Lisa Jane Smith (September 4, 1958 – March 8, 2025) was an American author of

young adult fiction Young adult literature (YA) is typically written for readers aged 12 to 18 and includes most of the themes found in adult fiction, such as family dysfunction, substance abuse, alcoholism, and sexuality. It is characterized by simpler world build ...

best known for her best-selling series ''

The Vampire Diaries ''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural teen drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson (screenwriter), Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the The Vampire Diaries (novel series), book series ...

'', which has been turned into a successful television show. Her books, particularly ''The Vampire Diaries'' and ''

Night World ''Night World'' is a series of nine young adult fantasy novels by American author L. J. Smith. In the series, vampires, witches, werewolves, and shape-shifters live among humans without their knowledge, making up a secret society known as the ...

'', have been in the ''New York Times'' Best Seller list and have been nominated for five awards.

Early life and education

Smith was born on September 4, 1958, in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...

. As a child, she grew up in

Villa Park, California Villa Park is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States. It was founded in 1962. At the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the city had a population of 5,812, making it the smallest city in Orange County. The city is la ...

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 ...

. 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 university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an ...

. She later attended

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It was established in 1899 as the San Francisco State Normal School and is ...

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 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. 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, LLC (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 Entert ...

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 A trilogy is a set of three distinct works that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games. Three-part works that are considered components of ...

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 t ...

'' (1992), ''The Forbidden Game'' (1994) and ''Dark Visions'' (1995). The first installment of ''

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

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

Personal life

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 is the most dangerous type of skin cancer; it develops from the melanin-producing cells known as melanocytes. It typically occurs in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye (uveal melanoma). In very rare case ...

. During this time, her mother died from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

. Smith previously resided in

Concord, California Concord ( ) is the most populous city in Contra Costa County, California, Contra Costa County, California, United States. According to an estimate completed by the United States Census Bureau, the city had a population of 124,016 in 2024, maki ...

in 1991, and later moved to

Danville, California The Town of DanvillePronounced is located in the San Ramon Valley in Contra Costa County, California, United States. It is one of the List of municipalities in California, incorporated municipalities in California that use "town" in their nam ...

. At the time of her death, she was in a relationship with lawyer Julie Divola.

Illness and death

In late 2015, Smith almost died from an undiagnosed

granulomatosis with polyangiitis Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), formerly known as Wegener's granulomatosis (WG), after Nazi German physician Friedrich Wegener, is a rare, long-term, systemic disorder that involves the formation of granulomas and vasculitis, inflammatio ...

that kept her hospitalized for two months and on a

ventilator A ventilator is a type of breathing apparatus, a class 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 breathi ...

for weeks: she suffered severe damage to her kidneys, heart, liver, and gallbladder. Smith died from complications of an

autoimmune disease An autoimmune disease is a condition that results from an anomalous response of the adaptive immune system, wherein it mistakenly targets and attacks healthy, functioning parts of the body as if they were foreign organisms. It is estimated tha ...

at a hospital in

Walnut Creek, California Walnut Creek is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, about east of the city of Oakland, California, Oakland. Walnut Creek has a total population of 70,127 per t ...

, near her Danville home, on March 8, 2025, at the age of 66.

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's 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 known as fan fic, fanfic, fic or FF, is fiction typically written in an amateur capacity by fans as a form of fan labor, unauthorized by, but based on, an existing work of fiction. The author uses copyrighted ...

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 Augus ...

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. 1958 births 2025 deaths 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American women novelists American horror writers American writers of young adult literature University of California, Santa Barbara alumni American women horror writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers American women writers of young adult literature American women science fiction and fantasy writers People from Danville, California Deaths from autoimmune disease People from Fort Lauderdale, Florida