Tess is an ex-police officer and writer. Her first novel entitled RANK was written from lived experiences as a policewoman and as someone with personal experience of the trauma of being stalked.

Her second novel, Red Dirt Blue Lights, is an historical fiction centred around the community of Cherbourg, giving a snapshot of the history in the early 1970 when she was a police officer in the region. This novella is a small book which tells a big story. It brings the history to life through the experiences and emotions of the characters. Red Dirt Blue Lights is appealing to Adult and YA readers alike and is suitable for classroom reading activities with a focus on Australian Indigenous history.

In an earlier career as a content writer, trainer and facilitator she created and published training handbooks and course material. She now writes adult fiction and YA fiction.

Tess is a keen linguist in French and Italian, with a great love of the English language, which she has taught in a variety of environments, to both adults and children. Having travelled and lived overseas, particularly Italy, she enjoys incorporating these experiences into her writing.

Tess writes from the beautiful Gubbi Gubbi Country, nurturing a strong respect for nature, the environment and indigenous culture. She believes in continuously attempting new challenges – most recently fence building and babysitting 12 month old twins.