(L-R) Ian Somerhalder, Nina Dobrev and Paul Wesley attend a fan meet and greet for the cast of ‘The Vampire Diaries’ at HMV, Oxford Street on June 3, 2010 in London, England.
Originally appeared on E! Online
Fans are mourning the loss of a legendary author.
L.J. Smith, who wrote "The Vampire Diaries" novels, died on March 8 after a decade-long battle with a rare autoimmune disease, her partner Julie Divola and her sister Judy Clifford told The New York Times. She was 66.
“Lisa was a kind and gentle soul, whose brilliance, creativity, resilience and empathy, illuminated the lives of her family, friends and fans alike,” a statement on her website read. “She will be remembered for her imaginative spirit, her pioneering role in supernatural fiction, and her generosity, warmth and heart, both on and off the page.”
Growing up in Southern California, L.J. (real name Lisa Jane Smith) had dreams of becoming a writer as a young child after a teacher, per her website, “praised a horrible poem I’d written.”
Years later, she began working on her first fantasy novel, "The Night of the Solstice," labelled for readers ages 8 to 12, while in high school. And as she continued to pour glimpses of her vivid imagination onto the page, she quickly gained a cult following when her vampiric series was adapted into a hit television show in 2009, starring Ian Somerhalder, Nina Dobrev and Paul Wesley, among others.
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But beyond her most well-known series, the New York Times bestselling author penned more than 29 books—which were celebrated for exploring the supernatural as well as elements of horror, science fiction/fantasy and romance—including the "Night World" series, as well as "The Secret Circle," "Dark Visions" and "The Forbidden Game" trilogies.
And even when struggling with the enduring side effects of her disease, her agent John Silbersack expressed that her commitment to storytelling was unwavering until the very end. Indeed, he said that she completed three unpublished works before her death.
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“She had been quite ill,” Silbersack told the outlet, “but despite the difficulties and the pain, she was fiercely dedicated to continuing to write. She wanted to get it right, to be quite perfect.”
Along with Julie and Judy, the author is survived by her two kids Lauren Clifford and Brian Clifford, as well as a niece, a nephew and a grandnephew.
