CHESHIRE'S aspiring novelists can draw inspiration from the success of a local writer whose thriller has just been published.

John McCullough, who lives in Curzon Park, Chester, spent five years working on his debut novel A Virtuous Killer. He drew on over two decades experience of living and working in West Africa on behalf of international health agencies, making 65 visits to Nigeria alone between 1998 to 2013.

The story follows a nurse trying to rescue her sister, one of a group of young women abducted by the terrorist group Boko Haram. It is inspired by real life events, including the kidnapping of 257 Nigerian schoolgirls in 2014.

Originally from Belfast, John moved to Chester 20 years, initially to take up a post at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.

"West Africa leaves a strong impression on you," he says. "Nigeria, in particular, is intense in so many ways – extreme wealth and poverty co-exist alongside corruption and violence. At the same time, Nigeria has resilience, creativity, humour and religion. It’s a different reality and I wanted to bring it to life in the pages of my story."

When he first visited the country in 1998, it was ruled by a military junta, intent on hoarding wealth in what is an oil-rich nation. His story reflects some of the corruption that has since become apparent, with $400 billion being siphoned off without regard for the welfare of the people. The abduction of adolescents continues unimpeded to this day and has become a lucrative criminal activity. His belief that the West has largely ignore the issue inspired John to write the book.

"The first time I visited Nigeria, there was rioting and violence in the north that left 500 people dead; a similar retaliatory death toll followed overnight in the south and the story barely registered in the West. It’s nearly 25 years since that visit and the people continue to seek systemic change whilst the world minds its own business."

His success in being published at 68 years old age echo other authors who found success later in life. John was recently invited to participate in the Storyhouse Elder Festival in Chester, a new event that celebrates ageing creativity.

"Too many people assume that when you turn 60 your creative powers go into decline," said John. "I obviously disagree and was pleased to promote the benefits of devoting time to creativity as you get older."

When not writing, John also plays bass in a long-established jazz band, Swift, which released a new album this year entitled In Another Lifetime.

A Virtuous Killer is published by i2i and available in bookshops, Amazon and Kindle.