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 Cloak of Challiver, Book two of The Talismans
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.
Follow me on Twitter
Share a link on Twitter
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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Self-reference - “If this were a Sherlock Holmes case, he would discover ash [at the crime scene] that came from a tobacco sold by only one tobacconist in London, who ...2 hours ago
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Just Been To See…Dune 2 - Poster. Fair use. I’ve just been to see Dune 2. I was impressed with the first film, which was pretty faithful to the novel, though it ended, not on a...2 hours ago
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Alice Mustian’s scandalous backyard performance - Alice Mustian’s scandalous backyard performance The year 1614 was an eventful one for the London theatre world. Shakespeare’s Globe playhouse, rebuilt af...3 hours ago
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Hide Your Wallet: March 19th Release Week! - It’s Tuesday, everyone! That means new releases are making their way out into the world. It’s a small week for us in terms of our own TBR piles. However, t...5 hours ago
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How to Get (Sort Of, Maybe) Murdered By Me – For Charitable Purposes! - The folks at Locus magazine are running an auction of interesting stuff in order to help fund the (non-profit) organization for another year, and among the...19 hours ago
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Book Review Tiny Timmy #1- - Jill Smith’s Reviews > Tiny Timmy: Soccer Superstar! Tiny Timmy: Soccer Superstar! (Tiny Timmy #1)by Tim Cahill Jill Smith‘s review copyright Mar 16, 2024 ...20 hours ago
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Chris Nickson - Chris Nickson is the author of eleven Tom Harper mysteries, eight highly acclaimed novels in the Richard Nottingham series, and six Simon Westow mysteries....1 day ago
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1 Weird Trick To Avoid Using The Passive Voice In Your Writing - What Is The Passive Voice? The passive voice is a grammatical construction in which the subject of a sentence is acted upon by the verb, rather than perf...1 day ago
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"An '80s Tenement Love Story' from Bourbon Penn 31 an Aurealis Award Finalist - It's humbling to see my latest story "An '80s Tenement Love Story" recently announced as a finalist for an Aurealis Award. This is the second time I've ...3 days ago
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In which I can now worry significantly less about something terrible happening to 126 things... - I spent yesterday in Dallas, at the Heritage Auction headquarters -- I had decided to auction off some artwork and memorabilia to benefit two charities ...3 days ago
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Stories in Flowers by Caroline K. Mackenzie - Spring is on its way. It has been a long winter (or, at least, it feels that way) and the bursting of buds and arrival of flowers bring welcome signs of ...4 days ago
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How to Schedule Time for Writing - The post How to Schedule Time for Writing appeared first on ProBlogger. Maintaining Momentum in Blogging Series I find it is very easy to get distracted ...5 days ago
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The Great Discworld Retrospective No. 11: Reaper Man - As I said in the last entry in this series, it was more than a year before I was able to read a new Discworld novel after buying the hardback of Moving Pic...6 days ago
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A home: feels like a whirlwind - We’ve been home exactly one week. I was telling Matthew that I haven’t found my groove yet. I’m currently grooveless. Last post was from London. I don’t th...1 week ago
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A home: feels like a whirlwind - We’ve been home exactly one week. I was telling Matthew that I haven’t found my groove yet. I’m currently grooveless. Last post was from London. I don’t th...1 week ago
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Filling in the gaps: acquiring legislation from the Controller’s Library - In late November 2023, we uploaded to legislation.gov.uk the first batch of 7,000 items of historical legislation digitised from the Controller’s Library...2 weeks ago
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‘The Noble Salvidge’ in conversation with Will Yeoman at York Writers’ Festival - On April 13th I will be attending the York Writers’ Festival and appearing in conversation with WritingWA’s Will Yeoman. It looks like a really interesting...2 weeks 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...2 weeks ago
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#2 - WEP Get Together - March 2024 - Hello fellow WEPpers and friends! Welcome to the second WEP Get Together! *Starting in April, we go bi-monthly. * The WEP team decided to keep in to...2 weeks ago
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Book Excerpt - 'From Superman to Spawn: How Hollywood Got Rich While Creators Got Poor' - The following is a work in progress. It is a chapter from my forthcoming book, From Superman to Spawn: How Hollywood Got Rich While Creators Got Poor.The b...3 weeks ago
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New chat on the Lovecraft Ezine - I had a great chat with Mike Davis of the Lovercraft Ezine. We talked about about social media for creators, about small-town horror, about my books, and...3 weeks ago
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3 “Easy” Steps for Cutting Words from Your Manuscript - *By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy * *Deleting words from your novel is easier than you think.* *Before I dive in, I'm guest posting at Writers in the Storm ...4 weeks ago
