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.
My books
The first two books of my trilogy, The Talismans, (The Dagger of Dresnia, and book two, The Cloak of Challiver) are available in e-book format from Smashwords, Amazon and other online sellers. Book three of the trilogy, The Seer of Syland, is in preparation.I also have a short story, 'La Belle Dame', in print - see Mythic Resonance below - as well as well as a few poems in various places.
The best way to contact me is via Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/satimaflavell
Buy The Talismans
The first two books of The Talismans trilogy were published by Satalyte Publications, which, sadly, has gone out of business. However, The Dagger of Dresnia and The Cloak of Challiver are available as ebooks on the usual book-selling websites, and book three, The Seer of Syland, is in preparation.
The easiest way to contact me is via Facebook.
The Dagger of Dresnia
![The Dagger of Dresnia](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Uduncpo58nk/XS6xXZnYwVI/AAAAAAAACjw/5tatHV2WGWsKHt9pH4SUvu92EuWq7YVlgCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/Dagger%2Bnew%2Bcover.jpg)
The Cloak of Challiver, Book two of The Talismans
![The Cloak of Challiver, Book two of The Talismans](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N1W1-a7_SuM/W4OwKurMYMI/AAAAAAAACZ4/KwCz_vqjRoIVqHriv3YC9yt4Br3fih3XwCK4BGAYYCw/s253/Cloak%2Bcover.jpg)
Available as an e-book on Amazon and other online booksellers.
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.
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For Readers, Writers & Editors
- A dilemma about characters
- Adelaide Writers Week, 2009
- Adjectives, commas and confusion
- An artist's conflict
- An editor's role
- Authorial voice, passive writing and the passive voice
- Common misuses: common expressions
- Common misuses: confusing words
- Common misuses: pronouns - subject and object
- Conversations with a character
- Critiquing Groups
- Does length matter?
- Dont sweat the small stuff: formatting
- Free help for writers
- How much magic is too much?
- Know your characters via astrology
- Like to be an editor?
- Modern Writing Techniques
- My best reads of 2007
- My best reads of 2008
- My favourite dead authors
- My favourite modern authors
- My influential authors
- Planning and Flimmering
- Planning vs Flimmering again
- Psychological Spec-Fic
- Readers' pet hates
- Reading, 2009
- Reality check: so you want to be a writer?
- Sensory detail is important!
- Speculative Fiction - what is it?
- Spelling reform?
- Substantive or linking verbs
- The creative cycle
- The promiscuous artist
- The revenge of omni rampant
- The value of "how-to" lists for writers
- Write a decent synopsis
- Write a review worth reading
- Writers block 1
- Writers block 2
- Writers block 3
- Writers need editors!
- Writers, Depression and Addiction
- Writing in dialect, accent or register
- Writing it Right: notes for apprentice authors
Interviews with authors
My Blog List
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Elyse Watches The Bachelorette–S21 E2 & 3: Thunder from Down Under - This week, due to my life being full of busy adult things, I’m recapping two episodes in one. Yes, that’s a lot for any liver to take, but I have my emotio...7 hours ago
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Hay Bales Sling, Are You Listening - The terrible pun in the headline is its own reward (or crime, depending), but I will say that I was moved to look out the office window because I heard an ...7 hours ago
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What Medieval People Thought of Different Religions: Insights from Francesco Suriano - Have you ever wondered how people in the Middle Ages viewed those of different faiths?11 hours ago
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Going bush… - Last week we took a road trip to visit friends in Waterloo. Not the Waterloo in Europe or the Waterloo Abba sang about. This is Arthur Creek Farm, a six-ho...12 hours ago
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When Your (Story) World Falls Apart - Maybe, just maybe, the inspirations for my WU posts are at times a little too on the nose. I mean, who would have thought that four years after a global ...16 hours ago
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Newsletter 26th July 2024 - Hello layghouls and gentlefiends How the fuck are ya? I hope this finds you well. I think it’s been a minute between newsletters, my apologies for that. ...1 day ago
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Angelica Kauffman by Miranda Miller - *Angelica Paintress of Minds*, my novel about the eighteenth -century artist Angelica Kauffman, was published by The Barbican Press in 2020. Publicati...1 day ago
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A whale of a blog - A whale of a blog The title of this post embodies everything I despise about cheap journalism, but the temptation was too strong, because today’s topic i...2 days ago
