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Read, Write, Dance

Read, Write, Dance . Those three words could almost be my epitaph. Certainly (bearing and rearing children aside) they are the three activi...

About Me

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I am a writer, editor, reviewer and dance teacher based in Perth, Western Australia. 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. You might enjoy my books - The Dagger of Dresnia, the first book of the Talismans Trilogy, is available at all good online book shops. Book two, The Cloak of Challiver, will be available again shortly. Book three, The Seer of Syland, is in preparation.

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.

The Dagger of Dresnia

The Dagger of Dresnia
Want a copy? Contact me at satimafn(at)gmail.com

The Cloak of Challiver

The Cloak of Challiver
Available again as an ebook soon!

Mythic Resonance

Mythic Resonance

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.

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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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Tuesday, 21 July 2015

Indie Publishing: a guest post from author Kim Cleary

Tuesday, July 21, 2015 | Posted by Satima Flavell


A guest post today, from fellow author-blogger Kim Cleary. Kim grew up in Birmingham, UK, and studied medieval history and psychology at Adelaide University (South Australia). She now lives in Melbourne.

Kim loves to write about heroes who push through extraordinary situations and obstacles, one step at a time. Path Unchosen is a tale of zombies, in which Judy, the very human protagonist, must learn to deal with the darkness within as well as threats from without. 

Kim's topic today is 'Indie Publishing, and why I chose it!’

I can’t pinpoint when I decided to go the indie route. But it was before the first draft of my first novel, Path Unchosen, was finished. I did consider trying the traditional route. I researched agents and publishers, read widely, studied publishing trends.

In the end I didn’t contact any agent or publisher.  That way felt old-fashioned, too removed from how and why readers are selecting books to read. I’ve indie published Path Unchosen, the first in a paranormal suspense series; am in the final stages of editing Truth Unveiled, the second in the series, and have a novella in the same series plotted.

Path Unchosen won a book award a few months ago. Feedback from readers has been mostly positive, but the external validation has added a zing to my step!

I thought I understood the ins and outs of publishing and marketing in the new digital age … To be honest, this route is enormously harder than I imagined.

The workload is overwhelming at times. The need to wear so many hats at once can leave me paralysed with indecision. But I’m persevering, and the question is … why?

Click here to go to Path Unchosen on Amazon
I love having complete control over all aspects of the design. I work with a group of friendly professionals: cover designer Andrew Brown of Design for Writers, book designer Jane Smith, and editor Marcy Kennedy. I always planned on publishing with professional support, and do not recommend any other way.

Professional editing in particular is crucial. Marcy completes a structural edit for me initially, and then a line edit. She identifies plot holes, rabbit warrens and numerous little things I’ve missed.

The one thing I struggle with, rather embarrassingly, as I was a career marketer before sickness forced me to leave full-time employment, is self-branding and book marketing!

I decided at the start to limit marketing until I had more than one book to sell. I did try one book blog tour with Path Unchosen, just to test it out, and was very pleased with the visibility and reviews it achieved.

It’s now time to get serious about marketing my books and myself. So, I’m studying book marketing, branding, and visibility to try and make sure I have a solid marketing plan that delivers awareness and eventually sales.

Indie publishing is not for everyone. It feels right for me, and at this stage I’m planning on sticking with it. I’m happy to answer any questions anyone has about the process or anything else about Indie publishing.
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