A SPELLBINDING story which started in Warrington is set to finish on the big screen.

Author Sally Green found inspiration for her record-breaking Half Bad saga while walking in Lumb Brook wood.

Now the 54-year-old has completed the fantasy trilogy about a hidden society of witches and she has teamed up with The Imaginarium Studios for a film version.

The motion capture specialists have previously worked on the likes of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Avengers: Age of Ultron and the new Planet of the Apes films.

"It’s very exciting because Andy Serkis is one of the key people in the company," said Sally.

"But I think it’s their integrity and the quality of their work which really attracted me.

"I met Andy so I was a bit bowled over. It was a special day. I went down and was given a tour of the studios while they were filming and I was shown all the clever computer stuff where they do motion capture.

"It was a real thrill to be shown how everything works. Not many authors get to do that so I am really lucky."

A scriptwriter is currently working on the adaptation but Sally warned that it could be a good few years before Half Bad is in cinemas.

But that has not stopped the former Grappenhall author daydreaming about it – she hopes that Cate Blanchett will play one of her characters called Van, a black witch.

Sally added: "I modelled her on Cate Blanchett. I would love her to play Van. That would be a dream come true.

"There are various characters who I’ve imagined when I’m writing and she was one of them."

But the Half Bad series focuses on teenage Nathan, a half white and half black witch who is caught between the warring sides of his heritage.

Sally hopes a relatively unknown actor takes on the part so they can grow into the role in the same way Daniel Radcliffe did in Harry Potter.

She said: "It would be fantastic to see a new actor develop and grow and get older with the role. That would be wonderful."

Although work on the Half Bad films is only just beginning, Sally told Weekend it feels like the 'end of an era' after writing the trilogy over three years.

The final book, Half Lost, is out on March 31.

"It's amazing how it's flown by. I can't believe it," added Sally, a former accountant.

"I finished writing a little while ago and I’m writing something else so it really feels like it’s the end of an era.

"It’s been quite emotional coming to an end because it’s the first thing I’ve written and the first I got published.

"It was a whole new career for me so it’s been a massive change in my life. It’s very dear to me."

The mum-of-one said: "You’re still the same person. You’ve have still got to do the school run and go to the supermarket.

"But I’m meeting a whole different bunch of people from the publishing world and other writers which is great.

"The really amazing thing is having fans of the books who write to me.

"I have fan fiction from all over the world and that is probably the thing that has stunned me more than anything.

"I find it incredibly flattering that people take the time to get so caught up in the story and love the characters so much that they want to write their own stories. I’m amazed.

"Some of it is of varying quality but that’s not the point. It’s that people are really caught up in it."

So far Sally's accolades have included a Guinness World Record for the most translated book by a debut author and having the most successful debut novel for young adults of 2014.

Her books are widely regarded to be doing for witches what Twilight did for vampires and two years ago she even went to meet Twilight’s producer Karen Rosenfelt in Hollywood.

So what has been Sally's highlight?

"One of the amazing things is the book has been published in more than 50 languages," added Sally, before a recent visit to Russia.

"So I’ve been invited to a number of places. I can’t go to them all but I was invited by my Russian publisher to go to Moscow so I’m going next week.

"They’ll show me around and I'll have the opportunity to meet readers at different events.

"It’s really interesting because one of the things I’ve discovered is that readers from all over the world have the same issues and like the same things whether they’re from Moscow or Buenos Aires or London or Warrington.

"I get tweets from people in Columbia, Chile and Mongolia. I think that is the biggest thrill as it’s really great to think that people are reading my book all over the world."

Sally is currently keeping tight-lipped about the new novel she is working on but would she consider a return to the Half Bad world?

She said: "I know that world so well. I’ve written about it so much and there’s so many characters I could write more about.

"I definitely want a break at the moment but I know there are some things I would love to go back to.

"Maybe in a few years, if there is an opportunity, I would like to pick up on some of the different characters and write about them."

- Half Lost is released on March 31

DAVID MORGAN