AN author from Largs has revealed how she has changed careers to become an award-winning novelist, and has been inspired by early her life on the Clyde Coast in writing her debut novel.

Nicola Dahlin, who attended Largs Academy and studied at Strathclyde University, won acclaim for her young adult novel, If We Tell You, before it hit the bookshelves.

Released in October, the book won the Canadian Society for Children's Authors award in 2021, for Young Adult works in progress, and was a runner-up in Write Mentor’s 2022 Novel Award. 

The novel follows identical twins, Cameron and Lewis, as they flee to Edinburgh after their parents kill uninvited guests at a neighbourhood barbecue then disappear.

Racing through cities and castles, with a detour to the Isle of Bute, the twins make friends and enemies along the way, and start to doubt everything they know about their family and even themselves. 

When asked why she chose to write about boys, Nicola said: "I have a son and two daughters, and felt it was much harder for teenage boys to find empathetic and sensitive book characters they could relate to and I wanted to address this."

Nicola also wanted the book to reflect her roots. She currently lives in Calgary in Canada and saw this book as a chance to reconnect with home.

Home is where the heart is but where does your identity lie, is the inspiration for a new book by Nicola Dahlin, pictured belowHome is where the heart is but where does your identity lie, is the inspiration for a new book by Nicola Dahlin, pictured below (Image: Nicola Dahlin)

Nicola, 54, said: “I wanted to write about the places that shaped me and I wanted to include the magical side of Scotland that gripped me as a child - the excitement of a ferry ride, the history of the castles, the beauty of our islands and the simple delight of exploring."

Nicola, whose maiden names is Evers, says she always loved reading from an early age and was good at maths and physics at school leading to her studying engineering at Strathclyde University.

Her career took Nicola to Holland, the Middle East and then her current home of Canada.

Nicola grew up in Noddleburn Road in Largs, and first went to Brisbane Primary before secondary where her mother Pat was a home economics teacher, and her dad Eric Evers, worked at IBM for many years.

Nicola left Largs in 1992, and graduated with her masters degree in engineering.

She said: "I was quite late to writing, and my children were young at three, five and seven, and I took a couple of years off work and started writing. I loved it so much I just do it full time now.

Award winning new book by NIcola Dahlin has now hit the bookshelvesAward winning new book by Nicola Dahlin has now hit the bookshelves (Image: Nicola Dahlin)

"The premise of the book is who were your parents before you were born? You assume they are your parents, but what if there was someone else before that, and if there was something bad - would they tell you, and would that change how you feel about yourself?

"Nationality is also a factor in identity. Two of my children were born in Canada, and one of them was born in Holland, so when he was at school, is he British, is he Dutch because he was born in Holland, is he Norwegian because his father is Norwegian, or Canadian?

"I have lived in various places and worked in all sorts of places all around the world and it makes you realise just how special Largs was as a place to grow up - a small safe community surrounded by places to go on adventures!"

And Nicola frequently gets to return to Scotland as her son Jonah is 22 and living in Edinburgh, in his fourth year at Heriot Watt university studying architectural engineering.

The book is available to buy now from Amazon and other book stores: amazon.co.uk/If-Tell-You-Nicola-Dahlin/dp/1525311476.