About Me

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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

The Cloak of Challiver, Book two of The Talismans

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.

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Places I've lived: Manchester, UK

Places I've lived: Manchester, UK

Places I've lived: Gippsland, Australia

Places I've lived: Gippsland, Australia

Places I've lived: Geelong, Australia

Places I've lived: Geelong,  Australia

Places I've lived: Tamworth, NSW

Places I've lived: Tamworth, NSW

Places I've Lived - Sydney

Places I've Lived - Sydney
Sydney Conservatorium - my old school

Places I've lived: Auckland, NZ

Places I've lived: Auckland, NZ

Places I've Lived: Mount Gambier

Places I've Lived: Mount Gambier
Blue Lake

Places I've lived: Adelaide, SA

Places I've lived: Adelaide, SA

Places I've Lived: Perth by Day

Places I've Lived: Perth by Day
From Kings Park

Places I've lived: High View, WV

Places I've lived: High View, WV

Places I've lived: Lynton, Devon, UK

Places I've lived: Lynton, Devon, UK

Places I've lived: Braemar, Scotland

Places I've lived: Braemar, Scotland

Places I've lived: Barre, MA, USA

Places I've lived: Barre, MA, USA

Places I've Lived: Perth by Night

Places I've Lived: Perth by Night
From Kings Park

Inner Peace Blog

Inner Peace Blog
Awarded by Joanna Fay. Click on the image to visit her lovely website!

Versatile Blogger Award

Versatile Blogger Award
Awarded by Kim Falconer. Click on the pic to check out her Quantum Astrology blog!

Fabulous Blog Award

Fabulous Blog Award
Awarded by Kathryn Warner. Click on the pic to check out her Edward II blog!

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Friday 18 February 2011

On being bewilderingly busy

This fun, zany pic is Circus Amok Jugglers by David Shankbone, New York City. This is how I've been feeling lately. I am really four people, each one juggling several objects...

I don't know what has happened to my life over the last three months. Actually, I do know, in a piecemeal kind of way - I've moved back to Perth from Mount Gambier, where I've officially been living for the last four years, even though I've actually managed to spend a good deal of my time back in Perth, house-sitting. I'm still doing that, and because I had an almost full year of engagements--if you count the Swancon SF convention and a meditation retreat!--I am assured of accommodation. Thanks to a kind friend, I have a place to stay between engagements, so I decided to take the plunge by giving up my flat in Mount Gambier and taking myself back to Perth on the strength of little more than a wing and a prayer. I am now busily applying for various kinds of accommodation for next year, since public housing and retirement village rentals both have long waiting lists. Wish me luck!

Anyhow, moving house tends to take at least three weeks out of my life. I know this because I've done it so often - my current address is about my fortieth! There was, of course, the usual Christmas kerfuffle (I become a stauncher supporter of the Bah Humbug brigade every year) and also I was desperately trying to get the magnum opus revised in time to send it to an agent who was kind enough to express interest in it last year. This agency only opens its books a couple of times a year and I was most disgruntled at having to pass up that window of opportunity. But with everything else that has been going on, the magnum opus has had to sit on the backburner much of the time, and I've been feeling very depressed as a result. A writer who has no time to write is a sorry creature indeed.

Yet as soon as I got back to Perth, the editing diary suddenly started to fill, which gives me confidence that I have done the right thing. Isn't it funny how when a thing is "right", we know it, because things start to flow along freely.

Another bit of busy-ness is, of course, The Specusphere. This year we are reverting to a rolling system of publication. Instead of putting an issue to bed on the first Sunday of each even-numbered month, we are going to put up reviews and articles as they come in. You can see the last formally dated edition here - just click on the cover for a list of contents. There are ten new reviews, thanks to our doughty team of reviewers, and we shall add more over the coming months as they come to hand. Here are the newly harvested ones:

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, reviewed by Bobbi Sinha-Morey
Blackout and All Clear by Connie Willis, reviewed by Satima Flavell
Chains of Ice by Christina Dodd, reviewed by Bobbi Sinha-Morey
Taken By Midnight by Lara Adrian, reviewed by Bobbi Sinha-Moery
The Alchemist in the Shadows by Pierre Pevel, reviewed by Astrid Cooper
The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi, reviewed by Ian Banks
The Vespertine by Saundra Mitchell, reviewed by Katherine Petersen
The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi, reviewed by Ian Banks
Tymon’s Flight by Mary Victoria, reviewed by Carol Ryles
Wolfborn by Sue Burstynski, reviewed by Katherine Petersen

And if you're a writer who loves myths and legends, be sure to click through to our submission guidelines, too. We are planning an anthology of speculative fiction stories and poems based on old tales. We have a few very good submissions so far but we're also receiving a lot of material that isn't suitable, one way or the other. Rather than change the ethos of the anthology, we're going to hold off publication until we get our ten or fifteen really great stories that owe their inspiration directly to a myth, a legend or a folktale. Please write one for us!
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