A lesser-known fact about The Vampire Diaries is that the wildly successful show was actually based on a series of books of the same name. L.J. Smith's books were initially released in the early ...

Author L.J. Smith, who created the 'Vampire Diaries' otherwordly book series that inspired the CW drama of the same name, died this month. She was 66.

Author L.J. Smith, who created the 'Vampire Diaries' otherwordly book series that inspired the CW drama of the same name, died this month. She was 66.

Author L.J. Smith, who created the 'Vampire Diaries' otherwordly book series that inspired the CW drama of the same name, died this month. She was 66.

Author L.J. Smith, who created the “Vampire Diaries” book series that inspired the CW drama of the same name and contributed to pop culture’s obsession with vampires, has died.

Author L.J. Smith, who created the 'Vampire Diaries' otherwordly book series that inspired the CW drama of the same name, died this month. She was 66.