Have You Felt the Magic?
By Staff Writer: Jessica Sherman
Cassie Blake sat quietly on a beach in Cape Cod listening to the eternally full of herself Portia Bainbridge go on and on-as usual about her and her older brothers many accomplishments. She was counting the days one painful second at a time until she could get back home to her real friends. She had no idea she was about to come face to face with her destiny.
“They shouldn’t let people like that on the beach, He works on a fishing boat,” Portia said, her nostrils flared as if she smelled something bad. “I saw him this morning on the fish pier, unloading. I don’t even think he’s changed his clothes. How utterly scuzzy and vomitous.” He didn’t look all that scuzzy to Cassie. He had dark red hair, and he was tall, and even at this distance she could see that he was smiling.” There was a dog at his heels. “We never talk to guys from the fishing boats. We don’t even look at them,” Portia said. One by one Cassie watched the girls on the beach as they looked away from the guy with disgust plain on their faces. Cassie saw nothing disgusting about him. He wasn’t bothering anyone. “Look down,” Portia whispered. Without thought, Cassie obeyed but she couldn’t help wanting to rebel. She knew it was nasty and cruel and she was ashamed of being a part of it. It was just so unfair she thought.
“A wet nose thrust under her hand. Cassie gasped in surprise and laughed. Petting the dog she couldn’t help but glance up at the owner. His eyes were blue-gray like the sea at its most mysterious. His face was odd; not conventionally handsome, but arresting and intriguing, with high cheekbones and a determined mouth. “Cassie,” came Portia’s fuming hiss. Cassie felt herself turn red, and she tore her eyes away from the guy’s face. Portia was looking apologetic. The boy called the dog to his side and Cassie thought again it isn’t fair. The boy’s voice startled her. “Life isn’t fair,” he said. Shocked, her eyes flew up to his face. His own eyes were as dark as the sea in a storm. She saw that clearly, and for a moment she was almost frightened, as if she had glimpsed something forbidden, something beyond her comprehension. But powerful.” – The Initiation
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Determined to hide her feelings for Adam from everyone Cassie sets her sights on another Club member. The cold blooded Nick with dark eyes and good looks seemed a safe bet. With no interest in anything but cars Cassie hoped to put her attention on Nick to block out her love for Adam. What Cassie didn’t count on was the fire that burned beneath the surface. There was more to Nick than she’d ever expected. Cassie is soon faced with Faye and the secret she holds over her. Faye, determined to lead the Club pushes Cassie to her limits, testing her friendship, her strength and her loyalty.
As Cassie navigates her way through her feelings death begins to stalk New Salem as the Club begins to explore one of the Master Tools. The ancient tools used by the original coven hold an enormous amount of power. Deciding what to do with the Master Tools tears the club apart and draws a darker line between Diana and Faye. As Cassie gets caught in the middle, The Club unwittingly unleashes an old evil. Taking on a new face the darkness threatens to destroy the whole town and the coven with it. With the Club divided it’s up to Cassie to find her strength and draw on the power that’s hers alone to lead the coven into the fight of their lives.
Can you feel the magic?
Find it in THE SECRET CIRCLE TRILOGY:
• THE INITIATION
• THE CAPTIVE
• THE POWER
The Secret Circle: Volume 1: The Initiation and the first half of The Captivefirst a bestseller published back in 1992. The Secret Circle Volume 2:with the second half of The Captive and the final book, The Power, again first a bestseller in 1992.
The Secret Circle, Volume I: The Initiation
Shy, sixteen-year-old Cassie falls in love with the mysterious Adam before moving to New Salem, thinking she’ll never see him again. But as it turns out, Adam is there, too, at a high school where a strange elite rule. Beautiful fair-haired Diana, whom Cassie learns to love as a sister; voluptuous dark Faye, who wants to turn Cassie into her puppet. The greatest surprise: Cassie, like the other elite boys and girls, is a witch! And then Cassie discovers that Adam is actually the boyfriend of gentle Diana, now her best friend and the leader of the coven!
The Secret Circle, Volume II: The Captive
Adam and Cassie have sworn not to love each other for the sake of their beloved leader Diana. But Faye has caught them in their one embrace. Now she uses it to blackmail Cassie, forcing Cassie to lie to Diana and to dig up the strange crystal skull that gives them all such dangerous visions. Meanwhile, students are being murdered, and the witches are under suspicion. And Faye wants from Cassie the ultimate betrayal: her vote for Faye as coven.
