A WIRRAL author feels like he’s "won the lottery" after a film company agreed to adapt his novel on the subject into a transatlantic thriller.

Shooting for Peter Farrell’s novel If I Was to Tell You Something starts in the summer, following rave reviews of the tale of the trials and tribulations of a working-class Anglo-American couple in Liverpool who win £17m on the lottery.

They eventually decide to break their mutual code of silence about the win and inform friends and family, which is when the trouble starts - in Liverpool and New York.

Director Mark Holland, of Wirral-based Going Nowhere Productions, says casting will begin later this year for a full-length feature film, penned for next year.

He was inspired to adapt the thriller on the recommendation of his wife Elizabeth who thought it would make a great movie, having been “knocked out by the amazing twist at the end of the book.”

Mark said: "I am so happy to be involved in this project and show people what an awesome film we are going to bring to them which will have such a cracking twist, leading them to want more.

"My company Going Nowhere Productions are honoured to be involved with such a great local author and storyteller as Peter and we look forward to bringing something to the screen together.”

Former oil rig worker Peter, who lives in Bebington, started work on the novel during the long, leisure hours when his co-workers were in the gym, reading or watching films.

He completed it after he retired after 13 years on the oil rigs. It was published in November 2023.

He said: “I’m delighted that my novel is being made into a film.

"People keep telling me that they love Brian and Linda and the rest of the characters in the story. I had to pinch myself a few times after Mark approached me.

"I'd spoken with other film companies in London, but after speaking to Mark, I was so impressed with his passion for this story to go on screen.

“I’m a huge fan of Merseyside writers such as Jimmy McGovern and Tony Schumacher so this really is a dream come true.

"Better than winning the Lottery to be honest.”