A WEE COUNTY native has penned a story about a Jewish child's experience in Britain during World War Two, after being inspired by her grandfather's tales from the era.

Kirsty Campbell, 23, published From The Wolf's Den in March, having worked on the book, on and off, for three years.

It focuses on a six-year-old boy named Stefan Gundelach, who is forced to leave his home in Germany following a massacre.

After being transported to England via the Kindertransport system, he finds himself facing more struggles than he could have imagined during his time in Britain.

Although the tale is fictitious, Kirsty used real historical events and facts to enhance her work.

The Hillfoots woman, who now lives in Aberdeen, told the Advertiser: "The inspiration came from various places, but primarily from my family history.

"My grandfather, David Hunter Forsyth from Tillicoultry, was with British troops at the liberation of Neuengamme concentration camp in 1945, during which he met a German woman named Frieda Anna Maria Naths who was with her starving family nearby.

"My grandpa shot a deer for them to eat, they fell in love and eventually married in Scotland.

"They majorly struggled to marry simply because Frieda was German, which is terrible.

"Unfortunately, Frieda died in 1961 from breast cancer, and my grandpa eventually remarried my granny. My grandpa passed away in 2005."

Although she thought that was the end of the tale, Kirsty ended up making contact with some of Frieda's relatives a few years ago, who still remembered her grandfather.

Hearing their stories motivated her to write something that David would have been proud of.

However, Kirsty admitted that writing the book turned out to be harder than she expected.

She said: "I wasn't writing full-time or anything, just when I felt inspired.

"It wasn't an easy process though. I did everything regarding the book myself and not just the writing.

"I cannot tell you how many parts of the book I scrapped in the early stages because I wasn't happy with it.

"There were days I would be on my laptop for 16 or 17 hours just reading chapters over or editing mistakes.

"But in the end, it's totally worth it when you have your own copy in your hands."

From The Wolf's Den is available in paperback and Kindle format at tinyurl.com/y39yme5r