By Deborah Sharp
Tom Schreck stole my thunder a couple of days ago, with that great cover he posted of his book, "On the Ropes,'' in German. Kudos, Herr Schreck!
Nonetheless, I'm still tootin' my horn over my big news: Mama's going to the land of Sumo wrestlers and sushi, y'all! Midnight Ink sold the foreign rights for a Japanese edition of Mama Does Time, the first book in my Mace Bauer Mystery series.
I can't wait to see how the translators handle the Southern-fried language and colloquialisms from ''Mama and them.'' Not that I'd know the difference if they erred, understand. I'm just wondering how they'll handle phrases like: ''Honey, you're wound so tight only dogs can hear you fart.''
Or, "I'm fixin' to knock his teeth down his throat just so I can watch him spit them out single-file.''
Yeah, that's right. I write literature. (To that, you might say: ''Now, don't pee down my back and tell me it's raining!'')
Anyhoo, as Mama would say, now I can call myself an ''Internationally Published Author.'' How cool is that? Actually, ''International Best Selling Author'' would be even cooler, but all things in good time, right?
I'm really grateful to Midnight Ink's crack foreign rights team for making this sale to Hayakawa, a terrific mystery publisher in Japan. Arigato, y'all! I'm going to sign off here with Sayonara . . . You just knew I would, didn't you?
But first, a couple of questions for the veteran authors out there: What's been the most unusual, exotic, unlikely foreign edition of one of your books? Do you hear from readers in far-flung countries?
Readers, if you could magically speak any foreign language, and could read one of your favorite books in another tongue, what book and language would you choose? Feel free to say, ''Why, that upcoming classic, Mama Gets Hitched, in Finnish!''
14 comments:
I love the tone of your blog!!! And I think I'd get a real kick out of the books - lines like dogs & farts, or single file & teeth are right up my alley!
Congrats on the Japanes rights!
Congratulations! I read the dog fart line to my husband, who is NEVER speechless. The look on his face when he realized there really IS no comeback to that was almost as funny as the line itself. Thank you!
Congratulations! I would love to know how the translators work with your Southern phrases.
It would be fun to read your books in French.
Congratulations!
Hey, there .... thanks for the nice comments, y'all. Jill: I like the way you think. You must be from the South! Shel, whenever we can make our husbands speechless, it's a good thing ... Dru Ann, as always, you're a doll. Don't you think Francais is a bit sophisticated for Mama 'n them, tho? Paul: You're welcome!
oops, should have written thank you to Paul (it's early)
Deb, that is sooo great. I'm sure they'll be blushing in Hong Kong.
I LOVE it! I wonder how Southernisms are going to translate over there? What are they going to think of sweet tea? :)
Deb- I've been trying to imagine the translation. Just for giggles, I plugged the dog line into Dictionary Translator:
"You have to hear you fart really just a frustrated dog."
...I don't know, I think it loses something.
Still, if it's published, "it's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick." Or should I say in Japanese: より良い目を突くよりもシャープな棒で。
Congratulations! I'm happy for you!
Congrats, Deb! Now you have to travel to Japan to make sure people are putting your books in the windows. :)
It's exciting to hear about German and Japanese editions of other Midnight Ink titles! It gives me hope that people in other countries will be reading my books someday, too.
Omedetou, Deb-san.
Tres cool, Deb! (What can I say? I know some French, no Japanese)
Hi, there .... thanks to everyone for the best wishes and comments. I just know some of my fellow M'Inkers will be joining me on the overseas tour, soon. (Keith, Darrell, Elizabeth, Lois and Beth, I'm talking to you!) PS: Julia: I already go into all the US bookstores and turn out my books, front cover first. Don't you? Maybe someday I'll do it in Japan, too!
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