Friday, April 30, 2010

Friday Flashback

Before the frenzy that was and still is Twilight, before Stephenie Meyers dreamed of Edward…there existed the awesomeness of The Vampire Diaries, by author Lisa Jane Smith.

These books were first published as a trilogy in 1991, nearly 20 years ago. The story centered on Elena Gilbert, a teenage girl who is torn between two vampire brothers, (who I like to call Hot and Hotter), Stefan and Damon Salvatore.
Giving in to the pressure from her readers, LJ released a fourth book the following year. She then took a break from writing for the next ten years. In 1998, she returned and announced the continuation of the series with a new trilogy called The Return, with Damon as the main protagonist. The first installment, The Return: Nightfall was not released until February of 2009. The second installment, The Return: Shadow Souls was released March 16th, 2010. The third and final book, The Return: Midnight is scheduled to hit shelves in April of 2011.

The Vampire Diaries was adapted for TV and premiered on the CW in September 2009. The storyline has been adjusted for the television series but it will be exciting to find out which ideas they will keep from the original story. The love triangle between Elena, Stefan, and Damon is much more prominent and violent in the books than the televised version.

LJ Smith first discovered she wanted to be a writer at age six and turned in this lovely poem to her first grade teacher.

I see a bird upon its nest
It has no time to sit and rest
This little bird cannot have fun
Because its work is never done.

She is positive that even if people hated her stories, it would not stop her from writing. Like most of us, writing to her is involuntary and the stories must be told.
You tell it, girl.

She is agented by Elizabeth Harding of Curtis Brown Ltd.
http://www.ljanesmith.net/

7 comments:

  1. So you know the first thing I noticed in this post? 1991 was almost 20 years ago! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!

    I really need to read some non-Twilight Vampire lit. I've got Darren Shan in my desk at school and Anne Rice in my bedroom. Need ot get to cracking.

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  2. How interesting. Since the TV show is new, I always thought the Vampire Diaries books were post-Twilight. I'd be interested in reading them. :)

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  3. Yes! It is funny how these were resurrected. I haven't read them, but the TV show is sort of interesting. It's so...moody.

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  4. These vampire stories all sound so good but I can't read anything with bloodsucking going on. Not meant for the medical profession either.

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  5. I would like to read her books. It would be nice to see what vampire romance looked like BEFORE Meyer butchered it...

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  6. I love The Vampire Diaries! It's hard to believe they were written so long ago, yet are very popular now. Love the TV show too!! I mean LOVE it!! :)

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  7. I really like your posts about authors--though really, I like all your posts. :) Adding the agent was a nice touch too.

    You know which vampire books I've been meaning to read but are still sitting on my TBR list? VAMPIRE ACADEMY. They sound good.

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It helps to know I'm not just talking to myself.