I am celebrating the sale of Japanese rights to Night of Fear. This is the first of my books to be published in Japanese. After reading the contract terms, I figured out that my royalty on each copy sold will be 78 yen. Of course, all royalties on the foreign editions of my books come to me in U.S. dollars, but I’m having a good time imagining those 78 yen.
Foreign sales are one of the best perks of being an author, because a book gets published but I don’t have to write it first. I have never been to Japan, and it is exciting for me to know that Japanese students, teachers, and librarians will be able to read my book in their own language.
It also pleases me to see a new life for this particular title, which was originally published in 1994. I have a special fondness for Night of Fear because the character of Grandma Ruth has Alzheimer’s disease. My father had Alzheimer’s, so I used personal experience and feelings as I wrote.