Friday, December 9, 2011

Giveaway: 2 new books from the V.C. Andrews legacy


I took a little survey of the women in the office and it seems we all read the "Flowers in the Attic" books (aka the Dollanganger series) by V.C. Andrews back in the day. I remember thinking they were fascinating. I also remember watching wide-eyed the creepy 1987 movie of the same name starring Louise Fletcher as the evil grandmother and Kristy Swanson of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" as one of the "flowers."

It seems the author may never have seen that popular movie version of the popular 1979 book. V.C. Andrews passed away in 1986 at the age of 63 after battling breast cancer.

Books completed by Virginia "V.C." Andrews are: "Flowers in the Attic," "Petals on the Wind," "If There Be Thorns," "My Sweet Audrina," "Heaven" and "Dark Angel." "Seeds of Yesterday" and "Garden of Shadows were begun by Andrews before her death and finished by a ghostwriter selected by her family thereafter.

Books are still being published in her name (now a trademark of the Vanda General Partnership) via that ghostwriter, whose name was kept secret for many years. To date, more than 50 novels bear V.C. Andrews' name.

According to The Complete V.C. Andrews website, completevca.com:

"The identity of this writer was kept a secret from the general public at the request of the Andrews family for years. The ghostwriter has since been identified as thriller and horror novelist Andrew Neiderman (pronounced Nyderman). With more than two dozen novels published under his own name in two decades, this experienced writer has earned a fan following of his own."

The latest two V. C. Andrews books - "Family Storms" and "Cloudburst" - the first and second in the new March Family (Storms) series, were published this year (Pocket Books, $7.99 each, mass media paperback).

They look to me like the perfect stocking stuffers for some reader in your life. 

Family Storms - publisher's description: 

In the eye of the storm . . .

Living on the streets with her destitute mother, selling knickknacks and trinkets just to survive, Sasha Porter dreams of someday having a normal life, with a real house and family. But she never dreamed a devastating tragedy would bring her those very things: on a stormy night by a rainspattered highway, a speeding car veers out of control, striking and killing her mother and badly injuring Sasha.
. . . is anywhere truly safe?

In the hospital, Sasha is whisked off to a fancy private suite at the request of wealthy Mrs. Jordan March, a complete stranger who keeps watch by Sasha’s bedside and insists she come live at her family’s sprawling, luxurious mansion. Sasha soon learns Mrs. March never recovered from the loss of her daughter Alena, and with nowhere else to go, Sasha agrees to use Alena’s room, sleep in her bed, and wear her clothes. But someone will make sure that Sasha never takes Alena’s place: a jealous sister dead set on making Sasha’s life a living hell.

Cloudburst - publisher's description:

OUT OF A CLEAR BLUE SKY . . .Since being taken in by wealthy Mrs. Jordan March and living in her exquisite home like a daughter, Sasha Porter’s traumatic past — destitute on the streets, and the shattering accident that killed her mother — seems like a fading nightmare. Beautiful and sophisticated, as bold and daring as her “sister,” Kiera March, Sasha still keeps her mother’s wise words close to her heart: never fully trust anyone. Inside her privileged new world, it’s advice that will prove more precious than gold.. . .

CAN ANYTHING STOP THE DOWNPOUR?Against the wishes of Jordan’s husband, Donald, Sasha attracts the attention of Duane Banks, a shy, handsome athlete, and maneuvers her way into his heart. But Duane’s hidden torment soon explodes in a horrific tragedy that pulls Sasha into a flood of guilt and despair. And when someone she thought she could trust targets her vulnerability, Sasha recalls her mother’s warnings — and a violent storm of dark deceptions and shocking family secrets is unleashed. Will she sink or swim?  

Would you like to win these books?

Since they are the first two books in a series, I'm going to give these two books away as one "prize." Enter by emailing your name and mailing address to me at mkaras@pottsmerc.com or by leaving the information in a comment on this blog.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I really used to love Kristy Swanson until she cyberbullied my cousin.

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