From reality, fiction comes to Corowa

“Nothing you learn ever goes to waste,” Tracey said.

“That was in the back of my mind; I thought, I could use that.”

Run Til You Can’t, her second novel, is a thriller based around identity theft.

Tracey Oakman, who writes as TL Oakman, was initially inspired by a real-life robbery.

“I read an article in the paper about a home invasion where people had their house robbed while they slept,” she said.

“I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s just horrifying, that would make a great novel’.

“I met someone who had their identity stolen and he described the things that happened during the 18 months that it took to clear his name.”

The story centres around Tory, a young mum who has her home robbed and her identity stolen.

Tracey describes Tory as a young woman with a ‘rough upbringing’ who ‘burned a few bridges’ before moving to a country town, where she met her husband and had a child.

When her identity is stolen, her secret past catches up with her.

Tracey wrote her first book, The Pandemic Plan, while working as Director of Public Health.

“I was concerned that people didn’t believe, or take much interest in, some of the health messages,” she said.

“I thought if I could write a novel that is interesting to read, but covers all those health messages by subterfuge, they might pick it up.

“So, I wrote The Pandemic Plan in 2012 and included what you should do if a pandemic came.”

Now she says her long career in health has given her plenty of material for future books.

“(As) Director of Public Health, you’re exposed to an incredibly broad range of things that happen in the community,” she said.

“There are decades of books that could be written about some of the stuff I learned in that job, so I’ll draw on that as I keep writing.”

An avid thriller reader herself, Tracey encourages anyone who enjoys a good story to come to one of her library events in Corowa or Howlong.

“I love engaging with people who are interested in stories, and sharing what I do,” she said.

Now retired and based in the Albury region, she plans to keep writing and hopes to release a new book every two years.