Andrew Neiderman is a master of psychological thrillers
– VC Andrews author of Dark Angel
In the Attic : A V C Andrews Blog posted
this copy of Playmates by Andrew Neiderman , complete with Virginia Andrews quote quite some time ago.
I had heard that V C had apparently endorsed his work but never seen the proof until I came across this.
Many fans are cynical regarding whether it is actually Andrews’ quote or actually Neiderman promoting himself as the book was initially released in 1987 whereas Virginia died in December 1986.
By 1987 , Neiderman himself had become Virginia’s Ghost Writer causing his critics to dismiss this quote and promotion as “fake”.
Matters are not helped by the fact that Neiderman and Andrews both shared the same literary agent , Anita Diamant and editor , Ann Patty which enabled Neiderman to be offered the opportunity to become her ghostwriter.
Australian Author and good friend of AtticSecrets , Kathryn White tells us the following :
“Ahh. Apparently the quote is hers, but it’s about one of Neiderman’s books that she read before she died.
It’s not unusual for publishers to send their authors copies of books by their other authors–a favourable review is great for cross promotion, for example if Author A says great thing about Author B’s books, then fans of Author A will take notice and may buy a copy.
Meanwhile fans of Author B will notice Author A’s quote and may buy a copy of Author A’s book.
The VCA quote about Neiderman has been heavily exploited ever since.”
Kathryn s insight into the publishing world is very valuable when trying to discover the truth behind this quote.
It is probable due to their literary connections Virginia would have received an advanced copy of his book and given this quotation – after all it would be less likely to have been hers if the book had been published in say , 88 or 89 .
Neiderman critics seemed to have seized upon this time lapse without taking into consideration the workings of the publishing world.
However, I can say before considering Kathryn s insight, I was dubious about the validity of this endorsement.
Playthings was published at a time when the VCA estate still were pretending she was alive and that the books written in her name , which were actually written by Neiderman , were her work.
They continued this “deception” until 1993 when the IRS tax case against the estate forced them to reveal all.
Of course , fans would feel suspicious and duped by anything previously claimed …. many V C fans probably bought Playthings on good faith…like they continued to buy V C Andrews books believing what they were reading was her own words.
Image taken by In the Attic : A VC Andrews Blog
AtticSecrets1979 
Some time ago I purchased a copy of Bloodchild, to see the connections to Daughter of Darkness. The old paperback had that same endorsement from VC Andrews on the cover. Unfortunately, I no longer have the book.
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/n/andrew-neiderman/bloodchild.htm
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Wow that s interesting , I wonder what year that was published ? What strikes me with the early Andrew Neiderman novels is the remarkably similar artwork to Virginia s . I wonder if the same artist was used ?
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I want to add the exact same quote was also used on two others Perfect Little Angles (1989) and The Need (1992) also another quote different and even more cryptic Brainchild (1981) “Chilling suspense…a real page turner I read in one sitting!” Odd thing for a woman who spent most of her life in a wheelchair to say.
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Wow ! Thanks for that info Jessica …. it is indeed odd. Seems like their publishers really needed VCA s endorsements and thanks to you we now have confirmation she did endorse his books before her death …even if it is a little out there š
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“Brother, Sister, Madness, Sin…Now the fun can begin.” Andrew Neiderman’s Pin. I used to have one of the old copies of Flowers in the Attic with the stepback cover. It was either in that or a second edition after that where it mentions Andrew Neiderman’s Pin. Pin was the book that she read that she is referencing in regards to Andrew Neiderman. At least, that’s what I always assumed. The ad for Pin was in the back of the book. Now that I think about it, it was in a second edition of FiTA because the last few pages also mentioned Petals on the Wind and even possibly ITBT. In a lot of older paperback books, the last few pages were always dedicated to giving the reader a synopsis of different works by other authors. Sometimes there would be listed about six or seven books on a page by the same publisher with a quick blurb describing a story. And then, of course, a way to order those books from Pocket Books with a price attached. Well, anyway, Pin had a full page add in it. Why it always struck me was because the blurb for it read something like: “Brother, Sister, Madness, Sin…Now the fun can begin…Andrew Neiderman’s “Pin.” Which was written in about 1980 or so. Maybe ’79. And then it mentioned the V.C. Andrews quote above. However, any fan of V.C. Andrews would look at that quote of “Brother, Sister, Madness, Sin…” and be immediately intrigued. I know I was. Pin has nothing to do at all in the same context as Flowers in the Attic or other sibling relationships from the works of V.C. Andrews but I can sort of see the parallel. The quote is not false as to what the book is about, but it is misleading in terms of there being some sort of incest between the siblings. It’s really about a brother and sister who are orphaned in their late teens. The brother becomes obsessed with this life sized dummy, mannequin and feels threatened when his sister starts to date. Not because he wants to date her or anything, at least not to my memory…but b/c he doesn’t want to be left alone. It’s actually a pretty good read and there was a decently made movie based off it in the late 1980s. I have also read Playmates (renamed The Maddening…also made into a movie, starring Burt Reynolds). I remember reading that quote on the top of Playmates and thinking: “Ha, they recycled that from when she was talking about Pin.” Although, honestly, I really think it was just something she had to do to help out the publishers. I am sure she read a little bit, but I don’t know that she would have necessarily endorsed it on her own.
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Wonderful! Thanks so much for this information I have never read pin but I do think it sounds intriguing
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I did a slight bit more research and while reading some reviews on Goodreads, somebody else mentioned coming across Pin because of the same “ad in the back of one of VC Andrews’ books.” Also, I do think there was a slight bit of incest in Pin. It’s been a long, long time since I read the book. The film I used to own and saw a few times. Much like the 1987 adaptation of FITA, the incest was removed so I kind of forgot about it. If I remember correctly, it’s not exactly the brother and sister, themselves…it involves the mannequin named Pin. The brother and sister were brought up learning about sex from their doctor father with demonstrations (yeah) on Pin. Well, the brother basically is going crazy and after their parents die, he uses the “doll” on his sister. Or something along those lines. So, that’s why there are so many comparisons with this book and V.C. Andrews and leads me to believe that was the main catalyst for Andrew Neiderman becoming the ghost writer.
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