A FAMOUS novelist once said, there is nothing to writing – all you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.

As a child Claire McFall could probably relate to this. She dreamed of being an author and would bash away on a typewriter until her fingers were bruised.

But the bruises disappeared as quickly as her dream, and the typewriter would sit in her house now a mere ornament cloaked in dust.

Many years later in her mid-twenties, Claire began teaching, but her passion for writing was re-ignited.

The memory of the girl with the bruised fingertips, her love of immersing herself in a fantasy world and bringing characters to life came flooding back.

And so began the next chapter of Claire’s life, titled – The Author.

Today the former Peebles High School teacher is an award-winning novelist who has become a best-selling word-wide success.

Claire has gained celebrity status in China where she has a legion of loyal followers and is said to be mobbed by fans on her visits to the country.

Outcasts is the final instalment in the acclaimed Ferryman trilogy, an epic love story which retells the ancient Greek myth of Charon, the ferryman of Hades who transported souls to the underworld.

You could say that selling three million copies world-wide, winning the Scottish Teen Book Awards twice, and scooping The Telegraph YA Book of the Year is a great success.

But if that wasn’t enough, Hollywood came knocking and snapped up the film rights to her debut novel.

For Claire, who has lived in both Peebles and Innerleithen before settling in Clovenfords, world literary success was not what she imagined when she began writing Ferryman.

“I just wanted to know if I really could write a full-length novel,” she told the Peeblesshire News. “Then, after I’d written it, I thought I’d put it out into the world to see if it was any good. I honestly wasn’t expecting anyone to want to publish it, so to find myself as a full-time writer, working on my sixth novel, is a bit of a shock.”

Although Claire is no longer teaching, her success has had a lasting impression on her former pupils. “Quite a few of them read the book and talked to me about it. They were all very kind, but then, I set their homework. I did get a lot of requests to write them into the book as minor characters.”

However, it’s not on British soil where Claire is best known. She has been named one of the 10 most influential authors in China.

She still finds her fame in the country “utterly crazy” and has visited three times. Claire’s last trip was in September last year where she spent two weeks doing school, university and book shop appearances over four cities.

She said: “When I signed the contract I really didn’t expect anything other than getting to see my book in a different language; the popularity of the Ferryman series is really overwhelming. I’m going back to Beijing next summer for the launch of a new book, hopefully fans of the Ferryman series will take to it in the same way.”

Claire says she is still in shock at Legendary Entertainment buying the film rights to Ferryman. Kelly Marcel, who wrote Saving Mr Banks and is a producer on Venom 2, is writing the script and also directing the film.

“This is something totally new for me and I’m really excited to see what happens,” said Claire.

When asked what stars she imagined playing her characters, Claire said: “I’ve no idea about casting, I’m really excited to see who might bring Dylan and Tristan to life.”

The author is a devoted mum to her four-year-old son and is 'supposed' to be on maternity leave following the birth of her daughter just before Christmas. “I know this stage doesn’t last for long so I want to try and enjoy it while I can.”

But Claire’s fictional word continues to bleed onto the pages and into the hearts of fans desperate for her next novel.

And the next chapter in her life? “Right now I’m working on another young adult novel about a fortune teller who sees their own death – and then has to try and avoid it.”