podcastAfter V. C. Andrews died in 1986, Andrew Neiderman quietly took over as ghostwriter at her publishers' behest. He has continued to churn out novels under the Andrews pen-name for decades ever since, basically turning "V.C. Andrews" into a brand.
Neiderman's work is a Flanderized version of the topics and themes in Andrews' works. It is widely agreed by V.C. Andrews fans that Only the Creator Does It Right and there is a particular disdain for Neiderman.
At first the estate stated that the ghostwriter had "completed" the contracted novels left incomplete at the time of Andrews' death. Then the official word was that the ghostwriter was writing works based on Andrews' notes. With the ghostwriter under a complicated non-disclosure agreement, it seemed that his true contribution to the franchise would never be known... until eight years later, when the IRS stepped in to claim that the now-trademarked name "V.C. Andrews™" was a taxable asset. The ghostwriter's contributions became a matter of public record. In the end it was revealed that the Andrews estate had never given the publisher or ghostwriter access to any manuscripts left incomplete at the time of Andrews' death, nor was he given any notes.
Works:
- Garden of Shadows (1987), Dollanganger Series prequel
- Whitefern (2016), My Sweet Audrina sequel
- Casteel Series (ghostwritten) (1985-1990)
- Cutler Series (1990-1993)
- Landry Series (1994-1996)
- Logan Series (1996-1999)
- Orphans series (1998)
- The Wildflowers series (1999)
- Hudson Series (2000-2007)
- Celeste series (2004-2005)
Tropes common in ghostwritten works:
- Rape as Drama: The ghostwritten books are infamous for, particularly Rape as Backstory, as often discovered in the prequel novels.
