Lisa Jane Smith, the writer of "The Vampire Diaries" books that were adapted into a television series, died on March 8 at the age of 66, her family confirmed to The New York Times.

Smith had a long battle with an autoimmune disease and died in Walnut Creek, California.

LJ Smith was born on September 4, 1958, in Florida and raised in California. She studied experimental psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara and initially worked as a special education and kindergarten teacher.

Smith's first published novel was a fantasy book she started when she was a high school student. That novel led to a deal with Alloy Entertainment to write "The Vampire Diaries."

The saga began with three books published in 1991, followed by a fourth in 1992. The television adaptation began in 2009 and continued until 2017. Nina Dobrev starred as Elena Gilbert, who gains the sympathy of vampires Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder) and Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley).

Although Smith had only received a small advance for the first books in "The Vampire Diaries" series, she had another deal with Alloy Entertainment in the 2000s to expand it with an additional trilogy. She was fired in 2011, and the rest of the series was written by others.

Smith was "very hurt and outraged" when an unknown and inexperienced writer took over the script for the series. After this incident, she wrote a series of other fantasy books.

Lisa Jane Smith is survived by her partner, sister, niece and nephews.