Are TV or film adaptations of books a hit or a miss?
Yes – so long as I’ve already read the book! Then the film adaptation is like a lovely dessert.
What is the best snack or drink to accompany reading?
Black coffee, no sugar, no milk, just a hot brew made from good quality beans.
Share something about yourself that readers might not know
I sing around the house all the time – zero vocal talent, maximum enthusiasm!
What are you reading right now?
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi.
Are you a bookmark user, or do you prefer to dog-ear your pages?
Bookmarks! Dog ears make me shudder.
We also asked Angie to tell us all about Melaleuca’s heroine, police office Renee Taylor…
Renee is an Aboriginal detective raised in a country town by her mum (who’s not Indigenous) to be strong and independent. As a result, she’s emotionally closed off and somewhat judgemental – which makes her a good cop, but difficult to get along with. She’s deeply committed to justice, pursuing it at all costs, but the casual racism she faces on the job wears her down.
Her relationship with her mother is tender and complex. Renee tries to stay composed, but she’s quietly terrified by how much her mother relies on her. Once a capable nurse, her mum is now slowed by painful arthritis, and this frailty unsettles Renee in ways she struggles to admit. But still, the love runs deep.
Renee never knew her dad but over time her mother has let fragments slip, and she holds onto these details dearly. Sometimes she imagines his totem, the brown snake, watching over her – though part of her feels foolish for needing this comfort.
Put simply, Renee is part me, part my sister (especially her fierce attitude and sharp mind), and part everyone who’s felt overwhelmed by the weight of a broken world yet still recognises that broken world lives inside them too.
Angie Faye Martin(Kooma/Kamilaroi/European) is a writer/editor currently living on Gubbi Gubbi Country (Redcliffe). She worked in public policy for 15 years before launching a freelance editing business, Versed Writings. She has a Bachelor of Public Health, a Masters of Anthropology, and a passion for fiction.
Melaleuca is her debut novel.
THE debut of 2025.
Gripping Australian crime noir where a murder in the present leads to long-buried injustice.
For readers of Dervla McTiernan