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Royal Travel: Two Months at Edward II's Court - Unlike later centuries when the monarch spent most of the year in and around London, and went on progresses in the summer when the city got too hot and sti...1 month ago
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Photo Parade 2023 - A bit of fun at the beginning of the new year. I’m following several German travel blogs, and that way came across the annual Photo Parade (Fotoparade) on ...2 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...2 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 ...3 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...4 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...4 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...5 months ago
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Big disruption hit book publishing before AI showed up - Publishers Weekly recently hosted a stimulating and smart online session about AI and publishing, thanks to the organizing and moderating skills of Peter...5 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 ...7 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...7 months ago
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#347 - I've been querying agents for the last 6-months and have over 50 rejections. I'm not sure if my novel isn't very interesting/sellable or if my query let...7 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...7 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 write a parody. Hope you like it! *Hiya, Ali...7 months 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...8 months ago
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“It’s Random” – a random scribble - “Why am I even here? It’s random. No Divine Thing. No actual “purpose” except what we make of it. I haven’t made anything of it except to be restless, to a...8 months 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...9 months ago
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Mother’s Day Celebration (for a week!) - Originally posted on IFWG Publishing: We publish a fair bit of horror in many sub-genres, and celebrating Mother’s Day shouldn’t be exempt from our itinera...9 months 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...11 months 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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The Green House, Chapters 1-4 (Revised) - [Dear Reader: Having refined my intentions for this novel based on a lot of recent thinking about life and art, I have restructured and revised the first f...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...1 year 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 ...1 year 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...2 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...2 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 ...2 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...3 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...4 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...4 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...4 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 ...4 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...6 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...6 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...6 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
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: Gippsland, Australia
Places I've lived: Geelong, Australia
Places I've lived: Tamworth, NSW
Places I've Lived - Sydney
Places I've lived: Auckland, NZ
Places I've Lived: Mount Gambier
Places I've lived: Adelaide, SA
Places I've Lived: Perth by Day
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
Search This Blog
Sunday 27 July 2014
An anonymous interview!
Sunday, July 27, 2014 |
Posted by
Satima Flavell
Well, not really quite anonymous, but Kevin, a Facebook friend, might prefer that I don't use his last name. He sent me some questions out of personal interest, and never one for hiding my light under a bushel, I thought I'd put the Qs and As here on the blog for all the world to see!
So, without further ado -
Q. What was the
inspiration behind the various series of books you've made?
A. I only have one series so far – The Talismans trilogy. It
was inspired by three things: a/ My love of medieval history b/My long-time interest in genealogy and c/Inspiration from a writing exercise set by Lee
Battersby at a convention – see link in next question for the full story!
Q. What was the
driving force behind becoming an author?
A. After years of writing non-fiction (reviews, interviews, feature
articles) and poetry, finally a story came to live with me and demanded to be
written! That was my first novel, which, like most first novels, isn't very good. You can read how I came to write the present series here.
Q. Do you have any
plans to expand the fictional universes that you've created beyond just the
books you've made?
A. I’m still writing the trilogy so can’t be sure yet!
Besides, I am an old lady now so it depends on how long I stay a/ Alive b/In
reasonable health and c/Compos mentis.
Q. What have been some
of your favorite books to read?
A. I’ve always loved fantasy, ever since I was a child. I
also love history, myths and legends. I like biographies and travel books, too.
Q. What was the first
book that you can remember reading and enjoying?
A. There was a series of books about a bear called Rupert
that my mother and older sisters used to read to me when I was three. I
taught myself to read on the Rupert books. My eldest sister had a boyfriend who
was half-French, half-German, and he translated one of the books into both
French and German so I could read the story in three languages!
Q. Who has been your favorite
author and why?
