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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Podcast 611, Your Transcript is Ready! - I know it’s two windows, but don’t miss the visual aids! The ads are truly incredible.6 hours ago
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Shedding Light on Some Popular Publishing Myths - There are many hot takes on social media about how to write a book, what traditional publishers like, and what you need to do to make your novel a bestse...15 hours ago
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A To Z Blogging Challenge 2024 - Villains ! - Q Is For Quirrell - Professor Quirinus Quirrell, teacher of Defence Against The Dark Arts in Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone, is the first teacher Harry Potter m...20 hours ago
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Ada Lovelace - by Sue Purkiss - On a recent stay on Exmoor, I came across an article about someone called Ada Lovelace. I had vaguely heard of her, but if you'd asked me why, I wouldn'...20 hours ago
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Happy Birthday, Krissy - She’s fabulous and I just think she’s neat. And it’s also her birthday! If you are so inclined, wish her a happy one. — JS1 day ago
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I promised photos from the trip - I feel like a slacker but I have been busy. There’s so much going on, so much to write about. We’ve been back six weeks. It feels like a short time and a l...1 day ago
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Mastering Blog Post Creation: 10 Essential Steps to Enhance Your Writing Process - The post Mastering Blog Post Creation: 10 Essential Steps to Enhance Your Writing Process appeared first on ProBlogger. It hits you like a TON of BRICKS!...1 day ago
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Edward Ashton - Edward Ashton is the author of the novels Mal Goes to War, Antimatter Blues, Mickey7 (now a motion picture directed by Bong Joon-ho and starring Robert Pat...3 days ago
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Newsletter 16th April 2024 - Here’s a copy of my newsletter from April 16th, 2024. Sign up via my website to get newsletters directly to your inbox (and remember to check your Spam f...3 days ago
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Are You Schrödinger’s Writer? Here’s How To Break Out Of This Destructive Mindset - Schrödinger’s Cat Versus Writers Schrödinger’s Cat is a thought experiment devised by the Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger, which he designed to illu...5 days ago
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The Great Discworld Retrospective No. 13: Small Gods - There’s a phenomenon known as “capturing lightning in a bottle” that describes the sensation of being in a particular place at precisely the right time to ...1 week ago
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'The Tic-Toc Boy of Constantinople' in the revered The Conversation as one of five "Australian literary works of particular relevance to national conversations about AI" - I've always respected and admired *The Conversation, *so it is a humbling privilege to have 'The Tic-Toc Boy of Constantinople' written about in *The Con...1 week ago
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Ourselves: 100 Micro Memoirs - I am lucky enough to have a non-fiction piece, ‘Helicopter Parents’, in this new release from Night Parrot Press, Ourselves: 100 Micro Memoirs. This is the...1 week ago
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The Dead Boys Detective Agency. It is a very silly name. But accurate. - April 25th. DEAD BOY DETECTIVES. It's really good -- it's funny, it's smart, it's scary, and it even has a few familiar faces... (And no, you won...2 weeks ago
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#3 WEP GET TOGETHER - APRIL 2024 - IT'S THE A - Z CHALLENGE! - Hi WEPpers and friends! Already time for out third Get Together. Life is flashing by! Hit us with your news, writerly or personal. We'd love to hear fro...2 weeks ago
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Henry of Lancaster and His Children - The close bonds which Edward II's cousin Henry of Lancaster, earl of Lancaster and Leicester, forged with his children have fascinated me for a long time...2 weeks ago
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Urbenville Adventure - Wow, Urbenville, what an adventure! An approach so tough I nearly threw up. Climbs so hard I’m still hurting. Plants so vicious, one grass-spike tore my co...2 weeks ago
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Researching the birth of the first domestic violence refuge - Read a researcher's journey exploring the first few years of Chiswick Women's Aid. The post Researching the birth of the first domestic violence refuge ...4 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...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 ...3 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...3 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 ...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...5 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...6 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...6 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...8 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...8 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...8 months 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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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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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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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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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
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Al Milgrom’s connection to “Iron Man” - Via the Ann Arbor online newspaper - I felt it was worth repeating as a great example of Marvel doing the right thing by a former employee and without the ...13 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
Monday 2 April 2007
Hopfen und Malz - Gott erhalt's
Monday, April 02, 2007 |
Posted by
Satima Flavell
The above header is a phrase I came across yesterday, written on the till of a delightful restaurant in the village of Kestert. It means, roughly, "May God protect hops and malt" and after a tall glass of the local shandy, known as "Radler", I concurred most heartily with the sentiment. The food was excellent, too.
