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 Cloak of Challiver, Book two of The Talismans

Available as an e-book on Amazon and other online booksellers.

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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6 Signs You May Already Be Doing the Work of a Book Coach - Therese here to introduce Jennie Nash to you as our newest Writer Unboxed contributor! Jennie is the author of 9 books, and the founder and CEO of Author A...3 hours ago
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Why we don’t understand what a space race means - Fifty years after the first moon landing, a quantum leap is underway in space as a domain of human activity. Over 70 countries have space programs and 14...3 hours ago
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Not Since You by Fiona Riley - Do you like cruises and wish The Love Boat was queer? Do you want to read about two women who are very attracted to one another, but have to sneak around o...5 hours ago
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Zoey, Saturday Recipe - Well, Zoey came to lunch today and brought ladydog with her. They brought some dog biscuits too so Zoey knew where to give her attention. We then had our ...8 hours ago
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A Bit of Music - I needed cheering up and I went to find some to find something to lift my mood. So here are some links to a few favourite music videos by *Celtic Woman* fr...11 hours ago
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New Books and ARCs, 12/6/19 - It’s beginning to look a lot like… time for new books and ARCs! What here is jingling your bells? Tell us all in the comments.17 hours ago
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Flog a BookBubber 261: Peter Brassett—tension sinks under weight of setup - Writers, send your prologue/first chapter to FtQ for a “flogging” critique. Email as an attachment. In your email, include your name, permission to use the...20 hours ago
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Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch - Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch is the acclaimed author of over sixteen picture books and novels. In 2013 she won the Silver Birch Fiction Award for Making Bombs f...23 hours ago
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Discovering collections, discovering communities - In 2019 The National Archives awarded four bursaries to support students, early career professionals, and others who would otherwise not have been able t...1 day ago
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Don't Forget to Open Your Advent Window at Writers Helping Writers (Did I Mention the Prizes?) - *By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy* Just a reminder that the amazing Advent Calendar for Writers is still chugging away. 14 days of prizes, folks, and you ca...1 day ago
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From Sinister to Sweet: The Strange Tale of the Nutcracker by Catherine Hokin - A deeply creepy inventor ‘uncle’, a seven-headed mouse, a little girl who tears her arm open on broken glass and a curse which traps first a queen and the...1 day ago
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How to Rekindle Your Blogging Enthusiasm - The post How to Rekindle Your Blogging Enthusiasm appeared first on ProBlogger. Have you hit a slump in your blogging? Perhaps you haven’t posted anythin...2 days ago
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Camino de Santiago: The Medieval Route from Oviedo - 'He who visits Santiago but not San Salvador visits the servant but not the Lord'2 days ago
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6 Crucial Storytelling Tips You Will Thank Me For - Every Bang2writer knows storytelling is not easy. But whether you’re writing a novel, screenplay or any other kind of writing (including sales copy, blog...3 days ago
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Non-Binary Authors to Read November/December 2019 - 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...3 days ago
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Karen Tyrrell Author Events 2020 YouTube - Karen Tyrrell Author Events In 2019, Karen Tyrrell Author Events celebrated a bumper year with author talks, writing workshops, pantomimes and book laun...3 days ago
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NaNoWriMo Wrap up – I’m a Winner!! - A few days after the end of November – so I’m a bit late in announcing this to the world – but, I’m a NaNoWriMo Winner again!! This time I edited and as I’...3 days ago
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Children who have no books – let’s put this right - I had an incredible pleasure and privilege yesterday. I bought my first grandchild his first book – and read it over a cup of coffee Read the full article...3 days ago
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On Writing Other Cultures - I have an interview over at writer Belinda Crawford's website here. all about writing other cultures. A Remarkable Privilege: Glenda Larke on Writing Other...6 days ago
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December 1st - Follow Those Footprints of Thought - Hello fellow writers! Laura here! Can you believe it's December 1st already? Where in the world has 2019 gone? Pretty soon we're going to be tracing the f...6 days ago
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An Ocean of Story - It was three years ago that I went for my first meeting at the National Theatre, with Mel Kenyon, my redoubtable Theatrical Agent. I met Katy Rudd and Jo...1 week ago
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Publisher Alerts: Complaints at Month9 Books, Nonstandard Business Practices at Black Rose Writing - *Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware®* In mid-2016, I wrote about YA publisher Month9 Books' abrupt decision to scale back its list, reverting ri...1 week ago