The Secret Circle, Volume III: The Power
Faye rules the Circle, while Diana reels from Cassie’s apparent treachery. Cassie and Adam are drawn more strongly together than ever. A new principal appears who seems to know all the Circle’s secrets and is dedicated to persecuting them. Cassie, no longer the shy girl she was only a few months ago, takes charge in solving the murders, the mystery of the crystal skull, and the true meaning of the Secret Circle. Her reward is her dream come true.
My other trilogies (the bestselling The Forbidden Game and the #1 New York Times Bestseller Dark Visions) are pretty straightforward, both being repackaged in single, long books by Simon & Schuster. 
The Forbidden Game, Volume I: The Hunter, Pocket Books, 1994 (New York Times Bestseller!)
Jenny wants to get her boyfriend, Tom, a special game for his birthday party. However, she can’t help but be fascinated by the boy with the white-blond hair who sells her a strange game as a present. It turns out that the boy, Julian, is the youngest of those from the Shadow Lands, a race of evil beings who live invisibly just beside our own world. Once Jenny opens the game, she is in his land. Julian is determined to seduce her, but he has to work by a set of inflexible rules, only touching Jenny where she has reached for him. In the fantasy house that Julian has created, where everyone at the party must face their greatest fear, Julian himself is Jenny’s worst nightmare. . . and maybe her dream lover, as well.
The Forbidden Game, Volume II: The Chase, Pocket Books, 1994 (New York Times Bestseller!)
Jenny begins to get terrifying phone calls and soon it’s clear that Julian is loose is the real world. More and more, Jenny falls under his spell, allowing herself the freedom to do as she likes, no matter the consequences. It seems that Jenny has chosen Julian over Tom. But then her friends are disappearing, sucked into the Shadow Lands, paper dolls left in their places. Can Jenny outwit Julian without giving in to his demands entirely?
The Forbidden Game, Volume III: The Kill, Pocket Books, 1994 (New York Times Bestseller!)
Jenny returns to the place where it all began; her grandfather’s house, where as a child she first met the child-Julian. A door with a strange rune on it opens to the most fantastic creation of Julian’s of all: an empty amusement park that Jenny loved as a child. Except here, all the rides are deadly. More, Jenny must survive her confrontations with an increasingly frustrated and determined Julian. Will he really kill her if he can’t have her? Jenny forces him to make the choice—and two worlds are changed forever.
The Vampire Diaries 1: The Awakening (New York Times Bestseller!)
My first Vampire Diaries book. Written for HarperCollins. Urban horror/romance. A bestseller, both in 1991, when it was first published, and now, when it has been reissued, both as an omnibus packaged with Volume 2: The Struggle. (It has the first half face of the dark-haired boy on the cover.) Also out in individual volumes saying “Now a TV series on the CW” with pictures of the TV characters-including the brunette Elena.
There are also limited edition special hardback omnibus of The Awakening/The Struggle and The Fury/Dark Reunion. These came out for a book club and are really special, so if you find one hang on to it!
The Vampire Diaries 2:
The Struggle
(New York Times Bestseller!)
The second volume in the series. Another bestseller, both in 1991 and now. Packaged with The Awakening, and I think available as an individual book saying “Now a TV series on the CW.” But it’s best to ask a bookstore about how it is available at this point.
The Vampire Diaries 3:
The Fury
(New York Times Bestseller!)
The third volume in the series. Same stuff about bestseller then and now, when it was released packaged with Dark Reunion (the book with the picture of half the face of Elena, the blond girl).
The Vampire Diaries 4:
Dark Reunion
(New York Times Bestseller!)
The fourth and last of the original bestselling books. First published 1991. Came out recently packaged with The Fury. I don’t know if an individual volume is available yet.
The Vampire Diaries 5:
The Return: Nightfall
(New York Times Bestseller!)
The first of the 600-page new books. Available in hardback. Has the other half of Elena’s face on the cover.
The Vampire Diaries 6:
The Return: Shadow Souls
(New York Times Bestseller!)
The second of the new trilogy. Has half of a rather unattractive Damon’s face on the cover.
The Vampire Diaries 7:
The Return: Midnight
(New York Times Bestseller, Washington Post Bestseller, Publisher’s Weekly Bestseller.)
The last book in The Return trilogy. The face on the front is Caroline, who finally gets her just desserts, as do others.
The Vampire Diaries 8-10:
The Hunters: Phantom, Moonsong, ????
