Hello, lovely pledgers!
I am over the moon to finally be writing this email. After a long Covid-related delay and another to perfect the Scots, Be Guid tae Yer Mammy will soon be with you.
The official publication date is August 19, but as early subscribers, you will receive your copies as soon as they are fresh off the printers!
I really hope that you enjoy the book and to whet your appetite, here are some early reviews:
‘This is a brave novel… with a strong cultural identity. The main character - a thrawn auld besom wha’s guid tae hersel raither than her lassies an granddochters but whase sleekit sense o humour an couthie turn o phrase gars ye like her despite yersel.’ - Billy Kay, Scots: The Mither Tongue
'Every so often a book comes along that pulls you in so completely you no longer see the pages when you are reading. This is one of those books.
'Be guid tae yer Mammy is written largely in Scots, which I don’t have much experience of reading in. Nevertheless, I found myself racing through. The book follows a family dispute in which we hear from different family members. I fell in love with them all and what this book does so well is to continually play with your allegiances - demonstrating expertly that the thing about the truth is that it really does depend on who’s telling it. One of the characters has OCD, and as someone with OCD myself I found their experiences to be painfully familiar and brilliantly depicted. It’s refreshing (and important) to see characters with OCD depicted, where the OCD forms an integral part of their character but is not the driving thrust of the plot. I for one would like to see more of this in fiction! It’s great to feel represented like this.
'This book is both narratively and stylistically exciting. It opened my eyes to how beautiful Scots is and has made me want to read more literature by authors writing in Scots. But mostly this author! I can’t wait to see what Emma Grae writes next.’ - Lily Bailey, Because we are Bad
'A smashing story with a strong Scots voice.’ - Dr Michael Dempster, head of the Scots Language Centre
‘A tender family saga, carefully stitched together with rich Scots voices. Emma Grae’s debut is an authentic and heartfelt story of legacy, love and loss. With narrative undercurrents as deep as the Clyde, this novel will appeal to anyone who recognises the people and the patter from the West of Scotland.’ - Alan Gillespie, The Mash House
‘I once tried reading an Irvine Welsh book and failed miserably because I have a southerner's ear and struggled with the Scots. Because of this experience, I was worried that I'd lose Emma Grae's debut novel 'in translation', if you will, but that was not the case and - in summary - I thought it was fantastic.’ - Maximilian Hawker, Breaking The Foals
‘I’ve been in such a reading slump for the past few months and this really pulled me out of it. Be Guid tae Yer Mammy is a family drama following three generations of Scottish women and each voice is so carefully crafted, colourful and bursting with so many lovely turns of phrase. each character is so relatable and the complexity of the family dynamics and escalating drama was so gripping that I powered through until the end.’ - Sophie McNaughton, Glasgowist
But don't worry about being bereft of Scots while you wait, attached is an incredible performance of my latest Scots short story 'Billy's Ghost Dug' by the amazing Liars' League.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvZsUIQ_rg8
(It's also available to read here: https://www.liarsleague.com/liars_league/2021/05/billys-ghost-dug-by-emma-grae.html).
Best wishes and a thousand thank yous for your support and patience,
Emma