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The Great Discworld Retrospective No. 22: The Last Continent - The oldest – and possibly least useful – piece of writing advice is to write what you know about. Most authors of Speculative Fiction (that’s Science Ficti...2 days ago
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Achieving Goals - This week I think I’m going to achieve a goal and if I’m lucky two of them. In the day job, I have scaled down to two days a week, starting this week. This...3 days ago
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Achieving Goals - This week I think I’m going to achieve a goal and if I’m lucky two of them. In the day job, I have scaled down to two days a week, starting this week. This...3 days ago
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‘Perfectly suited to time travel’: Audio drama at The National Archives - Artistic director Fin Kennedy and writer Mel Pennant discuss audio storytelling. The post ‘Perfectly suited to time travel’: Audio drama at The National ...3 days ago
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The Punishment Model of Traffic Control - So I recently read a news piece about the effectiveness of speed cameras, and the conclusion was, basically: They Don’t do shit.That fits. No surprises the...5 days ago
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Don’t Get Burned Out! Top 8 Self-Care Ideas For Writers - Self-care tips When you’re suffering through rejections, self-doubt, and criticism, it’s important to know how to take care of yourself. These self-care ...5 days ago
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5 Common Problems With Endings - *By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy* *Your ending is the whole point of your book.* This is the last post in my mini-series on common problems in beginnings,...1 week ago
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Christina McDonald - Christina McDonald is the USA Today and Amazon Charts bestselling author of What Lies In Darkness, The Stranger At Black Lake, These Still Black Waters, Do...1 week ago
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Publication day for Diemens! - ‘A cracking tale that closely follows the historical context’ —Aunty Patsy Cameron ‘I am George Baggs, wrenched from the cradle of my birthing and flung a...2 weeks ago
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In Which I Win Books And get A Fan Letter! - I’d like to share with you a happy-making thing I received this week. A few weeks ago, I entered the competition for the celebration of the twentieth an...3 weeks ago
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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 weeks 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...5 weeks 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...5 weeks ago
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Heritage Auction wrap up - I'm starting to hear that the money that came in from the Heritage Auction is going out to people and doing what I hoped it would do, which is make life ea...1 month ago
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#4 WEP GET TOGETHER - JUNE 2024 - An Opportunity to Share! - Hi WEPpers and friends! Already time for our fourth Get Together. And boy is life flashing by! Hit us with your news, writerly or personal. It's June,...1 month ago
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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...1 month ago
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The Shark Is Closed for Queries - Please visit In Memoriam: Janet Reid for more about the late great Shark.3 months ago
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'The Tic-Toc Boy of Constantinople' in the revered The Conversation as one of five "Australian literary works of particular relevance to national conversations about AI" - I've always respected and admired *The Conversation, *so it is a humbling privilege to have 'The Tic-Toc Boy of Constantinople' written about in *The Con...3 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...3 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...3 months ago
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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...4 months ago
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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...6 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 ...7 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...8 months ago
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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...8 months ago
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On Ohio, and the novels, and the new class - Just small news here. The new class is finished in first draft, and I’m now (and for the first time ever) doing the complete course bug-hunt and clean-up B...9 months 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 ...11 months 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...11 months 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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To Live and Love - To live and love for the both of us Ten years ago today I made that vow I've struggled in the decade since Not always knowing exactly how Ten years you've...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...1 year ago
