A Glaswegian author has taken tales of her parents’ lives in Sorn and turned them into a book which is proving an international success.

Karen McGarr is the author of ‘Tales from a Wee Scottish Village’, set in Sorn and centring on the cottage her parents, Liz and Tom McGarr, resided in for many years.

Glaswegian through and through, Karen claims their time in Ayrshire always provided a funny tale or two – hence the inspiration to write the book and have their many funny times together detailed in print.

Karen, 53, was brought up in Springburn before she and her parents moved to England in the 1980s. Although the move back to Scotland was unexpected, the writer instantly fell in love with Sorn.

Karen said: “We made a life in England and my parents never spoke about going back to Scotland, so it was a shock when they said they’d bought a wee cottage in Ayrshire.

“I didn’t know anything about Ayrshire. We used to go to Saltcoats when I was a wee girl, but nothing apart from that.

“They found a house that was built in the 1700s, just across from the church with a river running at the bottom of the garden.

“It was a magical little place and I fell in love with it straightaway.

“The house was dilapidated so they started doing it up. That was the beginning of me going to this different place that I didn’t know anything about.”

Cumnock Chronicle: Liz and Tom McGarr with their grandson, Peter.Liz and Tom McGarr with their grandson, Peter.

Karen says her parents’ arrival in the village raised a few suspicions among locals.

She said: “There was a story going round the village that they’d arrived in the middle of the night and were squatters. Nobody actually spoke to them for ages until one day, my dad was in the garden, and a guy said, ‘Are you Scottish? Everyone’s saying you’re English squatters’.

“So the introduction to the village was quite funny. After that people were really friendly.”

Sadly, Liz and Tom have now both passed away, but Karen, who now resides in Massachusetts, USA, with her son, Peter, 25, says she is immensely proud of her parents.

She said: “After they died I felt like it was really important to share my mum and dad with people and to share Scotland. Half of my son’s family live 3,000 miles away so it’s nice to give him something to hold in his hands.

“It’s selling really well on Amazon and I’ve had messages from people across the world saying they love the book.”

To get your hands on a copy, click here