Sam, Elfriede and I were in Lorelei country, the eastern bank of the ravine that marks the end of the Rhine Valley proper. Here, so legend has it, a beautiful maiden sits atop a slate cliff and sings sailors to their doom, just like the Sirens of old. The photo above is of the cliff she is said to haunt and the one to the left is the stunning view from her home.
Lorelei didn't favour us with an appearance on the clifftop so we contented ourselves with a trek to her statue, which crowns a man-made (or at least man-enhanced) breakwater just beyond her reputed haunts. Heights, even two metre ones, are simply not my preferred adventure playgrounds, so I gritted my teeth and stuck to the middle of the path along the breakwater and held on tightly to Elfriede and Sam when we got to the narrow neck that projects beyond the enormous statue. I transferred my grasp to the statue's rocky base and forced a smile for the camera, just to prove I'd been there! My friends rewarded me with the above-mentioned delicious meal at the Kröne Hotel.
We then proceeded to Marksburg, a restored medieval castle that overlooks the town of Braubach. This former lead-mining centre snuggles amid mountains that reach almost to the waterfront, heralding the steep climb to the castle. Fortunately there's a good road these days (although parking along the edge of a ridge was pretty alarming!) and it's possible to take an easy stroll up to the gates via a service road if you don't fancy the myriad steps. (We didn't.)
A stroke of luck accompanied us in the form of a gaggle of teenagers from Reading, England, out on a German language class expedition. Now maybe the company of twenty-odd Year 10 students doesn't appeal to all persons of mature years, but this was a great bunch (the boys, especially, were very impressed with crossbows and cannons) and they let us join their guided tour, conducted by Nora, a fluent English speaker. She led us through a veritable maze of passages and stairways to view a wine cellar, a kitchen, a sleeping chamber, a privy, a crafts room, a chapel and an armourers' workshop before taking us around an exhibition of arms and armour. All the rooms were furnished with the basic essentials of medieval life (although some elements were from the C16-C17 era) and there was even a glass case of archeological finds, including shoes and small implements. The whole outing was a joy to one who loves the medieval period and historical fantasy. The many Rhine legends that Elfriede recounted in the car were the stuff of inspiration, too.
Of course, there was the odd hair-raising moment. There was a narrow, winding staircase leading from the beautifully vaulted chapel to the open air and I had visions of getting stuck and having to stay there while they dismantled the castle brick by brick to release me. It was the priest's exit route and all I can say is they must have auditioned for particularly little priests. One-fifty centimetres and 45 kilos would be the required size, I reckon. And of course, I had to get left behind, didn't I, due to my determination to get photos of the armaments. Nora had warned us when we arrived that we would be locked in if we lingered, and to make her point, she waved an enormous key. I thought the implement was merely for show, but no, it was for real. By the time I'd got my pics the students, their teacher and my friends has disappeared and I was stuck among a new party under a German speaking guide, who also had one of the enormous keys and was waving it threateningly at her charges: no teenagers this time but serious group of Mature Persons, possibly from the U3A or its German counterpart. My German is almost non-existent, but it was obvious that the serious group's equally serious guide was using me as an object lesson on what happens to naughty tourists who don't stay with their companions. I felt about two inches tall as she shepherded me to the locked gate and without deigning to look at me or acknowledge my mortified "danke schön" released me from the perils of Marksburg.
I seem to have been disaster-prone since leaving the Land of Oz. I won't embarrass myself or bore you with tales of malfunctioning computers and blocked toilets, but I will warn you to make sure all your cosmetics are safely packed in plastic bags when flying in this part of the world. If you don't, you risk being pulled up at the x-ray machine and having your goods and chattels gone over with a fine tooth comb while they make sure you're not carrying any explosives. While it's reassuring to know that the customs officials of Europe are well and truly on the ball, it's hard to understand why they think a plastic bag will be any better than a plastic-lined cosmetics purse in foiling the intentions of terrorists. Never mind, I made the flight in time and less than an hour later I was drinking my first cappuchino in Germany. Imagine; in the same time as a flight from Adelaide to Mount Gambier you are in a different culture, a different world. The world of the Lorelei.
The photos above are all from Wikipedia. BTW, I haven't yet photographed the church at Geisenheim, although I've visited it and was most impressed. Every village church here, it seems, is the size of your average cathedral. However, at the end of a long day checking out the haunts of Hildegarde of Bingen, a woman whom I have long admired, my camera's battery gave up the ghost when I asked it for a shot of the Geisenheim font. Elfriede has promised to take me again, but it won't be until later in the week as tomorrow she & I are going to Luxembourg! Then on Wednesday her sister Renate has kindly offered to take me to still another medieval village, Bacharach. What was I saying last time about hoping my good karma won't all get used up? Surely there can't be much left!
