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

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.
Follow me on Twitter
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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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Camp NaNoWriMo July 2022… - I have started editing and adding editing to The Ten Penners WordPress site, which I spent three hours on yesterday. I hour of other writing then also. Ton...1 hour ago
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Today in “Scalzi Going Overboard With His New Photoshop Filter Plugin” - The application in question is called Filter Forge, which features thousands of filters, mostly created by the community which uses the program. Many of th...4 hours ago
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Some of Today’s Kindle Daily Deals - *Blood Heir* *Blood Heir by Ilona Andrews is $1.49 or $1.99 elsewhere! This is a spin-off of Andrews’ Kate Daniels series with the main character being K...9 hours ago
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When Story Is Medicine - Please welcome new Writer Unboxed contributor Susan DeFreitas to Writer Unboxed today! Susan is the IPPY-Award winning author of the novel *Hot Season*, ...14 hours ago
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Best practice: contributing to the global police community from the United Arab Emirates - [image: Best practice: contributing to the global policing community from the United Arab Emirates - Abu Dhabi Police]There is limited focus in scholarly a...15 hours ago
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Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni - Chitra Divakaruni is the author of 20 books, the latest being the award-winning historical novel, The Last Queen. Recently I asked the author about what sh...1 day ago
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Top 10 Tips To Get Your Writing Out There - So, you want to get your writing out there … I get emails and messages from Bangers on the regular about getting their writing out there. I thought I’d r...2 days ago
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Was Constantinople besieged in 674-78? - The story of the so-called First Arab Siege of Constantinople.3 days ago
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The Green House, Chapter 2, Scene 1 - [Note: If you want to start reading at the beginning of this novel, go here.] As Constance merged onto the 401 from the Don Valley Parkway and headed east,...3 days ago
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‘The Empire Never Ended’ in The Saltbush Review - I have a piece of Tassie nonfiction, ‘The Empire Never Ended’, in the latest issue of The Saltbush Review. This is a new mag out from the University of Ade...3 days ago
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Your favourite resources for anxious young people - As you know, I’m writing a book on anxiety. I’ll be including a list of other resources and I’d love to know what you’ve come across that you’d recommend...4 days ago
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Fifty years of UK Pride marches: Pride and defiance before 1972 - The 1st July 1972 saw something special: the first UK Pride march. The previous two years had seen small-scale marches, but this was different The post F...4 days ago
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An inspiration for Monet and his waterlilies, by Carol Drinkwater - Here we are (Me, Michel and François to the right) at the confluence, the conflux, of the Lot and Garonne Rivers. The...5 days ago
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Cuss, cuss, swear, swear, @#%^&*Z!!!! - Seriously… What a week. Earlier, the kitchen sink started spouting water, so we were doing dishes in the bathroom sink. Then the water heater died. Matt ...5 days ago
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Discover a New Way to Protect Yourself from Data-Loss Nightmares - The post Discover a New Way to Protect Yourself from Data-Loss Nightmares appeared first on ProBlogger. How do you backup your computer/s? This past mont...5 days ago
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A Cultural Phenomenon Ian Likes: The Commitments - Jimmy Rabbitte wants to start a band. He doesn’t want to sing or anything: he wants to create and manage one. But he lives in the backblocks of Dublin. How...5 days ago
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Winners - #WEP June 2022 Challenge #PleaseReadtheLetter - Hello writers! Nila here. The June Challenge has concluded with a whole bunch of superb entries, thank you! - to all who joined in with their diverse...1 week ago
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Karen Tyrrell Mental Health NEWS - Karen Tyrrell Mental Health NEWS FLASH Exciting NEWS about my mental health books … and a CONTRACT! Woohoo! I’m shortlisted! CYA Conference SHORTLISTE...1 week ago
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Microtension - I'm out of the office today and forgot to bring my Flogometer folder with me. Meanwhile, in case you didn't see this, here's a post from Writer Unboxed abo...1 week ago
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For Dappled Things: The Serendipity of Coincidence - *For Dappled Things* *By Alicia Rasley* *Coincidence is trivial, tricky, falsely weird. But… it’s also magical.* *Appreciate coincidence—it brin...1 week ago
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#341 - Dear Query Shark The minute Elizabeth stepped off the train in Richmond, VA in 1860, she wanted to leave. After four years in Pennsylvania with Quaker r...1 week ago
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I'm Still Here - despite multiple frustrations. For a start I'm still only able to access my Blogger Dashboard on Firefox and I can't comment on anyone else's blog with...1 week ago
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The Changeling Curse by Dani Kristoff is out. Finally! - After years of struggle, it’s out. I’ve uploaded the ebook to retailers and it should filter into the net shortly. Print book is still a few weeks away but...1 week ago
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The Changeling Curse by Dani Kristoff is out. Finally! - After years of struggle, it’s out. I’ve uploaded the ebook to retailers and it should filter into the net shortly. Print book is still a few weeks away but...1 week ago
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How book publishing has changed in recent decades and the puzzling question of what comes next - My book business career (on the fringes since 1958 and pretty fully immersed since 1973) has been spent considering the path from “intellectual property ...2 weeks ago
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Just Finished Reading… A-List For Death by Pamela Hart. Sydney: HarperCollins, 2022. - If you haven’t read the first book in this series, Digging Up Dirt, reviewed here, it probably won’t matter too much, though you will probably go ba...2 weeks ago
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THE ENLIGHTENED WARRIOR - Next Story Sanctuary The Enlightened Warrior – Telling Emotionally Intelligent Stories to Advocate for Yourself and Others Sunday, June 26, 5-6:30 EDT ...3 weeks ago
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Books of Horror! - There’s a great group on Facebook called Books of Horror. Honestly, it’s almost all I do on FB these days, and it makes the whole site a lot more worthwh...3 weeks ago
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deep forest deep night - deep forest deep night: peace, dirt, living wood light sources scarce and fine finite: headlamp and cooker while faint and infinite stars and moonflicker a...5 weeks ago
