Thinking of publishing a novel while in college? PLU third-year student Ashnaa George can tell you all about it.Â
George self-published her first novel “Somewhere In Between Then & Now” in November of 2025, however this journey started a while ago for her.Â
“I always loved journaling, [and I] had my diary of course,” George said. In high school she “had my first heartbreak… my emotions were all over the place.” George started to write about her story to process it better. “One day I felt like I was over the heartbreak and I should turn this into something I can show other people.” George participated in writing competitions throughout high school and often placed in the top five. Despite this, she shared that “I was scared of putting my words out there.”
With support from family and her best friend, George started looking for an editor. After a month and a half of weekly meetings with an editor, several rewritings and grammar fixtures, the novel was ready to be published. “I never thought that I would get this far.” George designed the cover for her book to save expenses and to use her creative skills, and started the paperwork for Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing. The self-publishing route was a lot of work, “but I never looked at it as a chore.”Â
When all the logistics were finished in fall of 2025, all George had to do was wait. She scheduled for the book to come out on her birthday. On the night before the book went out, “I stayed up that night looking at the countdown… and it was there.” George celebrated her first published book and her birthday with friends and family. “It was a very exciting day for me.”Â
Amazon, where the book is sold, describes it as “a sweet romance about two souls who remain connected across time and distance, following Aayla and Nicolas as they grow up, separate, and discover their unbreakable bond.” The author emphasized that the novel is not about a particular person from her life but is inspired by the events from high school. George shared that at the time of the interview more than 40 people had purchased her book which was a pleasant achievement. She continues expanding her readerbase through a TikTok account @writesbyashnaa.Â
As for the future, George shared that she has over 300 poems with individual doodles that she wants to publish one day. She is also working on a different book that is not a continuation of the first one. For now, George is focusing on her studies of computer science at PLU as she aspires to work in the field of robotic prosthetics.
