Lisa Jane Smith is an American author of

young adult fiction Young adult fiction (YA) is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is primarily targeted at adolescents, approximately half of YA readers are adults. The subject matter and genres of YA correlate ...

best known for her best-selling series ''

The Vampire Diaries ''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American supernatural teen drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the book series of the same name written by L. J. Smith. The series premiered on The CW on September 10, ...

'', which has been turned into a successful television show. Her books, particularly ''The Vampire Diaries'' and '' Night World'', have been in the ''New York Times'' Best Seller list and have been nominated for five awards.

Early life and education

Smith was born in

Orange County, California Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...

. Her reported date of birth varies, with sources noting as early as 1958 or 1959 or as late as 1965. As a child, she grew up in

Villa Park, California Villa Park is a city in Orange County, California, United States. It was founded in 1962. At the 2010 census, the city had a population of 5,812, the lowest population for a city in Orange County. The city is largely zoned for single-family r ...

and attended

Villa Park High School Villa Park High School (VPHS) is a four-year suburban public high school located in the city of Villa Park, California, United States. It was built in 1964 and is one of four comprehensive high schools in the Orange Unified School District. The cam ...

. It was here that her high school English teacher, Zoe Gibbs, gave Smith the confidence to write. Smith studied experimental psychology at the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the U ...

. She later attended

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different ...

to obtain teaching credentials.

Career

Smith began her career as an elementary school teacher, but left in 1989 after three years to pursue writing. Smith has said that she realized she wanted to be a writer sometime between kindergarten and first grade, "when a teacher praised a horrible poem I'd written", and she began writing in earnest in elementary school.Interview with Novelist L.J. Smith
nightworld.net
Retrieved 2010-12-23. Her first book, ''The Night of the Solstice'', written during high school and college, was published by MacMillan in 1987, followed by ''Heart of Valor'' in 1990. They sold poorly, as they were labeled for 9 to 11-year-olds and not for young adults, as Smith wanted. ''

'' series was commissioned by Elise Donner, editor of

Alloy Entertainment Alloy Entertainment (formerly Daniel Weiss Associates and 17th Street Productions) is a book packaging and television production unit of Warner Bros. Television Studios. It produces books, television series, and feature films. Alloy Entertainment ...

in 1990: Smith immediately wrote the scene when Elena, Bonnie and Meredith are decorating the gym and the heroine meets Damon (scene later included in the first novel), while, as for the other characters, she adapted those of ''The Garden of Earthly Delights'', an adult book she was writing. She chose the setting of ''The Vampire Diaries'' in Virginia because she has family there and was inspired by the small towns and lifestyles. Three trilogies followed: ''

The Secret Circle The Secret Circle is a supernatural, young-adult series of books created by L. J. Smith. The narrative follows the character of Cassie Blake as she is initiated into a "Circle" of eleven other teenage witches and the danger that ensues when they ...

'' (1992), ''The Forbidden Game'' (1994) and ''Dark Visions'' (1995). The first installment of '' Night World'' series was published in 1996, followed by eight more over the next two years. In 1998, Smith began a decade-long hiatus from writing, returning in 2008 with a new website and a series of new short stories. ''The Vampire Diaries'' series was reissued in 2007, followed by reprintings of ''The Secret Circle'' trilogy and ''Night World'' series in 2008–2009. ''The Night of the Solstice'' and ''Heart of Valor'' were also reissued in 2008. Three new ''Vampire Diaries'' installments were published in 2009 and 2010. The series was later adapted into a TV series (''

'') in 2009, as well as ''

'', which became a TV series of the same name in 2011. The final volume of ''The Vampire Diaries'' written entirely by Smith (''The Return: Midnight'') was released in March 2011. Smith submitted a draft of the next installment (''The Hunters: Phantom''), but after a dispute regarding a pivotal plot twist, her involvement was terminated by the publisher and the episode was revised by a

ghostwriter A ghostwriter is hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are officially credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often ...

. Subsequent ''Vampire Diaries'' installments have also been ghostwritten. She was also replaced on ''The Secret Circle'' series, by ghostwriter Aubrey Clark.

Personal life

Smith previously resided in

Concord, California Concord ( ) is the largest city in Contra Costa County, California. According to an estimate completed by the United States Census Bureau, the city had a population of 129,295 in 2019 making it the eighth largest city in the San Francisco Bay ...

in 1991 and still resides in Northern California with her dog. In 1998, Smith took a decade-long hiatus from writing to take care of her sister's children when her brother-in-law was diagnosed with

metastatic melanoma Melanoma, also redundantly known as malignant melanoma, is a type of skin cancer that develops from the pigment-producing cells known as melanocytes. Melanomas typically occur in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye (u ...

. During this time, her mother died from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...

. In late 2015, Smith almost died from an undiagnosed

granulomatosis with polyangiitis Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), previously known as Wegener's granulomatosis (WG), is a rare long-term systemic disorder that involves the formation of granulomas and inflammation of blood vessels (vasculitis). It is a form of vasculitis ...

that kept her hospitalized for two months and on a

ventilator A ventilator is a piece of medical technology that provides mechanical ventilation by moving breathable air into and out of the lungs, to deliver breaths to a patient who is physically unable to breathe, or breathing insufficiently. Ventilators ...

for weeks: she suffered severe damage to her kidneys, heart, liver and gallbladder.