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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...1 year ago
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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...1 year 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...1 year 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, ...1 year ago
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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...2 years ago
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Tara Sharp is back and in audio book - SHARP IS BACK! Marianne Delacourt and Twelfth Planet Press are delighted to announce the fifth Tara Sharp story, a novella entitled RAZOR SHARP, will be ...2 years ago
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Website Update - My website www.stephendedman.com has been updated, with details of my latest books; please check it out!2 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...3 years ago
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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...4 years ago
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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...4 years ago
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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 ...4 years ago
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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...4 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...4 years ago
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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...4 years ago
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Revisiting the Comma Splice - One of the difficulties as an editor, particularly when working with fiction, is to know when to be a stickler for the rules. For some people this is not a...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...5 years ago
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Assassin’s Apprentice Read Along - This month, in preparation for the October release of the Illustrated 25th Anniversary edition of Assassin’s Apprentice, with interior art by Magali Villan...5 years ago
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STOLEN PICTURE OPTIONS TELEVISION RIGHTS TO BEN AARONOVITCH’S RIVERS OF LONDON - *STOLEN PICTURE OPTIONS TELEVISION RIGHTS TO BEN AARONOVITCH’S * *RIVERS OF LONDON* *London, UK: 29April 2019*: Nick Frost and Simon Pegg’s UK-based ...5 years ago
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A Movie That No Writer Should See Alone - Really. REALLY. Trust me on this. particularly since this film, ‘Can you ever forgive me?’, is based on a ‘True story’ – and too many writers will see too...5 years ago
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Review: Trace: who killed Maria James? - [image: Trace: who killed Maria James?] Trace: who killed Maria James? by Rachael Brown My rating: 5 of 5 stars Absolutely jaw-dropping, compelling readin...5 years ago
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Dance Photo Shoots - Photo Session Planning & Preparation Have you ever wanted to do a photo shoot for dance but have been a little unsure about how and what really happens? ...5 years ago
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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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2017 Ditmar Winners Announced - Over the Queen’s Birthday weekend, spec fic fans gathered for Continuum 13: Triskaidekaphilia. Continuum is always a great convention, and this year it was...7 years ago
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Writing about the Crusades and talking about a "meddlesome priest" - The Middle Ages are in the news again, so here is a roundup of recent news articles. We start with three good reads from historians talking about the crusa...7 years ago
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The One and the Many – every Sunday - My first serious girlfriend came from good Roman Catholic stock. Having tried (and failed) to be raised as a Christian child and finding nothing but lifele...7 years ago
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A Shameless Plug Ian Likes: Bibliorati.com - A little-known fact is that I once had a gig reviewing books for five years. It was for a now-defunct website known as The Specusphere. It was awesome fun:...7 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...7 years ago
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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...7 years ago
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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
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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...10 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 ...11 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
