttecific lierning ditibility, etc) iccording to Thilly Thiywitz ( 2003)...
8 years ago -
Rai stones - *(Paraphrased from Wikipedia)*: Rai stones were, and in some cases are still, the currency of the island once called Yap. *They are stone coins which at th...11 years ago
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Cherries In The Snow - This recipe is delicious and can also be made as a diet dessert by using fat and/or sugar free ingredients. It’s delicious and guests will think it took ...12 years ago
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Al Milgrom’s connection to “Iron Man” - Via the Ann Arbor online newspaper - I felt it was worth repeating as a great example of Marvel doing the right thing by a former employee and without the ...
14 years ago
Places I've lived: Manchester, UK
Places I've lived: Gippsland, Australia
Places I've lived: Geelong, Australia
Places I've lived: Tamworth, NSW
Places I've Lived - Sydney
Sydney Conservatorium - my old school
Places I've lived: Auckland, NZ
Places I've Lived: Mount Gambier
Blue Lake
Places I've lived: Adelaide, SA
Places I've Lived: Perth by Day
From Kings Park
Places I've lived: High View, WV
Places I've lived: Lynton, Devon, UK
Places I've lived: Braemar, Scotland
Places I've lived: Barre, MA, USA
Places I've Lived: Perth by Night
From Kings Park
Inner Peace Blog
Awarded by Joanna Fay. Click on the image to visit her lovely website!
Versatile Blogger Award
Awarded by Kim Falconer. Click on the pic to check out her Quantum Astrology blog!
Fabulous Blog Award
Awarded by Kathryn Warner. Click on the pic to check out her Edward II blog!
Wednesday, 20 December 2006
Where did the last week go?
Wednesday, December 20, 2006 | 
Posted by
Satima Flavell
Omigod, it's almost Christmas! Actually, insofar as such ideosyncracy is possible in our society, I'm opting out. I've sent no cards (although I will write greeting letters to the few friends I won't see and who don't have e-mail) and there's absolutely no money for gifts in my present impecunious state.
I will, however, eat as many mince pies as are on offer. I wait all year for mince pies. As soon as they are in the shops I buy packet after packet, a different one each week; trying out brands, comparing them to my memory of earlier mince pie delights, and especially remembering my mother baking them from scratch. Now those were mince pies! They contained real lard and sundry other strangenesses, and omigod, they were good! No mince pies since have borne comparison, but that doesn't mean I won't keep looking...and buying...and tasting. Mmmmmm...
Merry Christmas, everyone!
I will, however, eat as many mince pies as are on offer. I wait all year for mince pies. As soon as they are in the shops I buy packet after packet, a different one each week; trying out brands, comparing them to my memory of earlier mince pie delights, and especially remembering my mother baking them from scratch. Now those were mince pies! They contained real lard and sundry other strangenesses, and omigod, they were good! No mince pies since have borne comparison, but that doesn't mean I won't keep looking...and buying...and tasting. Mmmmmm...
Merry Christmas, everyone!
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8 comments:
Lard, eh? Them wuz the days ... I can remember my mother saving the dripping. I have a vivid picture of it sitting in the fridge waiting to be re-used for cooking other stuff. Nobody worried about the state of their arteries in the 1950s.
Heh heh - as a product of WWII I well remember dripping. You know, the goey dark stuff with all the meat juices burnt in. When it was past being reused we'd have it spread on bread.
And clogged arteries not withstanding, it was yummy.
Mince pies. How could you resist them? Why should you? Although they're on my 'forbidden because they make me sick' list, I always manage a few and suffer the consequences much to my family's bemusement.
My very British mum makes the best mince pies. She doesn't use lard any more, but does spike the fruit mince with lots of alcohol. Can't resist them.
There was suet in the fruit as well as lard in the pastry. I think my mum used to put a dash of brandy in, too. And we talk about junk food today!
You are with mince pies as I am with chocolate, Helen. An excess gives me the worst migraines possible, yet confronted by a superfluity of the stuff I feel obliged to gobble the lot, with disastrous consequences. Somehow, I just forget in between!
Carol, ask your mum for the recipe. Such treasures should not be allowed to die with their owners.
Yep, my mum gives me her recipes. Yorkshire pudding, dumplings, steak and kidney pie (except I leave the kidney out), shepherd's pie, christmas pudding, rhubarb and apple pie...
Have a wonderful Christmas and New Year.
I heard a piece on mince pies the other day on ABC radio. Apparently the first ones had minced meat (not fruit mince) filling and were rectangular to represent the manger, with a tiny pastry baby Jesus on the top.
That reminds me of a time my mother offered one of her amazing mince pies to a very Occer neighbour - this was in the days before mince pies became commercially available here in Oz - and he poured tomato sauce on it. You can imagine the expression on his face when he discovered that it did not contain meat, but fruit!