Some calls end. Others stay with you.
BADGES, BOOTS & MIXED TEA
A novel inspired by a woman’s life behind the badge.
INSPIRED BY REAL EXPERIENCE
Fiction shaped by firsthand moments from a career in law enforcement
FROM SOMEONE WHO WORE THE BADGE
Melanie brings a perspective to the page that comes from having lived the world she writes about.
FICTION WITH A HUMAN HEART
Real emotions transformed into a story about the people behind the uniform—not just the job they do.
JOIN THE JOURNEY
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ABOUT THE BOOK
Badges, Boots &
Mixed Tea
Some calls end when the radio goes quiet. Others stay with you.
Badges, Boots & Mixed Tea follows Riley Bullock into law enforcement beginning in the late 1990s, where she quickly learns that the hardest parts of wearing a badge aren't always the ones written in a report.
Inspired by true experiences, Riley's story goes beyond the calls to reveal the trauma, humor, heartbreak, relationships, and unseen moments that shape the woman beneath the uniform—with just enough of the unexplained to make her wonder if everything she experiences can be explained at all.
BEYOND THE BADGE
The calls may end, but some stories follow you home.
THE WOMAN BENEATH THE UNIFORM
Strength, struggle, humor, heartbreak—and the parts of the job no one sees.
SOME THINGS HAVE NO EXPLANATION
Not every experience behind the badge can be explained away.
MIXED TEA — OFF THE RECORD
There’s always more to the story than what makes the report.
MEET THE AUTHOR
Melanie Broughton
Some stories are imagined. Others are carried with you for years before you're ready to tell them.
For nearly two decades, Melanie Broughton served in law enforcement, experiencing firsthand the humanity, heartbreak, humor, and resilience that exist beyond the uniform.
Today, she transforms those experiences into emotionally rich fiction that explores the people behind the badge, the moments that never make the report, and the hope that can be found even after the hardest chapters of life.
Her debut novel, Badges, Boots & Mixed Tea, is the beginning of that journey.
And never far from her side is Bleu, her loyal German Shepherd and a very important part of the story behind the storyteller.
"I wore the badge. I carried the stories. Now I’m giving them a voice."
Beyond the Badge, Beyond the Uniform
Some calls change you. Some stories stay with you. And sometimes, finding your way back to yourself is the bravest story of all.
- The Woman Behind the Badge
- The Stories That Stay
- Hope After Heartbreak
- Choosing to Keep Going
