V. C. Andrews died from breast cancer in 1986 , leaving behind some unpublished stories . The estate of V. C. Andrews hired a ghostwriter , Andrew Neiderman , to continue the stories , which are still published under the name V. C. Andrews . Cleo Virginia Andrews ( June 6 , 1923 â `` December 19 , 1986 ) , better known as V. C. Andrews or Virginia C. Andrews , was an American novelist .