A statement on her website remembered her as "a kind and gentle soul, whose brilliance, creativity, resilience, and empathy illuminated the lives of her family, friends, and fans alike."
LJ Smith published the original four-book series, Vampire Diaries, in 1991 and 1992 before they were turned into a hit TV show of the same name that debuted in 2009. She wrote another trilogy in 2009-11.