Stuart Pearson

To be honest, I never really knew what I wanted to do until I was well into my middle age. For over forty years, I had been employed as a Police officer, Teacher, Business consultant and Government employee - all jobs I liked but none I loved.

Then, quite by accident, I wrote a brief summary of my mother-in-law's life for her 90th birthday celebrations and found many people wanting to know more. As I was 'between jobs' at the time (as they euphemistically say), I decided to apply myself to the task and four years later a book - Bittersweet - was the result.

To my pleasant surprise Bittersweet was nominated for the New South Wales Premier's Literary Award in Australia and received a number of very complimentary reviews from around the world. It dawned on me that I might have found something I was not only good at but also loved - writing stories about people's lives.

My second book - Blood on the Thistle - was recently released in June 2014 and is about a remarkable Scottish family who lost four sons in the Great War. It's also a personal tale for me, because it happens to be my grandmother's family!

And now I am proud to present my third book - Great Scottish Heroes - in the hope that every school and library in Scotland should have it in their library, as well as everyone who has a drop of Scottish blood in the veins!