James Roth is a writer of fiction and nonfiction. His work has appeared, or is forthcoming, in several international magazines and journals, including New Contrast (South Africa), The Wise Owl (India), Mystery Quarterly (The U.S.), and Litro (The U.K.). His first novel, THE OPIUM ADDICT, set in Meiji era Japan, is forthcoming. He has traveled widely in Southeast Asia and has lived in Japan, China, Jordan, South Africa, and Zimbabwe but likes to say he was "Made in Japan." His parents lived there during the American occupation but he was, to his and his mother's lasting regret, born in an American military hospital in the U.S.