I have searched back two years on this site, and on stories by author and title, in an attempt to find the title of the story about a woman dying along with everyone else as the earth falls into the sun. Her dress sleeve catches fire... she wakes up to find it was a dream: the earth is actually falling away from the sun and the cold will kill all.

I do know that "Fever Dream" is not it, and possibly not "Frost and Fire" either. Or "The Lat Night of the World"? The title may be as simple as a woman's name. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

You may be confusing a Ray Bradbury story, "Embroidery," or one of his others about nuclear holocaust, with an episode of "The Twilight Zone" titled "The Midnight Sun," written by Rod Serling, which originally aired November 17, 1961.

"The Midnight Sun" is one of my favourite episodes. I often think of it, though I don't think I've seen it since it was first aired!

Thank you. I checked the Twilight Zone episodes and found a brief description. Since I read (not watched on TV) it in about 7th grade, and that was some decades ago, it is hard to place without finding again. But some books of Twilight Zone episodes were printed, I believe, and this was probably the source.

Yes, there were at least three "Twilight Zone" short story collections, and "The Midnight Sun" appears in "New Stories from the Twilight Zone," New York: Bantam Books, 1972, which contains The Whole Truth; The Shelter; Showdown with Rance McGrew; The Night of the Meek; The Midnight Sun; and The Rip Van Winkle Caper.

Serling became discouraged at turning his stories into prose because they took so much longer than the TV versions and he made so much less on them.

quote:

Serling became discouraged at turning his stories into prose because they took so much longer than the TV versions and he made so much less on them.

Boy, that's for sure, especially in the days when most paperbacks sold for a buck or less...

Serling thinking: 'Let's see, I'll probably make about six cents per book royalty, times maybe 10,000 sales this year...makes it about six hundred dollars in royalties...OR, I can work for another six hours on producing this week's TZ script and get $10,000...

Well, it was an easy choice for ol' Rod. Back in those days, unlike now, the WRITERS of hit shows often were paid more than the star(s) of the show.

Yeah, but somehow the powers that be managed to turn "Night Gallery" into some sort of hell for Rod. Although he was one of the most highly-awarded writers ever, his work on "The Twilight Zone" typecast him as an announcer. They wouldn't hardly let him write on "Night Gallery" and he still always got the blame when it was bad! A discouragement which ultimately sent him back east to teach.