Jack McGenily, who is becoming an established children’s writer, started by telling stories to his own children using his childhood in the Cumnock area as a basis, and quickly built up a dossier of tales.

Some of the more simple stories had been handed down from family members as he was growing up in Logan, while his own creations became more sophisticated and uses a younger generation as an inspiration.

He said: “The main character Rachel in my latest book, The Secret of the Golden Scarab, is loosely based on my granddaughter who goes with her grandfather and two friends on a trip which takes them to Egypt where they are buried in a tomb.

“They all manage to escape but a golden scarab has fallen into Rachel’s hood and they become the target of treasure hunters who pursue them through Europe, including Venice and Rome, before ending up on the Orient Express.” The Secret of the Golden Scarab follows The Old Lady of the Mill, The Children who were turned to Stone, and The Adventures of Craggy Wood, with Jack already working on a fifth, which he hopes to be ready in six months.

He said: “You can’t be too graphic with children’s books — when you’re locked in a cupboard that is the way you tell it, but there are two set of books, one featuring Rachel and the other Bobo the Lamb, for pre-school children.

“My objective has been to try and teach parents how to tell a story, rather than reading out the words, by the highs and lows of the voice as well as putting the emphasis on certain words.” His first foray into publishing is an account of his early life in the Cumnock area, The Bastard Child, which is a hard-hitting account of his early years after he was born illegitimate and was adopted.

“The book describes my colourful past, and is quite juicy in a lot of places. Because of the controversial title people wanted to pick it up.

“It is written in the vernacular, and is not grammatically correct but is the story of my life — rude and crude,” he added.