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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My Blog List

Blog Archive

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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Tuesday 22 April 2014

Swancon 2014


Well, another Swancon has come and gone. As always, there were excellent speakers and interesting panel topics. 

I was on four panels. The first was the most exciting for me as I was up there on the podium with a trio of well-known authors: Anne Bishop (The Black Jewels Trilogy) Jim Butcher (The Dresden Files series) and Dave Luckett (The Tenebran Trilogy - and writing as LS Lawrence, several YA historicals, including The Eagle of the East and Escape by Sea). We discussed worldbuilding and what pitfalls and problems can trip up the unwary writer. We had an excellent moderator in Doug Burbridge.


Swancon 2014's guests-of-honour: Isobelle Carmody, Sally Beasley, Jim Butcher and Anne Bishop. They are all excellent speakers and Jim Butcher is a very funny guy. He had the audience in stitches most of the time! (Photo: Sandra Chung)


On Saturday, I sat with Stephen Dedman, Sarah McFarlane, Ian Nichols and moderator Andy Hahn on a panel about remakes of Shakespeare. Seeing as there have been over 400 films and TV shows created from Shakespeare's life and works, I concentrated on ballets and operas. There was lively discussion from the floor and we all came away knowing a bit more about the greatest writer in English - and maybe in any other language, too.

Sunday's effort was 'How to Piss off a Publisher' with Andrew Harvey, Dave Luckett and Cat Sparks. As one who supplements her pension by mentoring and critiquing new writers, I had a lot to contribute to this one. The biggie, of course is 'READ THE F-ING GUIDELINES  FOR HEAVEN"S SAKE! and the second biggest is 'DON'T JUST READ THE GUIDELINES - DO AS THEY COMMAND!'

It's amazing how many beginning writers not only don't follow the publisher's guidelines but haven't haven't even bothered to learn basic English grammar, spelling, punctuation and syntax. These are the tools of the writer's trade, and without them you'll do about as well as a plumber trying to clear a blocked toilet with a screwdiver. There were some very long faces in the audience by the time we'd explained that it's a buyer's market and less than 1% of submissions to traditional publishers ever see the light of day.

Because of being on that panel I missed Glenda Larke's launch of her new trilogy, The Forsaken Lands. Book one, The Lascar's Dagger, is a great read. I haven't finished it yet but I'm deeply impressed by Glenda's poetic descriptions that subtly set the scene and her pacy narrative that is nonetheless full of juicy prose. How about 'He pushed himself up, blinded, utterly vulnerable, dripping blood and sneezing, blowing out clouds of gold-coloured powder'. I feel really sorry for Saker, while nonetheless laughing my head off as I imagine the scene.

On Monday, my fellow-panellists were Susanne Akerman, Stephen Dedman and Gina Goddard. We discussed what libraries meant to us: how they both informed and catered to our tastes in books and fulfilled our yearning for knowledge. Once again, there were animated contributions from the audience, all of whom, understandably, appeared to be well-read bibliophiles!

But the most exciting part of Swancon for me was the launch of my first novel, The Dagger of Dresnia, book one of The Talismans Trilogy. It was such a giddy-making event that I'm going to be really self-indulgent and give it its own post!





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