Dorothea Benton Frank
Dorothea Olivia Benton Frank (September 12, 1951 – September 2, 2019) was a best-selling American novelist. Her novels, including "Porch Lights" and "By Invitation Only", are set in South Carolina. Biography. Dorothea Benton Frank was born and grew up on Sullivan's Island in South Carolina. She attended Bishop England High School in Charleston, and then General William Moultrie High School, from where she graduated in 1969. She went on to become a graduate of the Fashion Institute of America in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1972. She died in Manhattan of complications from myelodysplastic syndrome on September 2 , 2019, at the age of 67. “I went to my husband and said, ‘I want to buy Momma’s house and keep it in the family.’ Peter said, ‘How much is it?’ I said $180,000. I only needed $149,000 and he said no. I asked him why and he said, ‘If you think I’m going to spend the rest of my life sitting on a front porch listening to all your relatives tell the same stories over and over till they fall off the porch, I’m not going to do it.’ ” Ms. Frank was livid. “I  said: ‘O.K. Well, I’ve got news for you, Bubba. I’m going to write a book and I’m going to sell a million copies and I’m going to buy Momma’s house back. And you can’t come in.’ He said, ‘Let’s see you do it.’ ” Dorothea's writing career started because of a desire to purchase the family house on Sullivan's Island after her mother died in 1993 which her siblings wanted to sell. Her husband did not want to purchase the house so she vowed to write a book and use the proceeds  to purchase the house. She was not able to purchase the family home but eventually she purchased another home on Sullivan's Island with money she earned writing.