Lisa wrote Phantom, but at that time Alloy Entertainment Inc used the fact that she’d done the original trilogy as “work for hire” to remove her from doing any further Vampire Diaries Books. An anonymous ghostwriter will finish the series, possibly making it more like the TV series, according to the only statement Alloy Entertainment Inc. (who owns half the copyright) has made to the public, in the Hollywood Reporter. Lisa retained the name Eternity and is writing a book called Eternity: A Vampire Love Story.
“Stefan’s Diaries” / “Damon’s Diaries” etc…
Not written or inspired by Lisa at all. All written as TV-tie-ins, with the names L.J. Smith, Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec on the front. Written by an anonymous ghostwriter hired by Alloy Entertainment, Inc.
Note: Lisa has nothing to do with the TV-tie-ins: Stefan’s Diaries. General Rule of Thumb: If a book has several names on the cover or says “Created By L. J. Smith” you could be sure that L. J. did not write it.
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Now on shelves and at Amazon:
Vampire Diaries: The Return: Midnight.
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The Night World series, another bestseller both in the 1990s and now, has been put out in 3 omnibus volumes, each containing 3 books from the original series of 9. They do have Volume Numbers. The series is incomplete because I am writing the last book (or at least a milestone in the series)
Volume 10, Strange Fate. I’m not sure when it will come out, but all I do every day is write! 
Night World: Secret Vampire,
Pocket Books, 1996
The Night World isn’t a place. It’s the world of vampires, witches, and shapeshifters who live in the human world—by their own rules. And the first two rules of the Night World are simple: 1) Never tell any human about its existence, and 2) Never fall in love with a human. Spunky, sassy Poppy has always been in the best of health. Until today, when she discovers that she has a rare disease, and only weeks to live. James, her best friend, and the coolest boy at school, is confronted with a frightening decision. He can make Poppy a vampire like him, or he can let her die. But telling Poppy about the Night World is almost as dangerous as letting her die of a human disease, for he’s broken both of the Night World’s rules, and fallen in love with her.
Night World: Daughters of Darkness,
Pocket Books, 1996
Mary-Lynnette, seventeen, loves to watch the stars from her Oregon backyard. Then one day, she thinks she’s witnessed a murder through her telescope. She’s wrong: it’s only three vampire sisters burying their mysteriously-killed aunt. Mary-Lynnette, by the laws of the Night World, must become kin to the sisters or be sentenced to death: a sentence that seems to be sealed when their brother Ash appears. Gorgeous, lazy Ash has never dreamed that he could fall in love with a human, but it seems that Mary-Lynnette doesn’t want him on any terms because of his lurid vampire past. Can a now-repentant Ash convince Mary-Lynnette to let him atone for his former sins and be his soulmate.
Night World: Spellbinder,
Pocket Books, 1996
Thea and Blaise are cousins, and witches, and as different as day and night. They even belong to different witch covens, Circle Twilight, for the not-so-wicked-witches and Circle Midnight for the real hellions. In fact, Granny Harman, the Witch Leader, often compares them to Hellewise and Maya, the sisters who were the mother of all witches and the very first vampire, respectively. But when Thea breaks the laws of the Night World and falls in love with Eric, an ordinary human boy, she has unexpectedly to rely on the whims of Blaise or both she and Eric are doomed. This is the book in which Circle Daybreak debuts.
Night World: Dark Angel, Pocket Books, 1996
Childlike, innocent Gillian Harman is trying to save a baby she hears crying in the woods when, to her own surprise, she dies! Even more surprising is her guide in the afterlife, Gary Fargeon, an “angel” with a great body and a gorgeous face. Returned to life, Gillian listens to her dark angel in all things . . . and soon finds herself anything but childlike and innocent. But things are not what they seem, and even angels can make mistakes. Soon Gillian is on a quest to find out just what deed Gary committed to strand him in the afterlife; and to find out the secret of where she belongs in a world she never knew existed: the Night World.
Night World: The Chosen,
cket Books, 1997
Rashel Jordan lost her mother to a golden-eyed vampire at the age of five—and just barely saved herself by her wits. She’s grown up to the age of seventeen as a vampire hunter—the best. But when a group of hunters captures Quinn and decides to torture him, Rashel feels something in her soul twist. Left alone with Quinn, she goes along with her mad impulse and allows him to escape. But Quinn, a vampire with one of the darkest reputations in the Night World warns her not to expect him to return the favor. Nevertheless, when Rashel gets herself chosen for a bloodfeast and finds that Quinn is in charge of gathering girls for the dark ceremony! Enemies—and soulmates—what will happen during their final fight?
