Miss Virginia Cleo Andrews
Miss Virginia Cleo Andrews, one of three children, was born in 1924 in Portsmouth, Virginia. She read voraciously and excelled in art. She won a scholarship at the age of fifteen for a literary parody she had written.
In her late teens, a fall down a flight of stairs, combined with botched orhopedic surgery, would lead to her ultimate dependance on a wheelchair and crutches later in life.
She did commercial and portrait art for awhile, before beginning her "closet" writing after her father's death in the late 60's. In 1972 she began to devote all of her time to writing, completing her first novel, a science fantasy called The Gods Of The Green Mountain.
Seven years later, in 1979, she sold her novel, Flowers In The Attic. The decision to use her initials on her books rather than her name, Virginia was not hers. Initially her publisher claimed the use of her initials was a mistake. Later, she learned the truth, it was an editorial decision. Her publishers wanted men to read her books and felt they wouldn't if they knew she was a woman.
Miss Andrews was living with her mother, Lillian, in Virginia Beach, Virginia when she passed away in 1986 at the age of 62. Upon her death, her family chose a ghostwriter, Andrew Neiderman, to continue writing her books and produce new stories based on her style.
Pictured above is a cover scan of Andrew Neiderman's book, Brainchild, published in 1981. What's interesting about the book is the blurb at the top of the cover. "Chilling suspense...a real page turner I read in one sitting!" - V.C. Andrews, author of If There Be Thorns.
It's kind of ironic that Miss Andrews wrote a blurb promoting a book for the author who would eventually become the ghostwriter, don't you think?
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