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Hugh Chastilon, Tutor of Edward II's Illegitimate Son Adam (d. 1322) - A few years ago, I wrote a blog post about my frustration at being unable to find any information about Hugh Chastilon or Chastilloun, tutor of Edward II's...1 month ago
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More Progress on Books - I am pleased to say that I am more than 60% on with the *second *book in the *Walking Among Lions *series, and I expect to see it finished and out there...2 months ago
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COMING IN OCTOBER: Terror Down Under A History of Horror Film in Australia, 1897–1973 - Coming in October, from McFarland Publishing. Terror Down Under: A History of Horror Film in Australia, 1897 - 1973 is available for pre-order right now d...2 months ago
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My website - My website which has been sadly neglected has been updated and may be found here. At the present, the site is mainly about my books and future plans fo...2 months 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 ...2 months ago
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コヒ, Coffee, Ko-fi! - Hi. Greetings to all my new followers. My apologies for being too quiet, recently. I’m hoping to up the pace soon as my mental health improves. A little pi...2 months ago
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An Evening With Neil Gaiman - I start touring 6 weeks from now. It's the first time I've done something like this since before Covid -- get out there every night, read stories and poe...3 months ago
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Hello world! - Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start writing!4 months ago
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ABOUT LOVE - A collection of songs written and performed by Tom Edwards - As some of you may know, I have just completed my first Music album entitled: *About Love.* This was an extended lock-down solo project, taking as my the...5 months ago
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Books Read and Stories Published in 2021 and a Dash of Mad Opining - *Books Read 2021* *The Winter of Our Discontent* John Steinbeck *The Grapes of Wrath *John Steinbeck ...5 months ago
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Brick Architecture, Hall Houses, Monasteries and more – A Tour of Stralsund's Old Town - The town of Stralsund was one of the leading members of the Hanseatic League and thus one of the few German towns that still carry the denomination in offi...6 months ago
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Public Domain Day 2022, the end of copyright for 1926 works - Another New Year, another Public Domain Day! January 1, 2022 marks the end of copyright for works first published in the U.S. in 1926. For many years, only...6 months ago
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Fiction University Is on Hiatus Until 2022 - *By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy* *This is the last post for a while. * I've been struggling with this for weeks now, and finally accepted that I needed t...8 months 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!10 months 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...11 months ago
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Sir John Harrington, inventor of the first flush toilet - *© 2021 Christy K Robinson* Sir John Harrington, 1560-1612, was my 11th great-grandfather. He and his wife, Lady Mary Rogers, had around 20 children, if ...11 months 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...1 year ago
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Humble is the Way by David Jones - Humble is the Way by David Jones Publisher: McDougal & Associates Pub. Date: July 2007 ISBN-13: 9780977705368 208pp I usually just post the info ab...1 year 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 ...1 year ago
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New Publisher - https://ifwgaustralia.com/2021/04/13/new-acquisition-the-christmas-maze-by-danny-fahey/1 year ago
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Book review: Timefield, by Charlie Nash - The astute among you will have noticed it’s been yonks since I last posted anything. In the spirit of addressing this problem, here’s a book review. Charli...1 year ago
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Grandma's Chicken & Dumplings for Jo - Still haven't returned to blogging yet, but I did want to honor Jo. I had the pleasure of meeting her and her husband in North Carolina back in Sept 2013...1 year 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...1 year ago
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Spooky Phishing Scam Targets Traditionally-Published Writers - *Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware®* The *New York Times* has published the story of a strange international phishing scam: unknown actors ta...1 year 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...2 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, Pac-...2 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...2 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 ...2 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...2 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...2 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...2 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...2 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 - 28th ...2 years 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...2 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...3 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 ...3 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...3 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...3 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? ...3 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...4 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...5 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...5 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...5 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:...5 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...5 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...5 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...5 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)...6 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...8 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 ...9 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

Sydney Conservatorium - my old school
Places I've lived: Auckland, NZ

Places I've Lived: Mount Gambier

Blue Lake
Places I've lived: Adelaide, SA

Places I've Lived: Perth by Day

From Kings Park
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

From Kings Park
Versatile Blogger Award
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Sunday, 21 June 2020
Farewell to My Blog


I've been writing for Blogger for ten years with an output of 79 posts. This will be the eightieth and final offering.
It is a shame that blogging has been usurped by Facebook et al, but it must be admitted that the newer form of communication is faster and easier to maintain - and reaches a bigger audience than blogging. If you don't already read me on Facebook, look me up at https://www.facebook.com/SatimaFlavell. I am there almost every day, reading what my friends have been up to and shouting to the universe about my own activities.
Those of you who use Facebook are welcome to friend me, and if you have a Facebook page of your own I will friend you, too, and I'll stop by to say g'day.
I'd like to think I've made friends on Blogger, and I hope all those friends will will have long and happy lives and enjoy many cyber-friendships, as I have, both here and on Facebook.
May you all be well and happy for many years to come. My love to you all.
And hey, don't forget to look up my offer of a free novella about Nariel!
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