RED DIRT BLUE LIGHTS – Released April 2025.
This historical fiction published by AndAlso Books is Tess Merlin’s second novel.
Blurb:
In a place and a time where most choices are taken from you, Jemma has a big decision to make. Stay in the confines of Cherbourg Aboriginal Community and look after her Nan, or run away to begin a new life with Syd. Nan has always been her rock, but Syd is the love of her life.
At midnight on the full moon Jemma must make her choice.
In the 1970s the Queensland police have a poor reputation for their interactions with Indigenous people, but young policewoman Tess is new to town and as yet uninfluenced by the pervasive racism. On her first visit to Cherbourg she finds a whole world she never knew existed and questions that she had never imagined. But finding the right answers really comes down to who you ask.
A unique perspective on life in and around Cherbourg—a small Queensland town with a big history.
RANK – An Autobiographical Novel – Published 2023
Author and ex-police officer Tess Merlin’s first novel RANK is a revealing insight into what life was like for the early policewomen in the Queensland Police Force in the 1970s and 80s, from her unique lived experience perspective.
In this Autobiographical Novel, Tess lets readers into what breaking new ground in that heavily male dominated environment was really like. As with most Autobiographical Novels, fact combines with fiction to enliven the story and to introduce aspects of mystery and thriller. However, all instances of workplace harassment recounted in this book are factual. The stalking and other events in Tess’s private life have been fictionalised.
In this story, as well as trying to prove that female officers are as efficient and effective as male officers, and battling the Boys’ Club, Tess is dealing with being stalked in her private life. The combination of this thrilling back story with a contemporary look at online dating in the present makes for a compelling read. See back cover blurb.
Author Biography – Tess Merlin
Tess Merlin is an ex-police officer and author. Her first novel RANK was written from her lived experiences as a policewoman and as someone with personal experience of the trauma of being stalked. She has written and published training resources as a trainer, facilitator and language teacher. She now also writes adult fiction and middle grade fiction. RANK is receiving five star reviews.
Her latest work, Red Dirt Blue Lights, is an historical fiction which tells of her time as a policewoman in the 1970s and the prevailing, disturbing divide between Police and Indigenous people.
In 2023, Tess was awarded second place in the Thunderbolt Non-fiction Short Story awards and is regularly part of writing competition judging panels.
Tess is a mother of two and a keen linguist in four languages. She has a passion for the English language, which she has taught in a variety of environments, to both adults and children.
She writes from the peaceful shores of Gubbi Gubbi country, where she pretends to be a farmer, with several chickens and an impressive veggie garden. She believes in continuously attempting new challenges—most recently bouldering and learning Auslan.
She regularly speaks on author panels and runs workshops in libraries and bookstores.
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