Michigan-born author Lauren Roberts published her first novel, and the first installment in her Powerless series, at age 18 in 2023. She initially gained popularity on BookTok, a community of readers active on TikTok, where she posted her writing and early versions of Kai and Paedyn’s story. Roberts dropped out of college to pursue a writing career and juggled her passion with a job “scrubbing toilets at a cleaning company” (Dam, Julie. “Exclusive Interview: Lauren Roberts on TikTok, Tropes, and Her Debut Novel Powerless.” The Honey Pop, 7 Nov. 2023). Roberts strongly believes in the power of social media, particularly TikTok, as an avenue to communicate with others about the value of reading, to learn about what people read, and to get early constructive feedback on writing projects.

After sharing her writing journey online as she completed her first novel, Roberts self-published Powerless in 2023. The book immediately garnered critical attention, and Simon & Schuster acquired the rights to the series. Now a New York Times best-selling author, Roberts notes that working with a publishing house “truly gives [her] the ability to just write and do what [she loves], and then give that work to someone else who’s also doing what they love” (Ramirez, Amanda.