Guest Author Interview with Linda Frank

Please join me in welcoming Linda Frank, a resident of San Francisco, avid reader and author of After the Auction.

1. What inspired you to write your first book? My novel, After the Auction, originated from a story my mother told me about a man she met during World War II. Someone like him is a character in the book, but the plot evolved from the mysterious silences I got when trying to research him for a nonfiction article or biography.

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Your support is very important to me. However, through tech world mysteries and (my website guru tells me) some mergers and acquisitions, I cannot retrieve the list of who you are. I am working on a new list service to remedy this problem and keep you informed about speaking appearances and other book news, as well as blog posts. Soon there will be a new sign-up mechanism on my site, but you can assure your spot right away by contacting me directly.

THEREFORE, I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE IT IF, WHEN YOU GET THE EMAIL MESSAGE ABOUT THIS POST, YOU WOULD EMAIL ME THAT YOU ARE A SUBSCRIBER. MY PREFERRED EMAIL ADDRESS: linda@lindafrankbooks.com

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You’ve heard of the Tiger Mom? The Panda Dad? Well, meet the Jewish Popo!

Popo is the Chinese word that in Mandarin means the mother-in-law on the husband’s side. I’ve also seen it defined as old woman (ahem!) and grandmother (someday soon, I hope). When I’ve asked my son in Beijing, Jonathan, why there’s a special name for the mother-in-law or grandma from the husband’s side, he said it’s because of the traditional dominance of that side in Chinese marriage customs: the bride would go over to her husband’s family. I’ve also seen a chart of family relationship names, and it seems that all sides have specific words for them.

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It’s Tuesday, June 21, the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and the shortest in the Southern Hemisphere, which we just left. And, given the length of this trip, this June 21 will be our longest June 21 ever. It’s been a fantastic journey, but we’re looking forward to getting back to San Francisco, where we will have some special guests from Beijing (guess who?) already in residence.

Here are some photos from our four days in gorgeous Cape Town.

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If you’re interested, please recheck the blog for photos now up!

Cape Town blog to follow (maybe from the airport tomorrow night? SOOO much to do in this gorgeous city!).

And, by the way, in case you wondered, we DID end up seeing the BIG FIVE: finally caught up to a leopard or two in Botswana. But once it was at night and once well hidden in trees, so our photos weren’t good  (you can’t really tell it’s a leopard) and we will get some from one of the better photographers.

I thought they’d down (up?) loaded, but apparently not. Will try to add later. Sorry. Cape Town fantastic, a great place to re-enter civilization!

Thursday, June 16

We’re in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe (vs. the Zambian side of the Falls, which is outside the city of Livingstone). We’ve been here since Tuesday afternoon, staying at an actual lodge with walls and windows, which makes the nights a whole lot warmer than the last camp and a whole lot less scary than them all (though there’s a watering hole down the hill from the lodge, and reportedly a killer elephant in area).

Having been to Iguassu Falls in Argentina (and Niagara), I can say that Victoria Falls is at least as spectacular, but it’s impossible to compare the three. We were offered the opportunity to sign up to bungee jump or swing (zip line) from the bridge over the falls between Zimbabwe and Zambia. Uh—I don’t think so. Ditto for helicopter rides over. Just being here is enough of a thrill! (And Eli and I DID volunteer to be among the three group members to take yet another four-seater plane ride between Hwange and “Vic Falls.”

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Monday, June 13, and Tuesday, June 14 (photos)

On this OAT (Overseas Adventure Travel) trip we have stayed at four different camps in three different countries (plus Eli and I were in Kwa Zulu Natale in South Africa for five nights beforehand). You might think that it all would begin to look alike and also that we might begin to get a little jaded. But, like crossing the Bay Bridge into San Francisco (or taking in one City view or another—even coming home from the grocery store or waiting for the eye MD at UCSF)—each tent camp and game ride was a new experience. Remarkably, neither of us has had one back twinge the entire time, which says something about the relaxation factor of this amazing holiday.

First, there was Botswana, and the aforementioned (Elephant in the Room) lodge in Chobe National Park—ravine setting, pontoon boat trip on the nearby river. Then, in the Okavanga Delta, also Botswana, where the reeds and grasses hinted at the delta beyond, but the nocturnal hippo sounds confirmed it; we also road mokoro canoe boats on the delta itself. Lufopo Lodge in Zambia boasted a fabulous view of the confluence of the Lufopo and Kafue Rivers in Kafue National Park. Finally, here in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe, it’s an open savannah-like, with tall grasses prevailing over occasional thickets. Very “Out of Africa.” (But where are Robert Redford and Meryl Streep when you need them? The theme music floats through my head all the time!)

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