Where did you live before moving to Malawi?
I was born in Aldershot then moved to Yorkshire when I was very young. Mother and father were both in the army so we moved about a lot. During the war I lived in a convent for four years. My family then moved to Nyasaland, or Malawi as it is known now, when I was just a youngster.

What was it like growing up in Africa?
It was absolutely lovely - fun and adventurous with beautiful birds and animals. The Malawians are fantastic people with a lot of humour. There were sad things and serious times as well of course, but overall it was our happiest time.

I could have done with more children of my own age for company as there were very few around. It didn't seem to matter to me until I got a bit older though.

What did you do when you came back home?
I arrived back in Britain in 1961 and trained as a nurse in Manchester. I had never been there before and it was quite a culture shock, but I'd been wanting to return for some time. I then trained as a midwife at Rotten Row in Glasgow and became a health visitor, or a green lady as we were known.

I had always wanted to do horticulture, and there was a shop in Balmore lying empty, so I set up my own garden centre and grew my own plants. It was very successful and I ran it for about six years or so.

Why did you decide to write the book?
It was on and off for a long time. Mother always wanted to write about our family but never got the chance. I thought that if I ever had the time I would like to do it.

I had a huge suitcase of photos and didn't know what to do with them, but when I started looking through them and did some research it really encouraged me to get writing.

It took two years to write and another six months to sort out things like the bibliography and references.

What is the book about?
The book is really two stories running parallel. One is about the Africans and how their lives were disrupted by poverty, slavery and inter-tribal wars. Then they became a nation with all the disruption that causes.

The other story is about our family arriving after suffering the disruption of the war and I think both our family and the country found contentment at around the same time.

It's a simple book, although I found it hard to pick and choose events. You want it to be accurate and true but you can't write about everything.

What was the hardest part?
Editing it was a nightmare. I wrote it by hand at first. I had never used a computer but then I bought one second hand from Aberdeen University. I was learning to use a computer and writing my first book at the same time. That's multi-tasking!

Everybody in the Kirkintilloch library, as well as people in Milngavie and my neighbour, helped me with the word processing and I have thanked them in the book.

How did you feel when you finished the book?
I feel nothing at the moment and am too engrossed in getting posters up and the book in the shops.

I think when I see the real books in the shop window it will hit me then. I've felt little bubbles of excitement but no real feeling of elation. I'm just delighted that the project is done.

What advice would you give to somebody thinking of writing a book?
I'd say go for it, but you do need to commit yourself and know what you are attempting to achieve. You also need a lot of endurance and patience or you're not going to get anywhere. I had moments of doubt when I was writing my book but there were always people there to spur me on.

Other than writing, what are your hobbies?
I've done a lot of things. I used to enjoy photography, animals and flowers.

I do like to travel as well. When I retired I took a trip to New Zealand via Hong Kong, Australia and Thailand and stayed in youth hostels.

Getting to know you

First car: a Canadian Ford V8
First record: Noel Coward
Favourite TV programme: Poirot
Person most like to meet: Lord Nelson
Dream holiday destination: Switzerland

'Nyasaland and our Lifetime Memories' will be released on December 20. Shirley will be signing copies at the Milngavie Bookshop from 10am.