A. William Shakespeare. He knew and understood human nature
better than any other writer I’ve read, and could turn his characters into
poetry.
Sunday 20 July 2014
Effective reviewing
Sunday, July 20, 2014 |
Posted by
Satima Flavell
In response to my last post, fellow author Sue Bursztynski said, in part: 'I'm afraid that as your reviews build up, you will get some bad ones, some one and two star reviews on Goodreads and Amazon. Everyone has a different taste .... But I have a thick skin and so do you, I'm sure. A professional has to have one or never write again.'
I started to write a response to Sue's well-informed comment, but it was getting so long that I decided it was worth a post of its own.
A writer who has been brave enough to share his or her work with a critiquing group does develop a thick skin, and I think this is a highly underpublicized benefit of such activities. I joined critiquing groups quite early in my writing apprenticeship. Because I was already an experienced theatre reviewer, I always tried to make my critiques gentle, finding something good to say before suggesting possible improvements. I'm sure most of my crit-buddies did, too.
But when you have six or seven short stories or novel chapters to crit, the reviews tend to become more cursory and a lot less tactful, and I soon realised that I was as susceptible to unmasked criticism as anyone else. I found myself hurt, angry and otherwise distressed whenever someone responded negatively to my writing. A few years later, when I started to submit to publishers, I was again disappointed and hurt at every rejection letter. How could anyone not love my stories, my characters, my wonderful world-building?
Well, get real, Satima! It's a buyer's market out there. Less than one per cent of submitted material gets published, and it's not always because it's not good enough. Publishers, at any given time, tend to be looking for something in particular. If they know, for instance, that another publisher has just taken on a fantasy novel set in Siberia, the opposition will very likely be looking for a similar book, perhaps also set in a cold, inhospitable place. So you can submit the best vampires-in-space novel ever, and it will get the standard rejection slip before the reader has finished page two. Furthermore, even at this early stage, reader taste comes into play. If the slush readers (there is often more than one) don't like the book, you're fried to a cinder.
If it's any consolation, at some point you will start getting the odd personalised letter that says, in effect, 'Gee, I really liked this, but we are looking for inter-galactic murder mysteries right now'. This means you're getting better at your craft, and all you have to do it get your book on the desk of an editor who's been instructed to look for vampires-in-space or whatever it is you've spent so much time writing. A tall order, but it happens.
Give yourself a time limit - a long one. For example, 'If my vampires-in-space novel hasn't been accepted two years from now, I'll self-publish'. Of course, you can just cut straight to the chase without submitting to any publishing houses, but self-publishing, done well, costs money. You'll need to allow several thousand dollars for artwork and editing, and you will have to spend an enormous amount of time on publicity.
But I digress ...
Essentially, we fiction writers are producing a marketable commodity - books. Books are entertainment, first and foremost, and as with any form of entertainment some customers will prefer a particular genre, character type or writing style over all others. I've been lucky so far - the worst criticism has been that The Dagger of Dresnia lacks a map! Yes, when I get my first one or two star review, I'll be disappointed. However, I won't turn into a nervous wreck, because I'll know that the reader was actually hoping for another kind of book; one I hadn't written.
It sounds strange, but it's said that books receiving lots of reviews, even bad ones, sell better than books that get few or no reviews. So if you want to do your published friends a favour, review their books! If you're not sure how to write a review, check out my page called 'Write a review worth reading'. It gives you the quick Cook's Tour.
Saturday 19 July 2014
Reviews of The Dagger of Dresnia
Saturday, July 19, 2014 |
Posted by
Satima Flavell
The blog seems to be all about reviews lately - reviews I've written, reviews I've read, reviews others have written ...
And there have been some lovely reviews of my novel, The Dagger of Dresnia. There are six so far on Amazon, and you can read them at http://www.amazon.com/The-Dagger-Dresnia-Satima-Flavell/product-reviews/0992460166/ref=cm_cr_dp_see_all_btm?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending
And there are three on Goodreads as well: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21898335-the-dagger-of-dresnia
I'm happy to report that they all carry four or five stars!
I've also had a couple in the local press, both of which were very commendatory. And of course, there are the lovely back cover blurbs by two of my favourite authors:
I guess it's only a matter of time before I get a bad review - it happens to everyone sooner or later - but there have been so many good ones that the odd bad one won't matter. Besides, any publicity is good publicity! Apparently even bad reviews are better than no reviews at all.
