Vampire Diaries (the books)

[butterfly]

Apparently, L.J. Smith may have been fired from writing the rest of her Vampire Diaries series, primarily because she was giving too much love to Damon. She decided that she wanted Elena to genuinely be in love with Damon, not just Stefan - and she had a close bond formed between Bonnie and Damon. This made the publishers unhappy and apparently something she'd signed when she started the series gave them the authority to yank it from her and give it to a ghost writer.

source; additional

I haven't read the books and what I've read about the books doesn't make me want to run out and buy them but... damn, if that's true, it's all kinds of horrible that a publisher can do that.

(and the publisher in question is HarperTeen/Alloy Publishing)

Comments

[scrollgirl]

What the hell? How can a publisher even do that! Not "legally", I mean. How can they look at themselves in the mirror when they steal a writer's characters away from her? Damn, that's cold.

[butterfly]

It's pretty cold, yeah. I hope it's not true.

[silviakundera]

As much as the new sequels written in the last few years have DESECRATED MY CHILDHOOD... if this turns out to be true, definitely wackdoodle. It should be the author's choice how to proceed on their own creation (even if they're writing it into the ground).

What I find truly bizarre is the idea that the publishers had some big financial connection to Stefan/Elena. Pretty much every person I met over the years (when I was a preteen and since) shipped Damon/Elena in those books. (Stefan is awesome on the show; Stefan in the books is bland and sleep-inducing) So they would have sold MORE and been MORE popular with a transition to a D/E storyline. (and frankly, anyone reading the original books in the 90's would have probably not blinked too much if Damon stuck around for her to be involved with both of them. the subtext as pretty close to text imo. dude, Stefan and Elena ASK HIM TO STAY WITH THEM at the end of the series.)

I think this more than anything has me suspicious and waiting for publisher confirmation -- I can't imagine the business rationale.

[butterfly]

From what I've read, fans think that it's because of Twilight - that the publishers are hoping for Stefan/Elena to be a copycat of Edward/Bella and hop on the bandwagon.

It's also possible (someone suggested) that she was fired for the 'bad writing' angle but that she's appealing to the D/E and D/B fanbases because they're the biggest ones.

[silviakundera]

From what I've read, fans think that it's because of Twilight - that the publishers are hoping for Stefan/Elena to be a copycat of Edward/Bella and hop on the bandwagon.

I think they might have actually had a possibility there, if they had handled the new reboot novels WAY DIFFERENTLY. They could have easily picked up the 'Dark Reunion' storyline, directed it the Damon/Elena direction or given Stefan a personality & developed the Damon/Bonnie romance, continuing the same themes and plotlines... and I think it could have captured a portion of that vampire romance fanbase. The originals were kind of awful but in that junk food, addictive way. The writing was on the same level as Twilight. Simplistic paranormal YA but with some uncommon character choices that made them stand out for people.

Actually, now that I think about it? I bet they would have made CRAZY MONEY writing a Damon/Bonnie spin-off series that focused just on them and developing a romance. God, why didn't publishers contract her to do that? That could have been the next Twilight. Books!Bonnie is totally a Bella style self-insert Mary Sue and that audience would have eaten that shit up.

Now, though, the new books pushed the series over the edge into laughable camp. It's too late to get popular culture to bite. Like, I think now Caroline's framed Matt for raping her or some shit like that? and suddenly this vampire & werewolf series turned out to have evil Japanese fox spirits? And then they visited a demon dimension? and then Damon died and WENT TO THE MOON? SOMEONE WENT TO THE MOON AND AN ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE. OR SOMETHING. IDEK. Some crazy shit like that. o.O

[threerings]

Well, as horrified as I should be that a writer is being fired from her own series, I can't find it in myself to be surprised. Seriously, she can't write. It's really, really bad and only seems to get worse the longer she goes on. Actually, I'm kind of horrified that she PLANNED on writing more. The only reason I was even reading the new series was because I hoped she would end it. But knowing she only wanted to prolong the romantic tension through even more ridiculous plot and horrible prose, I can't be sorry about it.

I mean, obviously she made a shit deal when she signed her contracts with them. But I can understand a publisher declining to publish more of a writers' books in a series if they aren't any good or aren't making money. And since they own the title The Vampire Diaries, and it's a valuable name thanks to the series, they want someone else to write books that people who aren't completely insane might enjoy.

Yeah, I've suffered enough at her hands not to have any sympathy for her. If she wrote better books or let her books be edited (and really, I'm 100% sure they were not reviewed by a professional editor) she almost certainly wouldn't be in this situation.

[butterfly]

But I can understand a publisher declining to publish more of a writers' books in a series if they aren't any good or aren't making money. And since they own the title The Vampire Diaries, and it's a valuable name thanks to the series, they want someone else to write books that people who aren't completely insane might enjoy.

Ha! I've read about Elena being, like, an angel and stuff. And I guess a moon blows up in the new one? I really have no interest in reading these books. They totally sound crazy. But I really hate the idea that they can just get rid of the original author like that.

I do hope that the reason was 'bad writing' and not 'omg! only write Stefan/Elena!' like she's painting it to be. Ha, I guess we'll find out if the publisher responds and stuff.

[threerings]

Well, since the third one isn't out yet, I can't say what she does in it that may have motivated them. As of the 2nd one, there's lots of Elena/Damon flirting and attraction, but Elena is pretty focused on Stefan still. He's just completely absent from the new series as a result of being captured by Japanese fox spirits and imprisoned in the underworld.

And I don't remember the moon thing, but I don't remember lots about those books except that at the end of the 2nd book Damon is turned human again. Which totally made me want to read the third one, devious bitch.

And there's hundreds of pages of descriptions of sparkly princess dresses. Really, it felt like hundreds of pages just describing dresses. And jewelry.

[threerings]

And I just checked my goodreads to reread my review of the 2nd book again to refresh my memory, and that book has an average 3.89 rating. Out of 5! Never trust a goodreads rating again.