LOS ANGELES: Cult US teen author Veronica Roth has come a long way in only a few years. And it seems her next step — at least, in a literary sense — will be into space.

The 26-year-old published her debut novel “Divergent” in 2011, launching a dystopian trilogy that has been turned into a blockbuster movie franchise — the stuff of dreams for any young writer.

“Insurgent” — the second installment in the series that hits theaters in the United States this week — will be followed in 2016 and 2017 by two movies made from “Allegiant,” the final book in the trilogy.

“My whole life, I’ve wanted to be a writer and write books, and maybe I thought someday I’ll get a book published, and that was kind of as far as my dreams went,” she told AFP in an interview.

“The movie stuff ... I didn’t even really think about, it’s been really exciting and gratifying to see it come to life,” added the author, who has had to get used to being the idol of masses of teenage fans.

Roth — who welcomes comparisons between “Divergent” and similarly dystopian young adult fiction-to-film blockbuster franchise “The Hunger Games” — is in the middle of the media circus surrounding the Friday release of “Insurgent.”

The parallels with “The Hunger Games” franchise are many: a strong central female character, a dystopian future setting divided into groups ruled by an evil central figure, a hunky love interest and quirky sidekicks. The first “Hunger Games” book was published in 2008, three years before “Divergent.”