A woman from Oldham is hoping to "inspire the younger generation" after releasing her debut novel.

Komal Akhtar, who is a teacher and currently lives in Bradford, recently released her book The Willow Tree, which she describes as a "dystopian romance", after finally pursuing a long-standing passion of hers.

The 27-year-old had a passion for poetry during her childhood and always wanted to write novels but "could never find the time".

The 27-year-old decided to pursue her passion of writingThe 27-year-old decided to pursue her passion of writing (Image: Komal Akhtar)

However, after coming across something on social media, the idea for The Willow Tree came to Komal and she got down to writing.

She said: "I was on social media and I saw a post about how women in Ancient Egypt would be sold based on their beauty which was shown through paintings.

"I just thought it was really interesting."

Komal described the book as a dystopian romanceKomal described the book as a dystopian romance (Image: Komal Akhtar)

The story overview says: “In the town of Naghaar, the Pariahs and Naghaaris have been at war since before they could remember. All because of a brutal system that was created where women are cast out from society if they are not compliant, healthy or fertile and sent to the Pariah zone.”

The story follows the characters of Talia and Kalei whose worlds collide, causing them to face "devastating consequences" as they navigate love, friendship, family and the system they live in.

Komal has self-published the book, a process she has described as "very difficult".

Get the latest news delivered straight to your inbox by signing up to The Oldham Times’ morning and evening newsletters as well as our breaking news alerts 

She is hoping that by sharing her book, she can inspire younger people with a similar background to her to follow their passions.

Komal said: "I know there's not many authors from Pakistani backgrounds here.

"I'm trying to inspire the younger generation, I want to show them you can do anything that you love."

Komal says she is working on her second book at the moment, which will have a new story with a different genre.

The Willow Tree is available to purchase on Amazon.