\n\t\t<\/aside>\n\u201cWhen I was 18, as I was writing every scene, I would go on (social media) and \u2018promote\u2019 it, in a way, and I would read (the scenes) to them,\u201d she recalled. \u201cI called them \u2018bedtime stories,\u2019 and I read different scenes or (took) different lines, freshly, as I\u2019d written them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
This process was an extension of her own excitement with the experience and consisted of a desire to share that excitement with others.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c(It) was like, \u2018here I want to gift you this book, and let\u2019s talk about it,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cI think because I had such a great community off the bat, it\u2019s been very natural to go on there and talk about my books (today) \u2026 I love being able to have this one-on-one relationship with readers; I think that\u2019s so special \u2026 In this day and age of publishing, authors are so reachable, so why not take advantage of that? I love asking the readers what they want, (asking) what tropes (they) like, what type of characters (they) like. Because I\u2019m writing for me \u2026 but \u2026 I also want them to like it. So I like to ask and see what they\u2019re looking for.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roberts continues to post snippets of her writing on Instagram, keeping that door open for her readers to feel like a part of her process. As the final book in the trilogy, \u201cFearless,\u201d creeps closer to its release date in early April, fans pore over her quotes in their eagerness to close out the trilogy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roberts seemed in awe of the support she\u2019s received from her growing number of fans on social media and elsewhere.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/aside>\n\u201cI wrote (\u201cPowerless\u201d) when I was 18 \u2014 and obviously I\u2019m not too much older now \u2014 but there are so many things (that) I would go back and do \u2026 differently (now),\u201d she said, looking back on her experience. But at the same time, she reflected on how special the book is to her, regardless of the changing perspective that time offers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s almost like a time capsule of what I wanted to read when I was 18,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I feel like the readers are also growing up with me, which is so exciting. \u201cFearless\u201d comes out in April, (and) I really do feel like it ages up \u2026 it\u2019s just darker, the themes are a little bit more intense, and there\u2019s just a lot more at stake. It\u2019s cool to be able to grow up with this community (and) have their support.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
In terms of \u201cFearless,\u201d Roberts reflected on the bittersweet experience of writing the final book and wrapping up the trilogy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is so surreal,\u201d she commented. \u201c(The trilogy) feels so familiar, and I can write Paedyn and Kai with my eyes closed. I feel like I know them so well \u2014 these characters are just living in my brain \u2014 so it\u2019s very scary to \u2026 (close) off that chapter. But at the same time, I\u2019m also excited because, like I said, I wrote \u201cPowerless\u201d when I was 18 \u2026 So, I\u2019m excited to step into something fresh where I can take the knowledge and the things that I\u2019ve learned and put that into a new series or a new book and to really just \u2026 make it the best I absolutely can. So, in some ways, it\u2019s\u00a0very bittersweet to finish it, because \u2026 I love these characters, and I\u2019m so comfortable here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She did assuage our worries, though, about facing the end of the series. \u201cThere\u2019s still more to be said in this series,\u201d Roberts explained, \u201cso I\u2019m not quite done with it. But I am going to step away from Paedyn and Kai\u2019s story and grow with the series a little bit more. So I\u2019m not completely saying goodbye to it, but definitely saying goodbye to Paedyn and Kai and their relationship, which is what is so comfortable to me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/aside>\nWhen discussing these beloved characters, she spoke about her protagonist, Paedyn, with special fervor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPaedyn was exactly what I needed when I was 18,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cShe was kind of who I looked up to, in a way, and who I hoped I would be if I was in her situation. I would not say that she\u2019s based on me in any way \u2014 maybe her stubbornness \u2014 but she\u2019s way cooler than I am. But I (do) think she really helped me come into myself and gain more confidence in things.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Writing Paedyn was \u201ctherapeutic\u201d to Roberts. \u201cShe\u2019s so strong, and she says what she wants and does what she wants \u2014 I am not that way. I\u2019m very much a people pleaser, and I hate confrontation, so having her as an outlet to be this super badass woman was really, really cool \u2026 I think one of my favorite things about her, though \u2026 (is) that she knows when she needs help, and I think that alone is such a sign of strength, because that\u2019s something that I struggle with \u2026 I think we saw that in \u201cReckless\u201d specifically, (during) the moment in the cave where she broke down,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cIt\u2019s her being vulnerable, but that doesn\u2019t make her weak. And I love that. A badass character doesn\u2019t have to be strong all the time; them showing their weaknesses is also them being just as strong, so I really wanted to show that in her character and have her hopefully be like a role model in some ways.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roberts explained that she feels that this dichotomy of strength and vulnerability has become a staple of the romantic genre recently and of the burgeoning romantasy<\/a> genre especially. The romantasy genre has existed for a while, but it has really started to gain steam<\/a> in the past few years, especially due to BookTok<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\u201cWhen I was writing (\u201cPowerless\u201d), I don\u2019t know that \u2018romantasy\u2019 was a term, or maybe it (had) just started to be one,\u201d Roberts recalled. \u201cObviously romance and fantasy have always been (genres) \u2026 but I do remember after publishing the book \u2026 \u2018romantasy\u2019 being a coined term, and that was such a booming genre \u2026 I think I just happened to be there when this romantasy kick was taking off, and for that reason \u2018Powerless\u2019 was kind of lifted up and more people were able to access it,\u201d she explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/aside>\nThe process of getting her books out has shifted for Roberts since her series got picked up for traditional publishing, as opposed to her initial foray into self-publishing with \u201cPowerless,\u201d but she\u2019s still just thrilled to be writing and having people read her work. She laughingly recalled how, in the past, she would listen to music while writing \u201cPowerless\u201d (in particular, \u201cSet Fire to the Rain<\/a>\u201d by Adele, which she said encompasses Paedyn and Kai\u2019s relationship, and \u201c I Don\u2019t Think Now is the Best Time<\/a>\u201d from the \u201cPirates of the Caribbean: At World\u2019s End\u201d soundtrack); nowadays, she listens to \u201ceight hours of box fan in (her) headphones\u201d to focus on writing. So, some things change.\u00a0<\/p>\nBut some things stay the same, too. No matter what she\u2019s listening to or what she\u2019s writing, Roberts is honoring the girl who grew up reading and inventing stories. And at her heart, she\u2019s just someone who wants to share her ideas and thoughts with the world and her fans \u2014 her friends. \u201cPowerless\u201d may have been Roberts\u2019 great and famous origin, but even when \u201cFearless\u201d releases and she closes a chapter on the trilogy and that era of her life, it\u2019s clear that this is just the beginning for Lauren Roberts. There will be more to see from her \u2014 of that, I am sure.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Daily Arts Writer Sabriya Imami can be reached at <\/em>simami@umich.edu<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/aside>\n
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