Favourite Sites
- Alan Baxter
- Andrew McKiernan
- Bren McDibble
- Celestine Lyons
- Guy Gavriel Kay
- Hal Spacejock (Simon Haynes)
- Inventing Reality
- Jacqueline Carey
- Jennifer Fallon
- Jessica Rydill
- Jessica Vivien
- Joel Fagin
- Juliet Marillier
- KA Bedford
- Karen Miller
- KSP Writers Centre
- Lynn Flewelling
- Marianne de Pierres
- Phill Berrie
- Ryan Flavell
- Satima's Professional Editing Services
- SF Novelists' Blog
- SF Signal
- Shane Jiraiya Cummings
- Society of Editors, WA
- Stephen Thompson
- Yellow wallpaper
Blog Archive
Places I've lived: Manchester, UK
![Places I've lived: Manchester, UK](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gJ5G8eIPP-U/TpVJWggyj7I/AAAAAAAAA9k/DePO8b7xxkY/s253/Manchester_City_Skyline.jpg)
Places I've lived: Gippsland, Australia
![Places I've lived: Gippsland, Australia](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pfZUqPJwiLk/TpVTByq2hxI/AAAAAAAAA-g/LYZNDZxL3KU/s253/280px-Yallourn-w-power-station-australia.jpg)
Places I've lived: Geelong, Australia
![Places I've lived: Geelong, Australia](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4g9KFY76OEg/TpVRxacVJaI/AAAAAAAAA-U/qYa63kCR5vo/s253/View_from_Geelong_ferris_wheel.jpg)
Places I've lived: Tamworth, NSW
![Places I've lived: Tamworth, NSW](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MdfH1pw9fAo/TpVcOXZf9GI/AAAAAAAAA-4/i20gv-USt9A/s253/Tamworth-lookout.jpg)
Places I've Lived - Sydney
![Places I've Lived - Sydney](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BbZJBPX_ng8/StB_ALnfi7I/AAAAAAAAAjk/4v5eQNzkhkc/S275/Sydney+Con.jpg)
Sydney Conservatorium - my old school
Places I've lived: Auckland, NZ
![Places I've lived: Auckland, NZ](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j0gx-oZORHQ/TpVKutTjmSI/AAAAAAAAA9w/HTEyxNHiqW0/s253/Auckland-CBD.jpg)
Places I've Lived: Mount Gambier
![Places I've Lived: Mount Gambier](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BbZJBPX_ng8/StBy0m2FkqI/AAAAAAAAAjY/Zmj5nkXlChM/S275/2008-01-24+Blue+Lake.jpg)
Blue Lake
Places I've lived: Adelaide, SA
![Places I've lived: Adelaide, SA](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--2INc53gmRY/TpVepxxbLaI/AAAAAAAAA_E/JjeRWVNBNQQ/s253/Adelaide-AGSAfront.jpg)
Places I've Lived: Perth by Day
![Places I've Lived: Perth by Day](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BbZJBPX_ng8/StBvZyAYOBI/AAAAAAAAAjI/odsahns1DFo/S150/Perth+by+Day.jpg)
From Kings Park
Places I've lived: High View, WV
![Places I've lived: High View, WV](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RmeMOR3mKs4/TpVhZ2RG1aI/AAAAAAAAA_Q/g6x7hIm8tB4/s253/Bahvana%2BCenter.jpg)
Places I've lived: Lynton, Devon, UK
![Places I've lived: Lynton, Devon, UK](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FyRc2CcV250/TpVQQHwckqI/AAAAAAAAA-I/t6dVxeTYBAw/s253/Valley%2Bof%2Bthe%2BRocks%2BHotel.jpg)
Places I've lived: Braemar, Scotland
![Places I've lived: Braemar, Scotland](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--pBAyzGUgAk/TpVbkv0_pLI/AAAAAAAAA-s/sQsinViG_nY/s253/Braemar-Kindrochit-Castle-03.jpg)
Places I've lived: Barre, MA, USA
![Places I've lived: Barre, MA, USA](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eeJzppBOPx0/TpVMJ7eelsI/AAAAAAAAA98/H2rqAIVWi2U/s253/IMS.jpg)
Places I've Lived: Perth by Night
![Places I've Lived: Perth by Night](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BbZJBPX_ng8/StBvtLGHjbI/AAAAAAAAAjQ/e0k_1mIqhf4/S150/Perth+by+Night.jpg)
From Kings Park
Versatile Blogger Award
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Tuesday 3 February 2009
Fresh Fields, Reading and Recipes
![](http://lh5.ggpht.com/_BbZJBPX_ng8/TEuxYqpjRTI/AAAAAAAAAx4/3A4x5WEA0eQ/s320/postdateicon.png)
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I could have asked Jo ten questions instead of five, but five's the deal so I stuck to that. You can find an extended version of this interview on Jo's blog, complete with pics of the finished recipes.
Q1. What made you and Matt decide to move from the UK to Canada? Was it a good move for you?
A1. We found that the UK was getting somewhat stifling. There was no room to stretch out one's arms and for people like us, not a lot of room for advancement. It was a bigger wrench for Matt because he has two children. My parents were living in the Meditarranean region by then anyway and I have no siblings. In fact my father died shortly before we emigrated, having said previously that he thought it the best move we could make.
Yes, it was a great move. We have lived in North America, mainly Canada, since 1975 and have, we think, had a much better life than had we stayed in the UK. We had two homes, one in Canada and one in North Carolina and have enjoyed our time in both places. Our Canadian home had a pool in the back yard, I don't think that would have been possible, or, come to that, particularly enjoyable, in England - the weather isn't really good enough. We certainly spent a lot of time in our pool; we lived outside all summer and had all kinds of pool parties. We also had a travel trailer/caravan which we trailed around Ontario and the States and had a wonderful time visiting both people and places.
