traceypharm, I found a copy of LJ Smith's email here
link
"You see, I’ve been fired from The Vampire Diaries—mainly because instead of giving my publishers the strict Stelana they demanded, I went ahead and
wrote what my heart told me to do. They wanted Elena to “realize that she was fond of or physically attracted to Damon, but that her one true love was Stefan.” But I didn’t see the series that way. And so Midnight is the last
Vampire Diaries book you’ll see by L. J. Smith."
She goes on to say: "Even though they are copyrighted to me, I still can’t write
them without Alloy’s permission. And they really hated any Delena content—as well as the many scenes I had given to Bonnie, which they wanted to cut. They demanded only Stelena... you can kiss any more truly meaningful Delena moments goodbye, because I’m afraid it just isn’t the view of Harper or Alloy."
She ends the email by saying that she's sorry that Delena readers will have no hope of anything other than a Stelena endgame.