Mindy

I read this as a girl of 15 and could relate to Cathy D. which is probably why I loved the book so much. This book was banned in many schools in the eighties and beyond for the incestuous scenes in the book, while disturbing (as she ment it to be) it was really a small part of a terrifing tale of straife in the lives of these children. There has also been a lot of controversy over whether or not this is a true story. Most of those rumors started after her pitch to get the book published included a quote saying: "This is a fiction novel of a true story", some in the family say she wrote it after meeting a doctor in a hospital who told her a story of himself and three siblings living in an attic for 6 years (which was shortened to 3 in the book for "belivability") to preserve the family wealth. It was never confirmed.

A small exerpt from her bio...

Virginia C. Andrews died on the 19th of December, 1986, after being diagnosed with breast cancer. She was 63 years old. She was buried in Olive Branch Cemetery in Portsmouth, Virginia, where she spent her most beloved childhood years. At the time of her death, her accomplishments as a writer were great. She had over 24 million books in print and her books were translated into Dutch, German, Hebrew, Spanish, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Swedish, and Turkish. Her estate was estimated at about $8 million. A film version of her cult-classic first novel Flowers in the Attic, was released in 1987 by Fries Entertainment/New World Pictures. This film brought her dreams of being an actress to realization when Virginia appeared in a silent cameo as a window-scrubbing maid.

Two more novels were published after her death: Garden of Shadows, a prequel to Flowers, and Fallen Hearts, the third chapter of the Casteel series. With these novels, the Andrews family declared that more of Virginia's completed stories would be published in the future. Five years before her death, Virginia told the Washington Post that she had created synopses for sixty-three other stories, not including those that were already in print. The Casteel series was brought to a memorable close with Gates of Paradise and Web of Dreams.

A public letter written by the Andrews family (printed in the novels, beginning with Dawn) revealed that the family was "working closely with a carefully selected writer" to expand and continue the story-telling genius of V.C. Andrews. The identity of this writer had been kept a secret from the general public at the request of the Andrews family for years, but it's hard to hold on to a secret that big. The ghostwriter has since been identified as horror novelist Andrew Neiderman. Beginning with the later novels of the Casteel series, this new writer has worked hard to carry the torch that Virginia left burning brightly with a fire that her devoted readers refuse to extinguish.

That about says it!

I fell in love with this series from the first novel 'Odd Thomas'. The characters are brought to life with David Aaron Baker's superb performance. I search for books narrated by him and would listen to anything he performs in. Odd is thrown into being a hero and he is a gentle soul. It is stories of triumph in the face of evil, everlasting love, spiritual reckoning, paranormal exploration and heroism all rolled into one! What more could you as of Koontz? He has really hit one out of the park with this series! Well worth every credit!

This book and narrator are a great harmony. What touched a chord in my head was the idea of being able to write things into existence... So many people lose touch with their imaginations. Authors like Funke really know how to immerse you in their own imagination, bringing to life characters and events that sweep you into another world. After all.... isn't that why we all read?