Q2. What other countries have you visited or lived in? Are there any more that you really long to see?
A2. As I have just mentioned, we lived in North Carolina in the States for about 12 years. We loved it there: the weather was excellent, apart from the odd hurricane, and the living was easy. We had a delightful property of about 1/2 an acre with a double wide mobile home which was a great place to live. We were 15 minutes from the sea shore and could easily feast on shrimp in particular and lots of other seafood fresh out of the water. Whilst in NC we went on a Caribbean cruise with some friends and spent a lot of time travelling in the States. Other than that, before we moved here, I had visited Norway, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Belgium, France, Italy, Greece, Yugoslavia (as it was then) Malta and Spain - I particularly loved Greece, France and Spain. I speak pretty good French, moderate Spanish and a smattering of Greek which helped. Maybe I should say 'spoke', I'm pretty rusty in those languages nowadays although there was some opportunity to use French when I was working here in Canada. My parents lived in Malta once they retired so we joined them there for vacations, although I had already spent two weeks there before they retired. My parents, and therefore I, lived on a boat from shortly after the Second World War, which accounted for my visits to so many countries. When my father retired, he sailed his current home to Malta. Later, things got politically uncomfortable for the Brits in Malta so he moved to Spain, calling in at Southern France on the way where we also joined them. Later they bought a house in Spain and sold the boat. I have also visited the Bahamas for a few days and spent two weeks in The Dominican Republic and another two weeks in Southern Portugal which we loved. In fact I have thoroughly enjoyed most of the countries I have visited.
I would love to visit Asia. Ever since I read Shogun by James Clavell, I have wanted to visit Japan. I would also like to go to Hong Kong, plus see some of the interior of China, which looks so beautiful. I would also love to visit Oz, as much to see some of my cyber friends as to see the country. In fact I once had an ambition to visit one town in every country of the world. It will not, unhappily, come to fruition, but if I could, I would still love to travel a lot more.
Q3. Jo, I know you're an avid reader. Can you pick two contrasting books that you've enjoyed recently and tell us a bit about them and why you liked them?
A3. It's not that long since I read Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, which was a fascinating book and quite outside my normal choice. These days I tend to stick to what you, Satima, call Speculative Fiction which I gather includes both hard sci fi and fantasy. Water for Elephants was a very poignant story about an old man living in a nursing home and reliving memories of his time living and working in a circus and his delight and friendship with the circus's only elephant. The elephant was somewhat mistreated by the official 'handler' who eventually gets his comeuppance. The reminiscences are interrupted occasionally by returns to the nursing home in the current day, with the old man worrying about whether he will get to see a visiting circus.He ends up stealing away from the home to visit the circus all on his own as his family forget about him. Because he does so, his life changes.
One of the biggest contrasts was The Empress (of Mijak) by Karen Miller. The protagonist was/is an absolute horror. From the beginning of her story one has a little sympathy for her: life was extremely hard, but she comes to believe that her God has chosen her and any atrocity she commits in the name of this God is OK and is on behalf of her country of Mijak. By the end of the book she has caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands. There is no assimilation of conquered peoples - they are either killed or enslaved: mostly killed. An excellent book despite the horror of the woman. Book two is better and I await Book three with eagerness.
Q4. Bowling is another of your hobbies, isn't it? What made you take it up? Have you been doing it for very long? If not, did you play another sport, and if so what was it?
A4. We took up 5-pin bowling shortly after we emigrated (1975). We were introduced to it by friends who bowled and once we started we joined two leagues and bowled regularly for the winter seasons until we moved down to the Carolinas. There it is 10-pin bowling, and it wasn't really our thing, apart from which we couldn't get into a league; the nearest alley was 20 miles away and we would have had to join the bowling association whether we had managed to get a game or not. When we came back to Canada, we immediately re-joined the bowling alley we had been members of before, even though we now live in a different town. Unfortunately they have since closed down, although I read an article which said 5-pin bowling is alive and well. It is only played in Canada and was invented by a Canadian exactly 100 years ago this year (celebrations are in order) as a more difficult sport than 10-pin. We both thoroughly enjoy it and now bowl in a local alley.
