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I love the Festival of Perth in all its manifestations - the Festival proper, the Fringe Festival, and the Writers Festival. However, I ...

About Me
- Satima Flavell
- I am a writer, editor, reviewer and dance teacher 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, and I still teach dance at Trinity School for Seniors, an outreach program of the Uniting Church in Perth.

My books
The first novel of my trilogy, The Talismans, is available as an e-book from Smashwords, Amazon and other online sellers. I do have paperbacks of The Dagger of Dresnia at the low price of $AU25 including postage within Australia. I also have a short story, 'La Belle Dame', in print - see Mythic Resonance below.
Book two of the trilogy, The Cloak of Challiver, will be available again shortly.
The best way to contact me is via Facebook!

Buy The Talismans
The first two books of The Talismans trilogy were published by Satalyte Publications, which, sadly, has gone out of business. Book one, The Dagger of Dresnia, is up on the usual bookselling web sites as an e-book, and I have a few hard copies to sell to those who prefer Real Paper. Book Two, The Cloak of Challiver, will be available soon.
The easiest way to contact me is via Facebook.

Buy 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.

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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Marion Deeds - We were very pleased to have author Marion Deeds join us on the show to talk about her work and her interests. I started by asking her what her favorite th...20 hours ago
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Ready Set Discover Logan now available at Bookshops - Ready Set Discover Logan now available I’m thrilled to pieces Ready Set Discover Logan received *5 STAR Reviews and is now available at Bookshops in Bri...20 hours ago
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Flogometer 1051 for Danielle—are you compelled 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 ...1 day ago
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Preview- First chapter of Skyfire - Hi all This might be of interest to some of you. This is a preview of the first chapter of Part Five of the Dragon Wine series, called Skyfire. I thought t...1 day ago
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Preview- First chapter of Skyfire - Hi all This might be of interest to some of you. This is a preview of the first chapter of Part Five of the Dragon Wine series, called Skyfire. I thought t...1 day ago
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Speculative Fiction Showcase: Double-Cross (In Love and War, Book 8) by Cora Buh... - Speculative Fiction Showcase: Double-Cross (In Love and War, Book 8) by Cora Buh...: Release date: March 28, 2018 Subgenre: Science fiction romance, Space ...1 day ago
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Urban Fantasy tab added… - In a similar vein to The Book Review Directory, I’ve been sent freebies from authors in this genre. I’ve downloaded one and thoroughly enjoyed it. I’ve dec...2 days ago
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New Medieval Books: Suger and Blood - Looking for something medieval to read? Here are five new books about the Middle Ages to check out...2 days ago
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Another talk with Laurie Anderson - One of the people I love talking to most in the world is Laurie Anderson. Laurie Anderson is an experimental musician, avant-garde composer, storyteller, ...3 days ago
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SFTV 101 - SFTV 101: 1952 to 1980 For anyone interested in the history of science fiction, fantasy and horror on television, here is a list of episodes recommended...4 days ago
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#305 - Question: The pivotal scene in my manuscript is the rape of the main character. My last beta reader said she had nightmares for two days about the story and...4 days ago
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The Abduction of Elizabeth de Burgh, February 1316 - The third and youngest of Edward II's de Clare nieces, who were the daughters of his second eldest sister Joan of Acre and her first husband Gilbert 'the R...4 days ago
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Top 5 Concept Mistakes Writers Make - Concept IS Story Concept aka ‘premise’, ‘controlling idea’, ‘seed of the story’. Whatever you want to call it, that concept is the FOUNDATION of your sto...4 days ago
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Me, Obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, Tongue Cancer, and Jason Fung, MD - Something you might not know about me. Back in the early 2000’s, I was fat. Not chubby. Not “just need to lose a few pounds.” Morbidy obese. The point at w...1 week ago
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When a Comma Isn’t Enough - Punctuating interrupted dialogue is a confusing topic for both writers and editors, but there is a definitive answer to the question, "how do you punctuate...1 week ago
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What we are seeing today is actually the second renaissance of indie bookselling, not the first - Publishing and digital change consultant Bill Rosenblatt — always worth paying attention to — pointed his contacts last week to a podcast from NPR celebr...3 weeks ago
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Edward III - *Frances, our Fearless Leader, has written an appreciation of a little known play, Edward III. Now accepted as having been written at least in part by our...1 month ago
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New Yoga demonstration video - Hi Friends, I just returned from Sri Lanka where I attended the 3 day Global Mindfulness Summit. During the conference part of my participation was narrati...1 month ago
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Writers [on Writing]: Hilmer Wolitzer - This is from the final page and final paragraph of the collected essays of *Writers [On Writing]* from *The New York Times*; and seems a fitting way to end ...1 month ago
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Buying my books - So I have taken to Lulu - who originally assisted with the publication of The Woodcarver's Son . Anyone wanting to buy a copy of either the Woodcarver's S...1 month ago
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Taking (off) the Pith - I’ve reached a quiet decision. Steampunk is marvelous; I love it, and I have greatly enjoyed my many and various excursions therein, both fantastic (e.g. m...1 month ago
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Interview: Kevin Craig - Novelist, poet and playwright Kevin Craig, long known as KTC on Absolute Write, set some time aside for an interview, just days after release of his sixt...1 month ago
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Here's an article based on an exercise I led in Active vs. Passive Writing course - https://novelrocket.com/2018/02/inhabiting-the-prose.html/ FEBRUARY 5, 2018 BY NOVELROCKET Inhabiting the Prose [image: author prose tips]by Patricia Brad...2 months 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...2 months ago
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Amazon Ranking and Bestseller Lists - What's the Deal? - It's really hard to draw conclusions in the self-pub marketing game. After almost ten years of self-publishing on Amazon, I still don't know why some ebook...2 months ago
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Coming Events In Germany - *Q and A* Tuesday 27th February 8.00pm DTK-Wasserturm Kopischstraße 7, 10965 Berlin, Germany *Lunebuch Bookstore* Interview Thursday 1st March 8.00pm Ba...2 months ago
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Writer brain is back! - So, there’s this thing I call writer brain. That’s where, out of nowhere, characters start chatting with each other in my head … or plot solutions pop up w...2 months ago
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Slave owners in the family tree - My mother, Judith Anson Robinson, did much of the family interviewing, letter writing, ordering of books and microfilms from genealogy libraries, and tra...3 months ago
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More Regular Dance & Gymnastic Blog Posts - Although I am very active on both Instagram and Facebook uploading and sharing images from photo sessions, my poor website seems to be neglected. I am goin...3 months ago
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Review: Corpselight by Angela Slatter - Verity Fassbinder might have gone up against Archangels and Weyrd murderers before, but now she’s on a course that might just see her out of her depth – mo...4 months ago
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Interview for Annie Douglass Lima's new book The Student and the Slave! - Take a look at this exciting new young adult action and adventure novel, *The Student and the Slave*, now available for purchase! This is the third book i...5 months ago
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Poem (2): For Fear - For Fear As I fear to bend and break The grass upon which I walk ... As I touch not the lustrous bubble For fear of ending its fragile life; As I fear to t...5 months ago
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First comes painting, Then comes sketching - While enjoying my new acrylics hobby, I started a painting and decided I wanted to include a dragon statue in one of them. There was, though, a hurdle I ha...8 months 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...10 months ago
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The ancient parish of Aghallow and the territories of Muinterbirne and Largie in county Tyrone, 1609/10 - My main objectives for studying the Manors of Kinard [later known as the Caledon estate] and Ballymagran are to determine the geographic extent and to tr...11 months 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...1 year 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...1 year 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...1 year ago
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And Father Dragon said "let there be a planet...." - *Lo and behold, Dragon made a planet!!* Oh, I'm so very proud of myself so forgive me if I brag a little bit - way too much. I'm in the process of learni...1 year 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)...2 years ago
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Maken Melodye on #WhanthatAprilleDay16 - Goode Friendes and Readeres of thys Litel Blog, Yt doth fill my litel herte wyth gret happinesse to invyte yow to the thirde yeare of a moost blisful and p...2 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
Monday, 2 March 2015
Around in circles I go