Night World: Soulmate,
Pocket Books, 1997
Sixteen-year-old Hannah goes to a psychologist to understand the meaning of her the notes she keeps finding—in her own handwriting. “Dead before 17,” “He’s coming,” “Watch out.” Only under hypnosis is their cryptic meaning revealed. Hannah is actually an Old Soul, a girl who has been reincarnated many times and can remember her past lives. And in every one of them, the fair-haired stranger appears—and Hannah loves him—and Hannah dies at age16. Meanwhile, the leader of all the vampires of Circle Daybreak, all those who have human soulmates, Lord Thierry, is searching. He’s looking for her—the girl he loved and accidentally killed thousands of year ago. Who will find Hannah first—her vampire soulmate, or Maya, the first of all the vampires who has murdered Hannah a thousand times to keep her from Thierry. And who will Hannah believe when they do find her?
Night World: Huntress,
ocket Books 1997
Jez, with flaming red hair and silvery blue eyes, is the epitome of the wild teenage vampire, riding her motorcycle and chasing skinheads through the woods. She and Morgead regularly challenge each other for leadership of the gang, and Jez believes—naturally enough—that the handsome, dark-haired vampire hates her. But suddenly the world changes for Jez. She discovers that she has no right to the Night World, because one of her parents was human. Now Jez has turned into a vampire huntress, and one with a special job: find one of the four Wild Powers who can fight off the Apocalypse, the end of the world. To do so, though, she must challenge her dearest enemy once again for the leadership—knowing that she has only half-vampire Powers.
Night World: Black Dawn,
ocket Books 1998
Maggie is the picture of an ordinary human teenager. Yet when her brother’s lovely girlfriend reports that he has been killed in a mountaineering accident, she knows it is a lie. The chase leads her to discover an entire community of human slaves ruled by vampires in the hollow of a Washington mountain. There also, she finds Delos, the second of the Wild Powers, the vampire ruler of this kingdom where she is a slave—and her soulmate. Her modern clothes cause the other slaves to hail her as a messiah come to bring them freedom. Can even level-headed Maggie deal with her arrogant soulmate and an entire kingdom to be freed?
Night World: Witchlight, Pocket Books 1998
Keller is a seventeen-year-old shapeshifter, a panther, who goes by her last name only. She’s an operative for Circle Daybreak and her mission is simple: find the third Wild Power who can fend off the Apocalypse. Keller does find Iliana, and much more, as well: a dragon in the shape of a human, and her own liege lord Galen. So, she learns: dragons walk the Earth again, even if in disguise. And Iliana is as far from a serious Wild Power as Keller can imagine. A love triangle quickly develops between the handsome princely Galen, the exquisite but bubble-minded Iliana, and Keller—who counts herself out with her favorite saying, “I’m just a grunt.” Life has surprises in store for the cynical, embittered Keller, and her opinions of both Galen and Iliana are in for a radical change.
Night World Series. Simon & Schuster 2008 – 2009
• Night World No. 1 Secret Vampire; Daughters of Darkness; Spellbinder (New York Times Bestseller!) • Night World No. 2 Dark Angel; The Chosen; Soulmate (New York Times Bestseller!) • Night World No. 3 Huntress, Black Dawn, Witchlight (New York Times Bestseller!)
It’s primarily about vampires, but it also mixes in werewolves, shapeshifters, witches, etc. In these stories, you’ll find vampires who’ve fallen helplessly in love with their human soulmates–but it’s the law that any Night Person who loves a human must be punished by death. If you like Damon, you’ll probably also like the vampires Ash Redfern, Quinn, and Morgead–not to mention James Rasmussen of Secret Vampire, the first book in the Night World series.
The Night of the Solstice
My first published book, begun in high school, finished in college. Also, my only middle-grade books, for ages 9-11. Four children are recruited by a talking vixen who is the familiar of Morgana Shee, a sorceress who has disappeared. By traveling through the mirrors in Morgana’s house they can reach the Wildworld, where the same house has been transformed into a castle . . . with the sorceress locked in one of the rooms . . . but which?
Heart of Valor
The second book in the trilogy about the adventures of the Hodges-Bradley children. By now, Janie is Morgana’s apprentice, studying to become a sorceress herself, while Alys, against her will, is forced into the role of a sword-wielding hero. Charles is still in love with the mercurial elf Elwyn, and Claudia’s courage is tested along with her ability to talk to animals.
Mirror of Heaven
I’ve gotten so many requests to finish this trilogy with the last book that when I have finished with Vampire Diaries and Strange Fate, I just might write this book about the magical gem called Mirror of Heaven.