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

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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Sunday, 25 August 2013

Time for another reality check?

Sunday, August 25, 2013 | Posted by Satima Flavell

Some of my old posts get a fair number of hits. One of them is a meme that originated with British author Charles Stross - Reality check: So you want to be a writer , which I wrote in December 2008. I just reread it and realised that I've progressed very little since I wrote that post.

In fact, it's now five years later, and I still haven't sold a novel. A couple of short pieces, yes, and lots of reviews and feature articles. But although I've had a lot of praise from various quarters for my novels - still no sale.

I read a book a year or two back that listed all the things that might prevent one from being published. I was able to tick the right boxes for all except the last, which said (and I paraphrase) - One last thing: if you're doing everything else right, and you're over fifty, it may well be your age. Publishers want to get at least twenty years out of an author, and once you're over fifty that is less likely to happen.

Well, I'm certainly over fifty, and have been for quite a while. What's more, I've never made any secret of the fact.

It's starting to look more and more as if self-publishing is the way to go. I know I have written a perfectly good, if conventional, epic fantasy, and I know a lot of people would enjoy reading it. What's holding me back is the knowledge that most self-published books (and, incidentally, most books from small presses) sell less than a hundred copies, and that wouldn't cover the expenses of self-publishing, even just e-publishing. So I'm in a bit of a quandary.

The inner discusssion continues. Will I or won't I? I'll keep you posted.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Satima! Charles Stross is British! & don't give up. Keep writing.

Sunday, August 25, 2013
Satima Flavell said...

Argh! I got Stross mixed up with a writer from New York whose name eludes me. Thanks for reminding me, Keira - I've fixed it now.

I think I shall get back to writing but right now I'm going through an 'Is it all worth it?' phase.

Sunday, August 25, 2013
Unknown said...

Elizabeth Jolley was well over fifty when she sold her first novel, and she went on to amass a pretty decent body of work. Every rule has its exceptions and, as a friend, I'd like to think you'll go on to be another exception to that particular piece of nonsense.

Sunday, August 25, 2013
Satima Flavell said...

Thanks for the encouragement, Lee and Keira! Our society seems to have become quite ageist in recent years, but there will always be some people who see through appearances to what the person has to offer. At least, I hope so! :-)

Sunday, August 25, 2013
Sue Bursztynski said...

No question about ageism. And it isn't only publishers. The writers' festivals and such want to make a fuss over pretty young things who have sold their first book at nineteen. They're the ones who get invited to speak after a first book. Book, did I say? This year the MWF have invited a teenage blogger as GoH! As if there weren't about a million of them around. At seventeen, she gets to address the Melbourne Writers' Festival audience. Which says more about the festival than it does about her.

That said, my school recently hosted a boy writer who left the girls weak at the knees and got some glares from their boyfriends... ;-) Mind you, he's VERY good. His first novel was terrific, his second even better.

Don't give up. You never know what will happen. It took years before I sold a novel that had done the rounds for who knows how long and suddenly got picked up by someone who'd had to reject it, years ago, for reasons unconnected with iits quality. It even got back its advance.

Monday, August 26, 2013
Satima Flavell said...

Thanks for the encouragement, Sue. But yes, this ageism thing is very real. As an older woman, I am virtually invisible - glances dismiss me before the glancer even has chance to register my presence.

But a youthful prodigy - ah, that's a different matter! It's natural to praise and encourage talented youngsters, but not always a good thing - so often talented people are burnt out before they reach their full potential, and that's a shame.

Monday, August 26, 2013
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