The Divide discussion

This series was taken from L. J. Smith and given to a ghostwriter in a similar way that Vampire Diaries was taken from her. Alloy has no respect for L. J. and I have no respect for them. I will not be buying any books packaged by Alloy. They have a legal right to have the books written by who they like because of the wording of the contract L. J. signed. We also have the right to spend our money and show our support for the party(ies) that we choose. I support L. J. Smith.

No it won't. If you properly read online material about it then you would know it's not. She was going to originally post it online, but she couldn't stop writing and it spawn into a full blown novel.

"On Smith's December 8, 2010 blog post, she discussed the possibility of a sequel to the trilogy. It was originally to be posted on her website, but she stated that it "ballooned into a full-length novel." As to the plot Smith says "Also: the plot is about Cassie going into the underworld to pull Nick out of a coma. However, Nick misunderstands her intentions and believes that she has parted with Adam to be with him. Meanwhile, Black John has been revived in a new crystal skull and wants revenge against Cassie and her family."

That was her plan, but the has changed. Check her website under the Author tab look at the Bibliography. It was updated 8-4-11.

Yes, but there are many places that are saying she is writing it. Maybe something happened that she isn't allowed to say in regards to the series.

It could be that she is not allowed to say anything or that she just doesn't want to rehash the whole VD thing. Either way I believe her website above any other source and it says she isn't writing it. It said, "Note: I will NOT be writing any of the ghost-written sequels to Secret Circle."

The only thing I can say as to why this happens is usually based on the publishing company. When someone signs the contract to have their books publish, there is sometimes fine print that states they can have complete control over the creative ideas or etc, etc, etc... there may have been some big legal words that were not looked at when she signed it over 20 years ago that today she should look at in her contract to find out if she can fix it so that she can have input to the books.

you're right it was something in the contract because when she was explaining the VD issue she mentioned SC had a similar contract. She was a young, inexperienced author when she signed them. She knows better now. Sadly, I don't think there is anything she can do to fix the old contracts. She mentioned on her guestbook that she fought long and hard to prevent/reverse their decision.

This is why I urge young writers to make sure they bring a friend or someone older who knows about this stuff. Someone they know that can read the contract over and see if anything in there permits the publishing company to take their material whenever they want from them and change it as they please. There are a few companies out there that are sneaky. It's the same issue that is found in the music industry as well.

Shockingly, L. J. had an agent who was supposed to do just that and failed miserably. Thankfully all of her other books are with a different publisher and have contracts where she has full rights. She also has a new agent.

Ghostwriters are usually aspiring authors who have had their own books turned down before...and it definately shows in their writing. When you give an amazing book series such as The Secret Circle written by a legendary writer, to some amateur is beyond me. Why would they even consider doing this?! I'm probably being brute as I'm sure this ghostwriter may be a lovely person who just wants to write, but I'd personally be overwhelmed with guilt knowing I'd stolen someone elses storyline and work. I'm just shocked they continue to put L.J's name on the book covers, as they don't really seem to have her best interests.