Denton author hopes debut novel becomes TV hit

AN AUTHOR from Denton is hoping his debut novel will become a future hit on our TV screens.

Keith Healicon has never been a keen reader of books but has turned his hand to writing, particularly since retiring.

The 64-year-old, who was a manager at both British Gas and Northern Rail over a career spanning just over four decades, has now released his first book called Titian Strands.

As he explains the inspiration behind it, the book has been around three decades in the making.

“Over 30 years ago, I used to live in Gorton and I used to go to the pub before I went to Belle Vue dogs,” Keith told the Correspondent.

“I got to know this lad called Ged as he used to go in The Midland pub which is right near the dogs. I got talking to him and every week it seemed like he would get into some kind of trouble. He never caused a fight or bullied anyone or anything like that.

“I heard various stories about him over the weeks and I said to him ‘I’m going to write a book about you one day with all these stories’. I forgot about it for 10 years and then picked It up again and forgot about it again – the dust has been blown off the cover many times!

Keith Healicon

“But then a couple of years ago, I revisited it and finished it. I chopped and changed it a lot and the rest is history really.”

The 399-page novel was only published in late November but Keith has already received a raft of positive reviews.

“I’ve had lots of neighbours and friends pop round for me to sign their copy of the book,” he said.

“I’ve also been around the pubs in Denton and there’s been lots of interest there. All of my friends and family have said the book is brilliant which has been nice to hear.”

Keith’s ultimate aim is to get his story – which is based on facts with some dramatisation – told on television.

“I keep getting told this would make an excellent film or an eight-part series on the BBC after the 9pm watershed, as there is a bit of swearing and violence in it,” Keith said.

“I’m getting good vibes and comments about the book. I just hope it gets a break where someone somewhere might pick it up and I’m confident it can be a success.”

Titian Strands book cover

The concept of the intriguing book title stemmed from a conversation he had one day with a colleague at work.

“Many years ago, Titian was an Italian artist who was famous for doing things in red,” Keith explained.

“When I was writing the book, which felt like it went on for ages, I heard my secretary say that she’d been to the hairdressers and had her hair done titian. I asked her what she meant and she said when women dye their hair red it’s called titian.

“That gave me the idea for the title, which I think is brilliant. Without giving too much away, there’s a murder in the book and a double twist but one of the clues is three strands of titian hair – that’s what the three lines on the book cover resemble.”

Keith has already turned his attention to his second book, which is currently being finalised and will be released in early 2024.

It will consist of 20 funny stories from when he used to be a manager, each with an accompanying cartoon, which will be called ‘You Couldn’t Write This’.

But he’s not planning to stop there!

Keith added: “I’ve had a few people approach me since reading my book who want me to write stories about what’s happening to their family, so I might look at doing that too.”

You can get a copy of Titian Strands for £18.99 on Amazon as an Ebook, a paperback or a hardback.