A GP has received a booster this week after his debut novel was nominated for the Waverton Good Read.

Andrew Sharp, 53, penned The Ghosts of Eden in his spare time away from his hectic workload at South Wigston Health Centre in Leicester.

The father-of-three said the book – based on his childhood in East Africa – took three years to complete.

Now it has been nominated for the coveted Waverton Good Read Award, which honours the UK’s best new fiction writers.

Previous winners include Mark Haddon for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and Paul Torday for Salmon Fishing in the Yemen.

The competition is run annually in the Chester village, and is judged by residents rather than literary figures.

Andrew’s book – described as a “gripping and evocative” read - is one of only 63 novels that have been submitted for the 2009/10 award.

Andrew said: “It’s only four months since I had the excitement of seeing The Ghosts of Eden published, and now I’m thrilled that it’s been nominated for the Waverton Good Read Award.”

Set in the wilds of Uganda in the 1950s and 80s, The Ghosts of Eden follows the fortunes of two very different boys in the dying days of the British Empire.

Organisers of the Waverton Good Read (WGR) said the competition – which has a first prize of £1,000 cash - was created to “recognise the very best of British”.

The winner of the 2009/10 awards will be announced on July 3 next year.

Andrew will give a talk on medicine and a narrative to the judges on November 30.

Gwen Goodhew, of the WGR, said: “Andrew’s book has been submitted and we are all very much looking forward to meeting him.

“His book is very different from the others we’ve received, and we wish him the very best of luck.”

GOOD READ: GP Andrew Sharp has been nominated for the Waverton Good Read Award.

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