About Me

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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 Dagger of Dresnia

The Cloak of Challiver, Book two of The Talismans

The Cloak of Challiver, Book two of The Talismans
Available as an e-book on Amazon and other online booksellers.

Mythic Resonance

Mythic Resonance

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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My Blog List

Blog Archive

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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Wednesday 11 January 2017

Sad ending for Satalyte

Wednesday, January 11, 2017 | Posted by Satima Flavell

I had an email this morning, as did all Satalyte authors, telling me that the enterprise is closing down. It was always a brave venture and maybe a forlorn hope. People are reading fewer books, it seems, and maybe some prefer to borrow from libraries rather than paying out for books they can keep.

Most books are ephemeral. Maybe a complete works of Charles Dickens shelf is a nice-looking addition to your lounge room, but most contemporary works will be read once then passed on to someone else or to the local op shop. Very few books come out as hardbacks these days: soft covers and even ebooks are the way modern publishing has gone. I think maybe I'll go down the e-book route. I have several friends who've done that and are doing quite well out of it. After all, the writer gets to keep the money if s/he does the work alone.

I'm still feeling confused, let down, and sad for Satalyte. They set out with such  great ideas three or four years ago, but they've gone the same way as many small press outfits - five years is the limit for many of them. By that time they are probably exhausted and possibly out of pocket.

I am still working on a novella that is a spin off from book two, and I might wind up serializing it on the blog. Watch this space - I'll keep you posted on developments.

3 comments:

Sue Bursztynski said...

Oh, dear! That is sad. Sorry to hear about your book. I'd say that ebook is the best way to go with a novella, and consider self publishing for that. A number of authors have done that when a series has gone down the gurgler for one reason or another. Felicity Pulman did that with her last two Janna novels and eventually found a new publisher who has been reprinting the lot in ebook. Rhiannon Hart self published her final volume in the Lharmell trilogy, which was nice for the readers, as the previous one had ended on a cliffhanger!

Satalyte did some nicely-printed volumes. I bought a copy of Gillian Polack's Wizardry Of Jewish Women and you couldn't tell it was a small-press book, it was so professional-looking, with the beautiful matte cover and the paper not the usual thick stuff that small press uses. What's going to happen to that one now? It only came out last September!

I only buy physical books I know I will re-read. It's not lack of interest, it's that I've run out of space. I gave away over 100 books to Continuum last year, as prizes, and I STILL have overflowing shelves. Most purchases these days have been ebooks. I can carry them with me to work and I don't have to find shelf space for them. That is no reason with younger readers.

Mind you, if you don't enjoy an ebook, you can't give THAT away. ;-)

Wednesday, January 11, 2017
Satima Flavell said...


My second book came out at the same time as Gillian's, with a very low-key launch at Continuum. I haven't started writing book three yet, but the novella is nearly at the finishing line. I might try that one out as a giveaway on Amazon, just to test the waters. Marieke is an excellent cover designer, so I hope we might be able to come to some arrangement re self-publishing. At the moment, the Satalyte site is still up, so people can, I expect, still buy books there. I guess we writers will just have to wait and see what happens.

Thursday, January 12, 2017
Satima Flavell said...


PS - Satalyte is no longer selling books and has withdrawn from Amazon. I hope to be able to purchase remaining stock, and I intend to get the existing books online as e-books ASAP.

Sunday, January 15, 2017
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