L. J. Smith (author)

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L.J. (Lisa Jane) Smith is an American author. Her books are aimed at Young adult literature and combine a myriad of genres including horror, science fiction/fantasy and romance.

So far, she has written four trilogies, one series and two companion novels. Her books are characteristically populated with unusually beautiful people, human and supernatural; most of them young, or at least appear youthful. There is usually a dark/light, good/evil conflict, revolving around a central, ambiguous character who, while trying to seduce the heroine to the darkness, ends up being himself reborn into the light. Sometimes this scenario is flipped, or otherwise, it is a variation upon the theme. In the Night World series, the dark/light conflict is institutionalized into a reality-altering conspiracy. The dark/light tension is further played out in romantic soulmate scenarios which drive forward the plot.

Her latest book published was Witchlight, the ninth volume in the Night World series in 1998. Since then, although her fans wait with bated breath, the tenth and final book of the Night World series Strange Fate has not yet appeared. It has been reported that the numerous postponements of its publication date is partly due to very important family affairs. Read latest news on Strange Fate here.

Throughout the years, Lisa Jane Smith fans have created fanfiction and artwork, extensive fan websites, rpg games, and have even met in conventions, in their mutual fascination and adoration of Ms Smith's imagination.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Lisa Jane Smith realized she wanted to be a writer sometime between kindergarten and first grade, and she began writing in elementary school; since then, she could never really break the habit.

"I decided to write for kids when I was a kid. I knew the kind of books I liked to read and there just weren't enough of them. Nothing to do but write them myself. I'd been telling myself stories ever since I was four or five, and writing them down was just the next step."

Still in high school, she got the idea for her first published book while baby-sitting. The book entitled The Night of the Solstice was finished the year she got out of college. A fantasy story concerning an alternate universe, sorcerers, elves and magic, the book was soon bought by Macmillan and published in 1987.

"I'd been working on the book (The Night of the Solstice) since I got the idea for it in high school, but the writing went slowly because I was busy studying psychology. Besides, everybody told me that I could never make a living being a writer, so there was no hurry! [...] Of course, it still took some time to get the book sold -- for one thing, I had to cut it by a hundred pages! But eventually Macmillan bought it, and my fate was decided. I loved writing and I knew I had to keep doing it."

After having got her BA in Experimental Psychology from the University of California at Santa Barbara and two teaching credentials from San Francisco State University, she went on to teach kindergarten and special education in a public school for several years. Today, she is writing full time and though she feels very nostalgic about teaching every fall, she still finds writing more fun. On being asked on advice for teenagers who wants to become writers, she strongly encourage young writers to read a lot and write anything and everything that comes to mind.

"Write when you're feeling something; when you're mad, or in love, or in pain. The passion will come through. And write about what you know, write about your own school, your friends, your take on the world. Teens often think their own lives are boring -- they want to write about exotic places, weird people, things out of their experience. But it's best, especially at first, to write what you know. It may be hard to expose your most private self to other people, but that's what writing is about. And the ring of truth is unmistakable.
Reading is the other important thing. Read all you can and read a variety of books. You'll absorb all sorts of good things, grammar, vocabulary, plot structure -- even if you don't realize it. Try the classics, and keep trying them as you get older. Some things that you think are really boring and stupid right now will suddenly become interesting as you mature."

L.J. Smith is today living in a rambling house in the Bay Area of northern California with one dog, three cats, and about ten thousand books! Since childhood she has been fascinated by the night and the way the ordinary world changes in moonlight. And though she makes no claims to psychic abilities, she is convinced that street lights go off at night when she passes by. Many of her books, including The Forbidden Game trilogy, are based on her own nightmares and those of her friends. At times she stops in the middle of a frightening dream and thinks, "This is awful! I hope I remember it when I wake up!". On warm summer nights, she watches the stars while deer feed on the hill sides by her house.

Writing stories that are romantic, witty, empowering, and often truly terrifying all at the same time, Smith finds her greatest inspiration in the letters she receives from her readers. "Some kids tell me that my books have actually helped them fight off despair and stand up for what they think is right," she says. "Letters like that keep me going." Even though she has only written for young adults up to now, she hopes to write books for adults in the future.

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] Companion Novels

  • The Night of the Solstice
  • Heart of Valor

[edit] Quartet

[edit] Trilogies

  • The Secret Circle
    • The Initiation
    • The Captive
    • The Power
  • Dark Visions
    • The Strange Power
    • The Possessed
    • The Passion

[edit] Series

  • Night World
    • Secret Vampire
    • Daughters of Darkness
    • Spellbinder/Enchantress
    • Dark Angel
    • The Chosen
    • Soulmate
    • The Huntress
    • Black Dawn
    • Witchlight
    • Strange Fate (Not Yet Released)

[edit] Quotes

  • "If I could do one thing with the world, I'd turn the entire human race into empaths. Make everybody feel everyone's pain. If we could all truly empathize with each other, there would be an immediate end to most human misery. Famines would stop as rich countries fall over themselves to send aid..."

[edit] External links

[edit] References

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