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Should Barnes & Noble rethink its supply chain? - About 25 years ago, Ingram was benefiting from a big buildout of America’s bookstore network. Borders and Barnes & Noble were both opening new stores — b...1 week ago
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A Bride’s Story (Otoyomegatari); Review - Not like me to review stuff, but THIS! This is a work of genius, it really is. Put aside all your attitudes towards Japanese manga. ALL of them, and check ...1 week ago
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Of Women In Science, And A Play About Rosalind Franklin - Back in the 1990s, I wrote my second book, Potions To Pulsars: Women Doing Science, a children’s book about the history of women who have made a differe...1 week ago
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Travelin' Man: a new Song & Music-Video from me - There's also a bit of my tongue-in-cheek, philosophy for living in the lyrics - *life should be about the journey, never about arriving. * It's also on Yo...2 weeks ago
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Original Art Stories: Miller v Varley: Stolen Art Allegations - The most recent court case involving comic book creators landed on Monday, 18 November 2019, and it's a doozy! I have to admit that when I saw the name 'Fr...2 weeks ago
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Blind Spots and White Rooms - What are the things you don't see? Sometimes a story will feature sections of bare dialogue. These are like overhearing a conversation, and you have to gue...2 weeks ago
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Documentary about Edward II on Arte - Last year, I was interviewed in Cologne for a documentary about Edward II, which was shown on the Arte TV channel (a French-German collaboration) yesterday...2 weeks ago
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Highlights from the UK and Ireland Trip Part 3 - I’m sorry it’s taken a bit to get this third post together, but life! We spent about four days in London, mostly so we could go to the Harry Potter Experie...3 weeks ago
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Highlights from the UK and Ireland Trip Part 3 - I’m sorry it’s taken a bit to get this third post together, but life! We spent about four days in London, mostly so we could go to the Harry Potter Experie...3 weeks ago
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First snow in 30 years, and huge strides on the Dead Man’s Party revision - We knew yesterday there would be snow today. I made Matt promise to get me up when it started — and around 4AM, the snow began. (He was editing someone’s ...3 weeks ago
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Stalking Daylight - My SF screenplay Stalking Daylight scored an honourable mention in the Truant Pictures screenplay competition. Looks like they picked a lot of horror, so a...4 weeks ago
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HECATE'S DAUGHTER: LISTENING FOR THE CRIES OF THE WORLD - *This is from an old 2018 blog post, never more relevant than today.* Hecate, goddess of thresholds, mystery, magic, and the moon, via Jean Bakula, www.je...4 weeks ago
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#ScaryStories on Twitter - This writing business is a weird gig at the best of times. Sometimes, it’s downright bizarre. And usually lots of fun (not counting the endless waiting a...5 weeks ago
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I Won Nano Again - It is November, which means I'm participating in the National Novel Writing Month. UPDATE: I wrote 50,000 words, with some days left to add a few more. ...5 weeks ago
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Subtext in scene/dialogue - I'm looking for examples of subtext within a scene, especially in dialogue. Any ideas? Here's one- Let's say that Tommy is keeping a secret from his co-wor...1 month ago
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NaNoWriMo 2019 - November 1, or the start of NaNoWriMo or National Novel Writing Month is just around the corner. Basically, NaNoWriMo is about writing a 50K work novel i...1 month ago
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Breakout 3: tips for engaging your audience - How to improve presentation, public speaking confidence and presence on stage to engage your audience, no matter how small the stage is. Presented by Tra...1 month ago
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Invisible Books: Sergei Dovlatov - I hadn’t heard of late Soviet-era satirist Sergei Dovlatov until I saw the biopic on Netflix about him last year. Intrigued, I ordered copies of the three ...1 month ago
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To Rosemounde - [image: Geoffrey Chaucer] Geoffrey Chaucer A Balade. Ma dame, ye ben of al beaute shryne As fer as cercled is the mapamonde; For as the cristall glorious y...1 month ago
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#Mayflower400: They that in Ships unto the Sea down go - *Music for the Mayflower* *A guest post by Tamsin Lewis * I direct the early music group Passamezzo [www.passamezzo.co.uk], an established ensemble kno...1 month ago
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A Book Ian Likes: Tea With The Black Dragon by R. A. MacAvoy - Martha Macnamara has come to California to find her daughter Elizabeth, who appears to have disappeared. While searching for her she meets the enigmatic Ma...2 months ago
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Farewells - There are these spaces, gaps, like branches, with mouths that whisper and scratch at our sacred dreams. Leaves emerge from branches at the disappearing poin...2 months ago