Sam, Elfriede and I were in Lorelei country, the eastern bank of the ravine that marks the end of the Rhine Valley proper. Here, so legend has it, a beautiful maiden sits atop a slate cliff and sings sailors to their doom, just like the Sirens of old. The photo above is of the cliff she is said to haunt and the one to the left is the stunning view from her home.
Lorelei didn't favour us with an appearance on the clifftop so we contented ourselves with a trek to her statue, which crowns a man-made (or at least man-enhanced) breakwater just beyond her reputed haunts. Heights, even two metre ones, are simply not my preferred adventure playgrounds, so I gritted my teeth and stuck to the middle of the path along the breakwater and held on tightly to Elfriede and Sam when we got to the narrow neck that projects beyond the enormous statue. I transferred my grasp to the statue's rocky base and forced a smile for the camera, just to prove I'd been there! My friends rewarded me with the above-mentioned delicious meal at the Kröne Hotel.
We then proceeded to Marksburg, a restored medieval castle that overlooks the town of Braubach. This former lead-mining centre snuggles amid mountains that reach almost to the waterfront, heralding the steep climb to the castle. Fortunately there's a good road these days (although parking along the edge of a ridge was pretty alarming!) and it's possible to take an easy stroll up to the gates via a service road if you don't fancy the myriad steps. (We didn't.)
A stroke of luck accompanied us in the form of a gaggle of teenagers from Reading, England, out on a German language class expedition. Now maybe the company of twenty-odd Year 10 students doesn't appeal to all persons of mature years, but this was a great bunch (the boys, especially, were very impressed with crossbows and cannons) and they let us join their guided tour, conducted by Nora, a fluent English speaker. She led us through a veritable maze of passages and stairways to view a wine cellar, a kitchen, a sleeping chamber, a privy, a crafts room, a chapel and an armourers' workshop before taking us around an exhibition of arms and armour. All the rooms were furnished with the basic essentials of medieval life (although some elements were from the C16-C17 era) and there was even a glass case of archeological finds, including shoes and small implements. The whole outing was a joy to one who loves the medieval period and historical fantasy. The many Rhine legends that Elfriede recounted in the car were the stuff of inspiration, too.
Of course, there was the odd hair-raising moment. There was a narrow, winding staircase leading from the beautifully vaulted chapel to the open air and I had visions of getting stuck and having to stay there while they dismantled the castle brick by brick to release me. It was the priest's exit route and all I can say is they must have auditioned for particularly little priests. One-fifty centimetres and 45 kilos would be the required size, I reckon. And of course, I had to get left behind, didn't I, due to my determination to get photos of the armaments. Nora had warned us when we arrived that we would be locked in if we lingered, and to make her point, she waved an enormous key. I thought the implement was merely for show, but no, it was for real. By the time I'd got my pics the students, their teacher and my friends has disappeared and I was stuck among a new party under a German speaking guide, who also had one of the enormous keys and was waving it threateningly at her charges: no teenagers this time but serious group of Mature Persons, possibly from the U3A or its German counterpart. My German is almost non-existent, but it was obvious that the serious group's equally serious guide was using me as an object lesson on what happens to naughty tourists who don't stay with their companions. I felt about two inches tall as she shepherded me to the locked gate and without deigning to look at me or acknowledge my mortified "danke schön" released me from the perils of Marksburg.
I seem to have been disaster-prone since leaving the Land of Oz. I won't embarrass myself or bore you with tales of malfunctioning computers and blocked toilets, but I will warn you to make sure all your cosmetics are safely packed in plastic bags when flying in this part of the world. If you don't, you risk being pulled up at the x-ray machine and having your goods and chattels gone over with a fine tooth comb while they make sure you're not carrying any explosives. While it's reassuring to know that the customs officials of Europe are well and truly on the ball, it's hard to understand why they think a plastic bag will be any better than a plastic-lined cosmetics purse in foiling the intentions of terrorists. Never mind, I made the flight in time and less than an hour later I was drinking my first cappuchino in Germany. Imagine; in the same time as a flight from Adelaide to Mount Gambier you are in a different culture, a different world. The world of the Lorelei.
The photos above are all from Wikipedia. BTW, I haven't yet photographed the church at Geisenheim, although I've visited it and was most impressed. Every village church here, it seems, is the size of your average cathedral. However, at the end of a long day checking out the haunts of Hildegarde of Bingen, a woman whom I have long admired, my camera's battery gave up the ghost when I asked it for a shot of the Geisenheim font. Elfriede has promised to take me again, but it won't be until later in the week as tomorrow she & I are going to Luxembourg! Then on Wednesday her sister Renate has kindly offered to take me to still another medieval village, Bacharach. What was I saying last time about hoping my good karma won't all get used up? Surely there can't be much left!
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