Other than that I used to be a pretty keen golfer, Matt still is, but then I kind of lost my game and finding myself in tears of frustration on the course, decided this was no longer a sport and quit. A great pity in a way as I was laid off work for a whole summer one year and was out on the golf course at 7 a.m. every day. In England I avoided sports altogether for most of my life. Then, because I had almost drowned a couple of times, I took up scuba diving, which is where I met Matt. (We were both married at the time, but that's another story.) Funnily enough, neither of us has scuba dived since we came to Canada although Matt did lots of snorkelling in the Caribbean. (I did a little)
I have just remembered Cross Country Skiing! We took that up shortly after we moved to Canada as well. We loved it and found that there was never enough snow and the winter was never long enough. Matt, in particular, working shifts for a few years, used to come home after a night shift and immediately head out skiing which enabled him to see all kinds of wildlife just about to start their day, or their night, depending on the critter. Not something we can still enjoy unfortunately as Matt has had two hip and one knee replacement and I have had one hip done.
Q5. It's apparent that you love food and are an amazing cook. Have you a favourite recipe to share with us?
A5. My favourite recipes vary from year to year, I guess. One of my latest faves is Bobotie and Yellow Rice, which I recently posted in my blog. My father was always interested in food. When he married my mother she literally couldn't boil an egg; she used to say later that it is, in fact, a difficult thing to do. There was a story about how he picked her up from work one evening and they were going on somewhere else so he took her back to his flat/apartment whilst he changed. He was feeling peckish so asked her to make a bacon sandwich while he changed. He came back to find her in floods of tears because she had no idea how to make one. To me, later in life, knowing my mother for the great cook she was, this was a hilarious story. She could, and did, cook anything. She could out-gourmet most restaurants and knew the French names of everything even if her pronounciation left something to be desired. She was a much better cook than I will ever be. Her main recipe source originally was Mrs. Beeton who is a classic British cookbook author from way back. My mother's copy, which I now have, was dated 1935.
One of my favourite recipes from years back, one I have posted on my blog quite some time ago, is for what I call Tomato Toasts.
Tomato Toast
Toast as many slices of bread as you want.
Rub each slice with a clove of garlic while it is still warm
Spread the toast with a little olive oil, about 1 tsp.
Cover the toast with well seasoned slices of ripe tomato.
Eat and enjoy.
Variation: Sometimes we add Havarti Cheese over the tomatoes and broil/grill until melting.
I just remembered it's Groundhog Day today. I would think there is every possibility of all the groundhogs seeing their shadows - there is certainly a lot of very reflective snow about. If they don't see their shadows it means winter will soon end; otherwise they will retreat to their burrows for another 6 weeks. Our local one is called Wiarton Willie and I know most Canadians will hope and pray he doesn't see his shadow when he pokes his head out of his hole. Everyone has had enough of shovelling snow. This last week we have had piles of the stuff; not seen so much in years. What a pity we don't ski any more!
Thanks, Jo, for sharing the tomato toast recipe as well as snippets about your life. (Jo always has super recipes and foodie pictures on her blog - at least one every day, and some of them look so delicious I wish I was interested in cooking!)
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8 comments:
Thank YOU Satima for the interview. Surprisingly, I enjoyed doing it. I wasn't sure I would, but then I guess I like talking about myself, don't we all?
Forgot to ask, where did the gardening bit come from. I love to see a nice garden, but I sure don't like doing the work to make it that way.
Eek - sorry Jo - I've changed that to "garden enthusiast"!
I think this interview idea is great for sharing friends and I'm hoping it will send more people on the blog round:-) I really believe that relationships can only be made between people, not peoples. The internet is great for linking ordinary people with common interests, world-wide.
Yes, if you know what to ask people, you seem to, I wouldn't have a clue.
Has Mike replied to you yet?
No - did you pass on my message?
I most certainly did. He's a busy young man though, so maybe he hasn't had time to reply - although he did have a day off when it snowed.
Satima --
OK you can interview me too ...
Marilyn
OK Marilyn - I'll dream up some questions and post them here in the next day or two!