SCOTS author Emma Grae has been celebrating the release of her debut novel, Be Your Guid Tae Yer Mammy, by looking back on the stories that inspired the book.

Emma, 27 from Clydebank, took inspiration from her time working in a Glasgow care home and has combined a treasure trove of stories into the piece of fiction.

She said: "It has been a long time coming.

"I worked in a care home around 10 years ago and the stories have always stayed with me.

"It tells the story of three generations of Scots women and it's written in Scots too so you get to see the changes throughout the generations in the way they speak. Each character speaks differently like in real life."

Glasgow Times:

Be Guid Tae Yer Mammy tells the story of Kate and her granny Jean. 

Jean is a traditional Glaswegian housewife, now in her nineties, who had far-reaching dreams as a young woman. 

Emma said: "It's really a study of two characters who both have the same dreams, and what happens when one achieves them while the other leaves them behind, and what that means for both of them."

One of the big pushes for Emma to write a Scots language novel from a female perspective was the lack of feminine voices in Scots writing.

Glasgow Times:

She said: "When we think of Scots novels or Scots in the media we think of Trainspotting, Still Game, that kind of thing.

"Be Guid Tae Yer Mammy is a kind of love letter to Scots women and their experiences because their story isn't told as much.

"I think what is really quite funny is that I began writing in Scots without actually realising it.

"Scots is what most of us speak every day and I think it gives stories a sense of realism when it comes to these sorts of stories."

While writing in Scots came naturally to Emma when writing her debut, it is something that she didn't find a love for until her university days. 

She said: "In 2015, I was studying in Dublin and it was there that I was really encouraged to actually write in Scots. 

"It's something that has stuck with me ever since and we have a really great community of authors that are using Scots in their writing now.

"The big examples we have now are Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart and The Young Team by Graeme Armstrong, and I hope it encourages more Scottish authors to do the same."

One of the big surprises for Emma was the fact that Be Guid Tae Yer Mammy was picked up by England-based publisher, Unbound. 

She said: "Unbound had been on my radar since I was working in the care home. 

"I sent in the story, not really thinking that anything would come of it, because why would an English publisher pick up such a traditionally Scottish book?

"But Unbound did pick it up and they have been fantastic with everything."

Be Guid Tae Yer Mammy is out now and available at all good bookshops.