The past month has been incredibly busy, particularly on the reviewing front. We've had the Perth Fringe Festival, the Perth Festival proper and the Writers Festival – all within a few weeks, with overlaps! I was a bit greedy and took on a lot of reviewing – but who could resist, especially with the Writers Festival, which was chock-a-block with talks and panels from an impossible number of fine authors.
My colleague Ilsa Sharp and I managed
a fair spread of the Writers Festival between us, but seeing as there were
generally four things on offer in each timeslot, there was no way we could
cover everything! You can read the results of our endeavours on Artshub. Just
follow the links.
Day
one: in which we encountered love, biography, and Man Booker Prize-winner
DBC Pierre.
Day
two: in which we focused on writing for young adults, gender and fiction,
the quest for inspiration and the value of creativity.
Day
three part one: in which the spotlight fell on diverse matters including tales of history and survival, language and human rights
Day
three part two, where we found matters pertaining to politics,
personalities - and roses.
In the Festival proper, I saw only Mozart
Dances and Cut the Sky, both very fine shows indeed. But I got a bit carried
away by the Fringe. The amazing ladies of Divalicious, Penny Shaw and Fiona Cooper-Smyth, were in fine fettle. They are versatile opera singers par excellence, with a fabuous flair for comedy and glamour. Actress and all-round showie Penny
Smith showed her wit and wisdom in an enormously entertaining take on Pride and
Prejudice, and a fine parade of comics had us in stitches, night after night. You
can read the reviews on Artshub – just Google!
What's more, I have signed up for French and Italian classes this term as well as continuing my various keep-fit and dance commitments, so this will be a busy year, if I don't collapse in the meantime. You can see why I haven't been blogging - or writing book three of The Talismans. Back to the workspace, Satima!
What's more, I have signed up for French and Italian classes this term as well as continuing my various keep-fit and dance commitments, so this will be a busy year, if I don't collapse in the meantime. You can see why I haven't been blogging - or writing book three of The Talismans. Back to the workspace, Satima!
Pic courtesy of https://myfinalchanceforlife.wordpress.com/
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