Dorothea Olivia Benton Frank (September 12, 1951 – September 2, 2019) was a best-selling American novelist. She was born and grew up in South Carolina and became a graduate of the Fashion Institute of America in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1971. She worked in the fashion industry from 1972 until 1985 and then organized fundraisers as a volunteer, before becoming a successful novelist. She wrote 20 novels, almost all of which are set in South Carolina. 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. Although unsuccessful in her attempt to buy the family home, Dorothea eventually purchased another home on Sullivan's Island with money she earned writing. She died in Manhattan of complications from myelodysplastic syndrome on September 2, 2019, at the age of 67.