Dean Koontz often quotes from "The Book of Counted Sorrows" in his novels, which sends many readers to librarians in search of this book. Librarians have not been successful in locating it because it does not exist. This has been confirmed by a librarian from Cedar Rapids Public Library who corresponded with Mr. Koontz regarding this mysterious book. In a letter dated 8-10-92, Mr. Koontz, stated

"Actually, there is no such book. I made it up. The way you made up footnote sources for fabricated facts in high-school English reports. Oh, come on, yes, you did. Sometimes, when I need a bit of verse to convey some of the underlying themes of a section of a novel, I can't find anything applicable, so I write my own and attribute it to this imaginary tome. I figured readers would eventually realize THE BOOK OF COUNTED SORROWS was my own invention, and I never expected that one day librarians and booksellers would be writing from all over the country, asking for help in tracking down this rare and mysterious volume!"