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#331 - I have so many questions, but I’ll whittle them down to two. First, do you think I’m correct in describing this as literary fiction? Second, some agents ...2 months ago
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Book review: The Heat, by Sean O’Leary - Tommy works nights as a security guard / receptionist at a budget Darwin motel. The job suits him: he has an aptitude for smelling out potential trouble, a...2 months 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...3 months ago
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Who needs meatballs when you can have beetballs - Originally posted on The Salted Turnip: 1 cup quinoa I beetroot finely diced Handful of finely diced pumpkin Bunch of mint leaves finely diced 1/2 sweet po...3 months ago
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Review: Gift of Revelation by Robert Fleming - Gift of Revelation (Urban Books) Kindle Edition by Robert Fleming (Author) Here's the blurb: In this third installment of the Gift series, Reverend Clint...3 months 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...3 months ago
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Review of Bell's Much Ado about Nothing - Bell Shakespeare's *Much Ado About Nothing* 2019-07-07 reviewed by Frances, our president. A group from the Shakespeare Club went last week to see the B...3 months ago
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Brian Wainwright "How I Wish I Had Written That" Award for 2019 - The coveted and prestigious *Brian Wainwright "How I Wish I Had Written That" Award for 2019* goes to the late, great and much lamented *Edith Pargeter*...3 months 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 months 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 - 28th ...4 months ago
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We'll Stand in That Place and Other Stories Book Launch - *We'll Stand in That Place and Other Stories *Ed. Michelle Cahill, which includes my latest story "The Do" will be launched at the gorgeous Readings Book S...4 months ago
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Six Things Writers Need To Stop Worrying About - Some things don't change. When I got my start in this biz, way back in 2002, writers had to get a lit agent to get a publisher, then they did what their pu...4 months ago
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A Settler Reads the Report of the National Inquiry into MMIWG (2) - Introduction to the Final Report: Understanding Violence against Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA1 People (Part 1) While the “Introduction to the Fin...4 months ago
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Story Goal, Story Question, and the Protagonist’s Inner Need (Story Structure Part 1) - This is the first article in a series exploring the elements of story structure. Part 1 looks beyond the topics of three-act and mythic structure to a revi...4 months ago
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Summertime at LOW - Summertime greenery in Maryland Hi friends, We are now in the middle of summer here in Maryland, and we have had a series of visitors, our longest retr...4 months ago
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An Obscure Lady of the Garter - Recently, for the purposes of writing fiction, I had cause to check who was admitted to the Garter in 1387. (This is the sort of weird stuff I do all th...6 months 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...6 months 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 ...7 months ago
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So now it’s really really done - I announced back in September that Prince of Glass was done, and it was more or less. In that I had done most of the book then outlined the last section be...8 months ago
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It's the End of the (Fringe) World As We Know It... - I didn't get to the Fringe World Awards because I was volunteering at another venue at the time, which is also the reason I saw almost none of the shows th...9 months ago
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Happy Public Domain Day 2019! - Today is Public Domain Day 2019, which means (finally!) the end of copyright for works first published in the U.S. in 1923. You are now free to use, reprin...11 months 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...1 year 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...1 year 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? Pe...1 year 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...1 year ago
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Promo for a promo - Check this out - it's my crowdfund campaign to fund an extra scene in my Cyrano film. The film is based on my novel *Pyrotechnicon: Being a True Account of...2 years 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...2 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...2 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...2 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...2 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:...2 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...2 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...2 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...3 years 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...3 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)...3 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 ...7 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
Tuesday, 21 July 2015
Indie Publishing: a guest post from author Kim Cleary


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!’

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 |
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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