Sad news for fans of The Secret Circle book series…
As I was minding my own business looking for new ebooks to download on my iPad 2, I came across a listing on Amazon for a new Secret Circle novel called The Divide, which is to be released next March. Before I did my shamefully embarrassing Happy Dance, I visited L.J. Smith’s official page to see if she had, in fact, finished the long rumored sequel to The Secret Circle. Unfortunately, she hadn’t, but that fact wasn’t even the true stinger that silenced my joy.
Turns out that L.J. Smith has seemingly been let go from writing any further adventures featuring Cassie, Adam, and the rest of the Crowhaven Street gang from here on out. You know? Just as she was fired from writing anything else related to The Vampire Diaries novel series, which she started back in 1991. The Secret Circle: The Divide and any other sequels following will be written entirely by a “ghost-writer.” Cue your anger here.
While there isn’t any true ‘official’ statement from Ms. Smith herself on why she was let go from The Secret Circle series, the Bibliography section of her website is the only indicator of Ms. Smith not having anything to do with any future TSC sequels. At this rate, you seriously have to wonder if there is any bad blood between Ms. Smith and Alloy Entertainment, or if Alloy simply just want to take The Vampire Diaries and The Secret Circle into totally different direction.
This revelation of L.J. Smith being blind-sided on The Secret Circle front isn’t new, mind you. It seems to have been known by die-hard L.J. Smith fans for awhile now, but you wouldn’t know that given how Amazon and Harper Teen is still listing Ms. Smith as the writer of TSC: The Divide and TVD: The Hunters – Phantom. It is this fact where confusion can set in and quickly turn into frustration for some fans.
If Harper Teen owns The Secret Circle and The Vampire Diaries, then why would they still need to pimp L.J. Smith’s name to help sell the books? Yes, I know that the #1 answer to that question comes down to the all mighty dollar needing to be made. But there are other less confusing ways to achieve that goal. For starters, the series could be called L.J. Smith’s The Secret Circle: The Divide, written by whomever. Or they could just go with Harper Teen Presents The Secret Circle: The Divide, which would give fans of L.J. Smith a quick “A-ha!” moment before purchasing the book.
One last thing to note, Ms. Smith’s firing from The Vampire Diaries, while not making any sense whatsoever, still gave fans a “reason” for the action to take place. With The Secret Circle novels, the firing is all the more tragic and complex, because for starters, we don’t know exactly why Alloy decided to give Ms. Smith her walking papers this time around. Secondly, there are (amazingly) still a lot of people unaware of L.J. Smith not being involved with The Vampire Diaries novels post The Return: Midnight, so just imagine how many people are completely clueless about her recent departure from The Secret Circle novels. It’s a sad, sad world, folks and it’s going to continue to be filled with misinformed fans if Alloy doesn’t come up with another markering strategy.
So what do you guys think about this latest L.J. Smith firing? Should The Secret Circle even have a sequel at all? I’m eager to hear your say on this matter…
The Secret Circle: The Divide hits bookshelves on March 25th, 2012, while The Secret Circle TV series returns with new episodes on January 5th. Here’s an advanced review on the midseason premiere, “Darkness.”
Source: L.J. Smith’s Bibliography Page
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About Mark O. Estes
TV, movies, and writing are my life and I will combine the trinity till the day I die. I also am a budding filmmaker as well. Follow Me on Twitter @theanticritic For A Glimpse At The Craziness That Is M.O.E.
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