An author who first felt inspired to pick up the pen after her son died after just two days said her book series gives him a "legacy".
Caz Finlay, a pseudonym for the author of the gangland crime series Bad Blood, was devastated in 2016 when her son Finlay died when he was two days old. Finlay was diagnosed with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia before he was born - a serious condition that prevents a baby's organs growing correctly and only has a 50% survival rate.
The 42-year-old who lives in Sefton said she knew he was going to be unwell when he was born but doctors were "quietly optimistic" due to his size. Caz told the ECHO : "He looked absolutely beautiful, he was perfect.
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"He was taken straight to neonatal care and I remember consultants and the nurse coming in to see me with huge smiles on their faces as he was almost breathing on his own. I remember feeling so relieved."
But the following morning Finlay suffered a collapsed lung and doctors had to pump oxygen into his lungs to help him breathe. Caz said: "It just wasn't healing and he went downhill really quickly from there and died at two-days-old. We were so devastated."
Following Finlay's funeral Caz stumbled across an old laptop that hadn't worked for years but in a "bizarre" twist the laptop turned on. Caz said she decided on the spot she wanted to write a novel and for the next five days "didn't look up" as she wrote the first chapter of her debut novel 'The Boss'.
When the book was finished Caz sent it to friends who urged her to look for a publisher. She admits she never expected for the book to go any further than the laptop but after their encouragement, she began to look for a future for it.
She experienced a rollercoaster ride trying to find someone to look at the book and it wasn't until a chance encounter with Kimberley Chambers' agent at Waterstones that she managed to get her book in with a publisher.
Caz said: "Writing got me through a really difficult time and I felt it was all I wanted to do. I just wanted to do something to keep my mind occupied. Finlay had such a huge impact on our lives so I thought wouldn't it be lovely to see his name there in print.
"It gives him a lasting legacy and every book is dedicated to him and the way he's changed our lives. Finlay is just my pen name but it means every time a book is published it's a tribute to him."
Caz grew up in the city and before becoming an author worked as a senior probation officer. Her experiences in the job and the interactions she had on a day-to-day basis were an important influence for her writing.
She said: "I've always been interested in the psychology of human behaviour and why people do the things they do. Good people do bad things and bad people do good things - it's not black and white.
"That's what first drew me to probation and that's why I now enjoy writing those kinds of characters as well. I just like exploring why people do the things they do."
A proud scouser, Caz added she would never dream about setting the books anywhere else. She said: "It's such a big city with so many characters.
"We have such deprivation and such wealth - it's really a city of contrasts. It just makes sense to me to set the books here because I'm really proud of our city as well. Even though I'm writing gangland crime novels I always want to show our city in a good light as well."
Caz is now six books into her writing career and has just released 'Part of the family'. She said: "All of my books are dedicated to someone but my latest is just for Finlay.
"This book is extra special because I've had this dream and I finally feel like I've got there and can now call myself an author. The dedication on this one reads 'we've done it son.'"
Caz Finlay's sixth book 'Part of the family' is out now.
