AUTHOR Ann Cleeves says her first detective book Vera "sank without trace" before the story was picked up for television.

The award-winning crime-writer is coming to Bolton to speak about her path to success — from having her first book published in 1986 to winning the 'Oscar' of the crime writing world and seeing her Vera books brought to life by actress Brenda Blethyn.

The talk will be at Bolton Central Library at 7pm on Thursday, March 5, to celebrate World Book Day.

Ann, aged 60, said: "I might have done something at the library years and years ago. It's certainly not been recently.

"It's always nice to go out and meet readers.

"I think I was approached by the library.

"Crime books are really popular in most libraries.

"Vera is just about to start her new series on the television in the spring."

Ann has published six Vera Stanhope books, about a dowdy but sharp detective inspector with Northumberland Police, which was first made into a television crime drama for ITV in 2011.

Her Shetland novels have also been made into a BBC series, starring Douglas Henshall as Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez and filming has begun for a third series.

Ann said: "I will be talking about the stories behind the books and how they came about and if the TV dramas are like the stories."

Ann, who used to work as a probation officer, says she enjoyed stories from a young age but did not consider writing as a career.

She said: "I always told stories, had them in my head or wrote them down but never thought I could ever make a living from it because I didn't come from that sort of family.

"I'd never met any writers."

Her first book was published in 1986, when she was aged 32, but it was not until 2006 when major success came her way.

She won the inaugural Duncan Lawrie Dagger, the then richest crime-writing prize in the world of £20,000, for her novel Raven Black — the first in the Shetland series.

Ann, who dropped out of an English degree at Sussex University, said: "It won the Gold Dagger which is the Oscar of crime writing.

"I had been writing for a long time and hadn't had much success really and suddenly things changed with that.

"I got translation deals and that made a big difference."

Her first Vera book, The Crow Trap, was published in 1999 followed by Telling Tales in 2005 with four subsequent ones released and another due out in September.

Speaking of the first Vera book, Ann said: "Again that sank without trace really but I did enjoy writing about her."

It ended up being made into a television series after a television producer bought one of the books from a charity shop to read on holiday.

Ann said: "I think Brenda Blethyn is very close to my Vera.

"She is always meticulous about going back to the books. Her way of working is to know a lot about the character she is playing.

"She probably knows more about Vera than I do."

Ann's unglamourous but brilliant detective made her long-awaited debut in US bookshops in May 2013, when fourth book Silent Voices was published.

Speaking of launching her writing career almost 30 years ago, she said: "It was a lot easier in those days, there wasn't the competition.

"I sent it off to three or four publishers.

"It was accepted fairly quickly, I was very lucky."

The grandmother writes a book every year and other collections include her George & Molly novels and Inspector Ramsay series.

An evening with popular crime writer Ann Cleeves will be at Bolton Central Library on Thursday, March 5 at 7pm. Admission is free.