LJ Smith, creator of ‘The Vampire Diaries,’ passes away at 66 |

Lisa Jane Smith, the celebrated creator behind ‘The Vampire Diaries,’ handed away on the age of 66. Her work launched readers to a world of romance, betrayal and supernatural intrigue, ultimately inspiring successful tv collection that captivated audiences for almost a decade.
The Start of ‘The Vampire Diaries’
Smith first introduced ‘The Vampire Diaries’ to life within the early Nineties, releasing a four-book collection that adopted the lives of vampire brothers Stefan and Damon Salvatore and their love triangle with Elena Gilbert, a younger orphaned woman. The collection rapidly gained recognition, main her to put in writing a further trilogy between 2009 and 2011. Nonetheless regardless of being the unique creator, Smith’s management over her personal collection was unexpectedly taken away.
Shedding management of her personal creation
In keeping with The Guardian, Smith’s books have been written underneath a contract with a guide packager, which means she didn’t personal the rights to her work. In 2011, her writer dropped her from the collection and handed her unpublished eighth installment to a ghostwriter who continued the books underneath an nameless title. The collection later shifted to a different author utilizing the pen title Aubrey Clark. Though Smith’s title remained on the guide covers because the collection creator, she had no involvement within the official continuation of the story. She later admitted that the expertise left her feeling devastated and creatively stifled.
Reclaiming ‘The Vampire Diaries’ via fan fiction
Decided to proceed the story on her personal phrases, Smith took benefit of Amazon’s Kindle Worlds program, which allowed followers to publish unofficial spin-offs of well-known guide collection. By way of this initiative, she wrote a brand new ‘Vampire Diaries’ trilogy that picked up the place she had left off, offering followers with the continuation she had at all times meant.
Past ‘The Vampire Diaries’
Whereas ‘The Vampire Diaries’ was her most well-known creation, Smith additionally wrote a number of different supernatural guide collection. Her ‘Night time World’ novels, revealed between 1996 and 1998, explored a hidden society of vampires, witches, werewolves, and shapeshifters who lived amongst people. She additionally created ‘The Secret Circle,’ which adopted a coven of teenage witches and was tailored right into a TV collection in 2011. Moreover, she wrote ‘Darkish Visions’ and ‘The Forbidden Recreation,’ additional solidifying her repute as a pioneer of paranormal fiction.
A break from writing and private struggles
After releasing ‘Night time World,’ Smith took a decade-long hiatus from writing, citing struggles with author’s block whereas two of her members of the family battled most cancers. Regardless of this, she remained a key determine in younger grownup literature, inspiring each readers and aspiring writers along with her vivid storytelling and imaginative worlds.
Remembering Lisa Jane Smith
A press release on her official web site described Smith as “a form and mild soul” whose creativity, resilience, and empathy touched the lives of many. It praised her pioneering function in supernatural fiction and highlighted her generosity, heat and creativeness.
Although she could also be gone, Smith’s legacy lives on via her books and the numerous followers she impressed. Her tales of affection, darkness, and the supernatural will proceed to enchant readers for generations to return.