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At 18 years old, Lauren Roberts launched a passion project: writing and self-publishing a novel. Now, three years later, “Powerless” is a New York Times bestseller with a second book and novella on shelves — and it all started on TikTok.
After going live on the social media platform, she read a snippet of a piece she had written for a college class to her followers, and she started receiving comments like, “You should write a book.” Two days later, she came up with the idea for “Powerless,” a romantic fantasy about a brutal kingdom, a thief and a prince.
For two weeks, she mapped out the plot and found her characters.
“Then I started writing,” Roberts tells TODAY.com. “After about 12 chapters, I said to myself, ‘OK, there’s no going back now.’”
While she didn’t have the support of an editor or publishing house during those early days, she had her social media following.
“I would write a scene, and then I’d literally hop on social media and be like, ‘Guys, look at the scene I wrote,’ and I would read it to them or show it to them,” she says.
She initially self-published by uploading the story to Barnes & Noble Press and Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing services. Then, the support of her fanbase eventually caught the eye of Simon & Schuster, which published the book in November 2023.
“Powerless” stayed on the New York Times bestseller list for 34 weeks. The series’ novella, “Powerful,” was on the list for nine weeks.
Roberts is one of many authors who initially circumvented the traditional publishing model. “It Ends With Us” author Colleen Hoover, for example, uploaded her first book, “Slammed,” to Amazon on her own as a Christmas present for her grandmother.
Roberts credits the success of her debut series to social media and the “supportive and welcoming community who were just so ready for this book.”
“People are being discovered on social media, and I think that’s a beautiful thing. There are some incredible authors who maybe their book just wasn’t right at the time for an agent, but now they’re getting picked up because so many people want to read the book,” she says.
Becoming a ‘romantasy’ staple
“Powerless” is a story of survival and forbidden love set in a kingdom called Ilya, ruled by a class known as the Elites, who received powers after surviving a plague. People without powers are dubbed “Ordinary” and banished, their existence a crime in the kingdom.
“Powerless” focuses on Paedyn, an Ordinary who poses as an Elite for survival. When she accidentally saves Kai, one of Ilya’s princes, she is forced into the Purging Trials, a competition to showcase the might of the Elites, leaving Paedyn at risk of being discovered and, as the title suggests, powerless.
The gladiator style of fighting seen in “The Hunger Games” as well as the supernatural abilities of the “X-Men” film franchise inspired the premise of “Powerless,” Roberts says.
The world of “Powerless” naturally pits Kai and Paedyn against each other, but that’s just part of the story. Set against a violent, high stakes world, Kai and Paedyn’s relationship also features banter, intense chemistry and beloved romance tropes. Paedyn’s best friend, Adena, and a powerful Elite named Mak, also somehow find love in the dangerous fantasy world of Ilya in the series’ novella “Powerful.”
“I will say some of the experiences and emotions are absolutely pulled from real life, specifically with ‘Powerful,’ the novella. I found that Adena and Mak’s relationship was much more relatable to me than like Paedyn and Kai,” Roberts says. “A lot of that novella pulled from, you know, my life and those emotions and those sweet moments.”
These elements make the “Powerless” series part of the popular subgenre of “romantasy,” a portmanteau combining romance and fantasy. The books — think Sarah J. Maas’ “A Court of Thorns and Roses” or Tahereh Mafi’s “This Woven Kingdom” — typically take place in a fantasy world, with a romance plot that is equally as integral as the world building.
Finding a fresh story in the increasingly crowded genre comes with its challenges. But Roberts says authors can bring a distinct voice and style to familiar tropes.
“There’s billions of books in the world. There’s only so much originality you can have. I think it’s important to remember that the author and the way that they write and the way that they tell the story is the difference,” Roberts says. “The most important thing is to not get discouraged when you have an idea, because I promise you can make it your own, and there’s always going to be a reader for every single book.”
Finishing the ‘Powerless’ trilogy — and what’s next
After publishing “Reckless,” a sequel to “Powerless,” in July, Roberts is now working on the third and final book in the series, “Fearless,” set to come out in April 2025.
“There are a few little Easter eggs throughout the book about things in the future, which is really exciting,” Roberts says.
While “Fearless” will contain hints that lead to her next project, Roberts is keeping mum on what she’s planning after the “Powerless” series — for now.
“‘Fearless’ is definitely plot and action and craziness happening — such a blast tying up this series and also making sure everything is how I want it to be,” Roberts says. “By the end of the series, I’ll have taken the readers to all of the landmarks around Ilya, which is super fun for me. We kind of get to explore all those pieces.”
And of course, just like she started, she’s taking her 500,000 followers on TikTok with her along for the ride.
“It is so beautiful to meet all these people around the world that have read this book,” she says. “I feel like we’re all just friends.”
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