Provided

"My Magnolia Summer" In-Store Book Signing

June 8. 7 p.m. $30. Books-A-Million. 918 N Lake Dr. facebook.com/booksamillion.

Books-A-Million
918 N Lake Dr.
Lexington, SC 29072
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The phrase “like mother, like daughter” rings true for Victoria Benton Frank, who follows in her late mother’s famous author footsteps with the June 6 debut of her first novel, “My Magnolia Summer.”

Frank is the daughter of the late Dorothea Benton Frank, who published 20 novels set in the Lowcountry, and while Benton, a former New York chef, took an indirect path to writing, she has settled into a niche that feels like hers.

That niche being the multi-generational lineage of Southern women in and around the Lowcountry that her mother often wrote about.

“My mom and I had a theory that everyone wants to be Southern,” Frank joked.

As for following in her mom’s footsteps, Frank is excited to tackle the legendary trail blazed by her mom.
“I can’t help but write about this niche,” she said. “You sort of feel this is what I want to write about.”

“It’s exciting. I don’t think I have a good sense to be intimidated. It’s a huge opportunity to carry on her name,” Frank added. “It opens up doors I never had as a chef. I am excited. Once she passed away, I inherited an army of grandmothers and aunts. It feels great.”

Frank looks forward to touring the Southeast for the book, which she hints will be the first in a series because she isn’t ready to say goodbye to protagonist Maggie and her family.

The novel is fiction, but there are some tidbits that relate to Frank’s own life. For instance, the protagonist is a New York chef who grew up on Sullivan’s Island. Frank herself now resides on the outskirts of Charleston after a fast-paced chef life in New York. Although she grew up in New Jersey, she says she’s always considered the Lowcountry her home.

“I love Charleston and am happy to be back,” she said. “What calls me to the South is nature and I love the animals and typography and the beautiful plants that grow naturally. It’s beautiful and I love the history. I think space has memory.

 “I think I ‘m charged with stories that want to be told. My family’s from here and I feel called to this land. I never felt home in New Jersey. My family’s been here for over 100 years.”

While Frank grew up in the North, she did gravitate back to the Lowcountry for college. She’s a graduate of the College of Charleston and the French Culinary Institute. She then moved back North, where she met her husband in the restaurant industry. Now Frank and her family are nestled in the Charleston area as she currently works on the sequel to “My Magnolia Summer.”

The process of writing her first novel took about seven years, Frank said, with life happening in between. Once she really put her focus on writing the book, though, it took about three years to complete. Although the book was initially much longer, she said her “genius editor” encouraged her to cut it down and use it as the start of a series.

As for transitioning from the culinary world to the written word, she said her mom helped her realize her gift for storytelling.

“I published a kids book with my mom before she passed away. I knew I wanted to write a book I wanted to read. My mom thought I’d be a natural storyteller,” Frank recalled. “As I got older, I thought maybe I could do it. I’d written plays in college and was always attracted to stories with multi-generational women from the South. They’re funny, smart and resilient. My mom told me to write what I know and that’s what I did.”