Thursday 17 July 2014
Book review: Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth
Thursday, July 17, 2014 |
Posted by
Satima Flavell
Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
An utterly lovely story, beautifully told. In fact, it is two stories in one: a re-imagined story of the convent days of French author Charlotte-Rose de la Force, and the fictional story of a nun who told her the tale of Rapunzel. How de la Force, a French noblewoman, learnt the Italian tale has long been subject to speculation, and this as convincing an explanation as we are ever likely to have.
In Bitter Greens, Forsyth has woven a tapestry as rich as any owned by the Sun King himself. It is, without a doubt, one of the best retellings of a fairy tale in a long time.
View all my Goodreads reviews
Monday 14 July 2014
Book Review: The Lascar's Dagger by Glenda Larke
Monday, July 14, 2014 |
Posted by
Satima Flavell
The Lascar's Dagger by Glenda Larke
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The Lascar's Dagger is excellent start to a new trilogy! Two very likeable characters - Saker the Witan (priest) and Sorrel, handmaiden to a spoilt princess - each on a quest, cross paths again and again. We quickly realise that they would make a great partnership, but their commitments lie along separate tracks, each fraught with different dangers. Each time they meet, however, one manages to help the other in some way.
This is a wonderfully varied book, both in the contrast between the two main characters and the diverse places they visit. The secondary characters are also varied and well-drawn. Themes of friendship, loyalty and sacrifice underlie what is undoubtedly an exciting and orginal tale.
Glenda Larke has a fabulous imagination, and as in all her books, she has devised a credible but highly original system of magic. The Forbidden Lands just might be Larke's best trilogy yet. I can't wait for book two!
View all my Goodreads reviews
Wednesday 9 July 2014
STOP PRESS - Write a review and win a book!
Wednesday, July 09, 2014 |
Posted by
Satima Flavell
Review a Satalyte book and Win!
Go to http://satalyte.com.au/2014/07/review-win/ for details!
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Monday 7 July 2014
Another little snippet from The Dagger of Dresnia - the start of the big battle scene!
Monday, July 07, 2014 |
Posted by
Satima Flavell
Here's another little snippet from The Dagger of Dresnia. It's the start of the big battle scene just before the end.
Beverak leaned into the charge, sword drawn, wind rushing in his ears. The earth reverberated with thousands of hooves, the air thickened with yells and screams. Arrows rained down around him. One caught him in the shoulder, knocking him back in the saddle, but it failed to penetrate. He brushed it off his mail and it fell harmlessly to the ground.
Closer, ever closer they rode, toward the
bristling line of archers. The archers broke and ran, firing a final volley
over their shoulders. Their departure revealed a wall of shields, sheltering
behind a line of pikes stuck into the earth like a row of old men’s rotten
teeth. A horse bolted past Beverak, making for a gap between the pikes. It
missed and impaled itself, went down screaming. The rider flew into the wall of
shields. It opened briefly, swallowed him whole. Another horse stumbled into a
pitfall, and rolled on its rider. Both were trampled by the oncoming charge.
Around him, horses reared, baulking at the bristling
pikes. He whispered into his own mount’s ear, and it hurtled forward, unfazed
by the wall of shields and pikes. The wall broke. Men scattered and ran. Shields reformed in clusters around banners.
Riders on the charge’s flanks fanned outward to attack from the sides.
Beverak pressed forward with the centre,
slowing to meet sword with sword among the huddles of fighting men. He hacked and slashed at man after man, some
mounted, some on foot. A sword chopped at his horse’s neck. Beverak’s sword
took off the hand that held it. He wheeled to meet a mounted opponent, but the
man’s horse bucked and pitched the rider beneath the hooves of Beverak’s
rearing mount. Mud and grass and blood sprayed up, and Beverak pressed on.
The day reduced to cut, thrust, kill, turn,
over and over again. Ullavir’s voice of years before rang in his ears. Grip with your knees and try not to die.
Then Ullavir was beside him in truth, the
standard bearer at his side. ‘Back off, sire,’ he hissed. ‘We want a live king,
not a dead hero.’
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