Cumnock author Emma Christie is getting ready for the launch of her new book this month.

Find Her First follows on from the success of The Silent Daughter, for which Emma was longlisted for the Bloody Scotland McIllvanney prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year.

The Silent Daughter was also shortlisted for the Scottish Crime Debut Of The Year Award 2021.

Now living in Barcelona, Emma is delighted that the work she has put into the new book will be there for all to see.

She told the Chronicle: “I was in Cumnock actually when I started writing it, when I was home visiting.

“I was in two weeks of isolation and trying to write a book that wasn’t working, but this story just came to me because I’d been working on a couple of different things for a couple of months.

“It’s still really strange to see my books in the shops. Coming up to publication is amazing and really strange at the same time.

“I’m obviously super chuffed. A lot of the time it can be a really tough job being a writer, and I don’t enjoy every single aspect of the job by any stretch of the imagination.

“But it was my childhood dream to be a published author, and I’ve got this second one coming out and I’m already working on a third one, so it really is amazing.”

Emma has recently said how she would like to incorporate Cumnock into her future stories.

It is something she has tried with her new book and something she’ll think about more in the future.

She added: “There is a slight mention of Cumnock in this one, but I am going to try and give a bit more of a focus in some of my works coming up, because I love being from Cumnock.”

Emma’s new book will be available from January 20 and can be pre-ordered online and from local bookshops now.