Clare Frank | Author, retired fire chief, and pickleball storyteller
Clare Frank spent 30 years in the fire service after joining at seventeen, rising through the ranks and retiring as California’s first female Chief of Fire Protection. She writes with the authority of someone who led under pressure and the curiosity of someone drawn to reinvention.
Her debut book, Burnt: A Memoir of Fighting Fire, earned critical acclaim and was long-listed for the 2023 Outstanding Works of Literature Awards. Her work has also appeared in The New York Times, CNN Opinion, and the San Francisco Chronicle.
Clare brings that same depth and wit to Just One More Game: A Pickleball Quest, a sharp look at pickleball’s rise and a year-long chase to understand its grip.
She lives on the eastern front of the Sierra Nevada with her husband, a stack of pickleball paddles, and always a dog or two.
Instagram: @firewriter1 and @pickleballhotline