`IT was meant to be a film, you know," crime writer Ian Rankin tells me when I ask about his new book Doors Open.

The award-winning novelist has written a fast-paced, art heist story after saying farewell to his beloved fictional detective Rebus. It's his first stand-alone thriller in a decade.

Fans were delighted that Ian didn't kill off Rebus or topple him over the Reichenbach Falls like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's exit for Sherlock Holmes.

Ian laughs: "I did toy with the idea of killing him off but I was too fond of him and I'd already made a television documentary about the Reichenbach Falls with a friend of mine, James Mavor.

"In fact, James and I wanted to make a 'caper' movie and I wrote Doors Open originally as a screenplay. I suppose I wanted to do Ocean's Eleven meets The Thomas Crown Affair but the movie men said they were saturated with heist screenplays.

"I'd been asked by the New York Times to write a serialised story for their Sunday magazine and I thought perhaps they'd like an art heist story to read over their bagels and coffee, so I adapted Doors Open accordingly.

"It was a bit of a Charles Dickens experience, fleshing out the characters and ensuring that there was a cliff-hanger every week but my publishers also thought it would be a great novel.

Moral

"It's about a group of amateurs who get in too deep and I suppose the moral is be careful what you wish for because it could be a double-edged sword."

The main character, Mike McKenzie, bears similarities to his creator.

"Funny you should say that," Ian smiled. "I'm 48 and, although he's younger, we're both considered successful and both collect art.

"My passion is Scottish 20th century artists and I've just bought a new painting last week which makes 20 on my walls, so I suppose there's a bit of wish fulfilment in this book.

"But it's also about great art being shut away in vaults where it's not seen and enjoyed. We've got that very problem here in Edinburgh over a couple of Titians we can't afford to keep and which may have to be sold and never seen again."

Ian's current lifestyle is a far cry from his upbringing in Cardenden, near Edinburgh, where he went to university.

"I don't know where the writing came from as we didn't have a book in the house and there wasn't even a book-shop in the town but, thankfully, the miners had paid for a library.

"I was a voracious reader and loved comic books like the Beano and the Dandy as well as the American superheroes. So you can imagine my delight when recently I was asked to write for DC Comics.

"It's a story about Hellblazer, a private eye with supernatural powers. They actually made a film about him starring Keanu Reeves.

Voracious

"Anyway, my part is done but the illustrator has over 1,000 scenes to draw before it can go to print."

At university, Ian studied what he calls 'writings by dead white men'. But he was also writing poetry and lyrics, and also won the odd short story competition to supplement his meagre earnings giving post-graduate tutorials.

"I won a computer and enough money to buy an electric typewriter but my grant money soon ran out. I'd married my wife Miranda in 1986 and we spent four years in London where she had a proper job and I did a variety of jobs from hi-fi journalist to taxman, swineherd, grape-picker and alcohol researcher - I kid you not."

Ian desperately wanted to write and they moved to rural France for six years.

"It was hardly an idyllic situation. We lived in a barn with no roof and I had to summon all my limited DIY skills to make it habitable because we didn't have enough money to employ anyone. I nearly electrocuted myself on several occasions.

Tartan Noir

"But I did manage to write my first books, Knots And Crosses and Hide And Seek, which I thought were mainstream books.

"Rebus was conceived there and I'm now delighted to belong to the crime genre and even prouder to be part of the Tartan Noir movement."

Ian and his wife already had one son, Jack, who's now 16, but it was the birth of their second son Kit, which took them back to Scotland.

"We noticed at six months that he didn't seem to be responding as he should and you can imagine the nightmare of trying to explain to doctors, in a foreign language, that there was something wrong with our baby.

"Kit's 14 now and has special needs, so Edinburgh is great for expert help."

Ian knows and loves the city he's used as a backdrop for most of his 21 books exposing the dark underbelly of a world the tourists rarely see.

"Increasingly, I'm becoming more of a political animal. I did a public Q&A session with Gordon Brown recently and everyone said how relaxed he looked.

"He doesn't know how to manipulate the media the way his predecessor did and he's inherited a tough job at the moment, but his heart's in the right place.

"I just hope that all our politicians will aim to improve the lot of our children, because they are what matters."

How does he feel about awards? "Receiving the Gold Dagger award for Black And Blue came at a really good time because, although my books were selling, I was still knocking on the door of a new genre.

"I had a family to feed so getting that award was terrific. But I'm also proud of my OBE, because it's awarded for services to literature and that means a great deal."

Proud

Life is good for Ian. "I've a great family and a beautiful Georgian house. A bunch of we authors meet up regularly for a meal and I see Jo Rowling for coffee once a week. I've also found time to indulge my passion for music.

"I used to have a band and swaggered about in a long coat, singing vocals, 'cos I couldn't play an instrument, and now I've just finished writing lyrics for a young band called St Jude's Infirmary."

There's a chance to hear Ian talk about his career next week in Manchester.

"One of the most rewarding things about these book tours is when folk tell me they became a writer, a lawyer or a copper because they were inspired by my books. That makes it all worthwhile."

Before saying goodbye, I wanted to know what Ian thought about John Hannah and Ken Stott, who both played Rebus in the television series.

"I never watched them. I even turned down the offer to write the scripts. In my local, they tell me that they could imagine Ken Stott punching them in the jaw better than John Hannah. But then they told me they were sick of seeing me on the telly.

"Resurrect Rebus? You should never say never again so let's just say - you never know!"

Ian Rankin appears at St Ann's Church, St Ann's Square, Manchester, on Thursday. Tickets cost £5. Call 0161 236 7110 to book.