Bibliography

''Night World'' Series

#''Secret Vampire'' (1996) #''Daughters of Darkness'' (1996) #''Spellbinder'' (1996) (called ''Enchantress'' in the UK and Australia versions) #''Dark Angel'' (1996) #''The Chosen'' (1997) #''Soulmate'' (1997) #''Huntress'' (1997) #''Black Dawn'' (1997) #''Witchlight'' (1998) #''Strange Fate'' (TBA)

Omnibuses

*''Night World: Secret Vampire, Daughters of Darkness, Spellbinder (Enchantress)" (2008) *''Night World: Dark Angel, The Chosen, Soulmate'' (2008) *''Night World: Huntress, Black Dawn, Witchlight'' (2009)

Short stories

Published on Lisa Jane Smith official website. * ''Thicker Than Water – Featuring Keller, Rashel, Galen and Quinn'' * ''Ash and Mary-Lynnette: Those Who Favor Fire'' * ''Jez and Morgead's Night Out''

''The Vampire Diaries'' Universe

''The Vampire Diaries'' Series

#''The Awakening: Volume I'' (1991) #''The Struggle: Volume II'' (1991) #''The Fury: Volume III'' (1991) #''Dark Reunion: Volume IV'' (1992) (''The Reunion'' in the UK and Australia version)

''The Vampire Diaries'': The Return Trilogy

#''The Return: Nightfall'' (2009) #''The Return: Shadow Souls'' (2010) #''The Return: Midnight'' (2011)

''The Vampire Diaries'': The Hunters Trilogy

#''The Hunters: Phantom'' (2011) (Written by a ghostwriter) #''The Hunters: Moonsong'' (2012) (Written by a ghostwriter) #''The Hunters: Destiny Rising'' (2012) (Written by a ghostwriter)

''The Vampire Diaries'': The Salvation Trilogy

#''The Salvation: Unseen'' (2013) (Written by Aubrey Clark) #''The Salvation: Unspoken'' (2013) (Written by Aubrey Clark) #''The Salvation: Unmasked'' (2014) (Written by Aubrey Clark)

Omnibuses

*''The Awakening'' and ''The Struggle'' (2007) *''The Fury'' and ''Dark Reunion'' (2007)

Short stories

Published on Lisa Jane Smith's official website. * "Matt and Elena – First Date" (2010) * "Matt and Elena – Tenth Date: On Wickery Pond" (2010) * "Bonnie and Damon: After Hours" (2011) * "An Untold Tale: Blood Will Tell" (2010) * "An Untold Tale: Elena's Christmas" (2010)

Cuts from ''The Return: Shadow Souls''

Published on Lisa Jane Smith's official website. * ''Damon and Elena: Tumbleweeds'' (2011) * ''Dinner Disaster'' (2010)

''The Vampire Diaries'': Evensong

''Note: These books were published as

fanfiction Fan fiction or fanfiction (also abbreviated to fan fic, fanfic, fic or FF) is fictional writing written in an amateur capacity by fans, unauthorized by, but based on an existing work of fiction. The author uses copyrighted characters, setti ...

Kindle Worlds Kindle Worlds was a publisher service of the online retailer Amazon, devoted to providing a commercial venue for fan fiction creations of specific licensed media properties. It was established on May 22, 2013, as part of Amazon Publishing. In Augu ...

after Smith's publisher hired other authors to continue the series after ''The Return: Midnight''. They pick up after the ending of said book, and while they do represent the original author's intended continuation, they are not considered official canon to the main ''Vampire Diaries'' series due to their status.'' * ''Paradise Lost'' (2014) * ''The War of Roses'' (2014) * ''Into the Wood'' (TBA)

The Secret Circle Series

#'' The Initiation'' (1992) #''The Captive'' (1992) #''The Power'' (1992) #''The Divide'' (2012) (Written by Aubrey Clark) #''The Hunt'' (2012) (Written by Aubrey Clark) #''The Temptation'' (2013) (Written by Aubrey Clark)

Omnibuses

*''The Initiation'' and ''The Captive Part I'' (2008) *''The Captive Part II'' and ''The Power'' (2008)

''The Forbidden Game'' Series

#''The Hunter'' (1994) #''The Chase'' (1994) #''The Kill'' (1994) #''Rematch'' (TBA)

Omnibus

*''The Forbidden Game: The Hunter, The Chase, The Kill'' (2010)

''Dark Visions'' Series

#''The Strange Power'' (1994) #''The Possessed'' (1995) #''The Passion'' (1995) #''Blindsight'' (TBA)

Omnibus

*''Dark Visions: The Strange Power, The Possessed, The Passion'' (2009)

''Wildworld'' Series

#''The Night of the Solstice'' (1987) #''Heart of Valor'' (1990) #''Mirrors of Heaven'' (TBA)

Novels

*''Eternity: A Vampire Love Story'' (TBA) *''The Last Lullaby'' (TBA)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, L. J. Living people 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American women novelists American horror writers American writers of young adult literature 1965 births University of California, Santa Barbara alumni Women horror writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers Women writers of young adult literature Women science fiction and fantasy writers