Writing a book is only one part of an author's life. After it's published, a bestselling author hits the road to promote it. Book companies schedule book tours for authors to speak and sign copies.

Montclair author Dorothea Benton Frank, who writes the column “Dot’s Desk,” is on the road, promoting her latest book, “Queen Bee,” which came out on May 28.

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READ: DOT'S DESK; HAPPY NEW YEAR FRUITCAKE

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Frank has written 18 books that have appeared on the New York Times bestseller list. She was born and raised on Sullivans Island, S.C., and divides her time between Montclair and the Lowcountry of South Carolina. Her tour schedule can be found at her website.

Above, Frank signs books for admirers at  a crowded room in Camden, S.C. The book is already a bestseller.

EXCERPT

Queen Bee

Beekeeper Holly McNee Kensen quietly lives in a world of her own on Sullivan's Island, tending her hives and working at the local island library. Holly calls her mother The Queen Bee because she's a demanding hulk of a woman. Her mother, a devoted hypochondriac, might be unaware that she's quite ill but that doesn't stop her from tormenting Holly. To escape the drama, Holly's sister Leslie married and moved away, wanting little to do with island life. Holly's escape is to submerge herself in the lives of the two young boys next door and their widowed father, Archie.

Her world is upended when the more flamboyant Leslie returns and both sisters, polar opposites, fixate on what's happening in their neighbor's home. Is Archie really in love with that awful ice queen of a woman? If Archie marries her, what will become of his little boys? Restless Leslie is desperate for validation after her imploded marriage, squandering her favors on any and all takers. Their mother ups her game in an uproarious and theatrical downward spiral. Scandalized Holly is talking to her honey bees a mile a minute, as though they'll give her a solution to all the chaos. Maybe they will.