Chasing Dreams

The past few weeks have been a roller coaster. The lowest, most despondent moments of my first year of teaching, exacerbated all the more by my lack of a real social and familial network over here (not to mention a real dearth of Christian fellowship), followed by back-to-back good news: first, another potential avenue to get my novel published when I get home in June, followed by the news that my best friend in Dubai, Martine, who had been home in California due to a family emergency since November (the day after we got back from Jordan), was coming back to Dubai. More ups and downs preceded and followed, but most of my ups since seem to be writing/publishing-related.

On the novel front, I’ve picked up the pen again, rewriting the novel (entitled From the Ashes, for those of you not in the know) into what should be a final draft (to be tweaked between its completion circa the first of May and its hopeful submission for publication in late June). This past week alone, I’ve written over nine-thousand words on it. As most of you who know me well are aware (especially those of you who’ve known me well in these past two years), there are few things in life that I want more than to be a published novelist, able to write for a living and travel the world researching ideas and locations for subsequent stories. And as God is wont to do, when I was the most distraught I’ve been in years, He goes and opens a window, a door, and possibly a whole slew of portholes in the possible attainment of my greatest dream. I have been blessed with at least two individuals who are well-connected in the publishing world who are interested in my work, at least one of which is eager to get my finished novel into the hands of the right people to get it published. Given, neither of them have read the latest version of the novel, but I don’t think it will disappoint. That’s the aforementioned door and window. Here come the portholes.

This weekend, the inaugural Emirates Airlines International Festival of Literature is coming to Dubai. Dubai Festival Center, actually, the mall that is located just a ten-minute walk from my school. Forty-some-odd authors from all over the world are coming to participate, giving presentations and hosting Q&A sessions, as well as availing themselves to fans for book signings, chats, etc. I’ve bought tickets for five sessions with five different bestselling authors (Peter James, Kate Mosse, Frank McCourt, Wilbur Smith, and Philippa Gregory), and I’ll be meeting Julia Glass, NY Times bestselling author and winner of the National Book Award, when she comes to our school on Sunday (the first day of the workweek out here, if you’ve missed that in previous entries). In short, I’ll be meeting six bestselling, well-connected authors in the next week. Hence, my portholes.

In addition, I’m going to be taking along the first twenty-four pages of my revised novel (the prologue and first chapter)… just in case the opportunity might arise for me to show it to one of the authors. Who knows? If they read it, they could offer suggestions (from someone who is familiar with the publishing and editing process), or, if they’re particularly wowed (which, considering the busyness of the festival, I don’t really think they’ll have the energy to be wowed by something some silly festival-goer wrote), perhaps they’ll give my contact information, with the author’s recommendation, to someone within the industry. Probably a pipe dream, but hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? Even if nothing much happens to get the ball rolling on me getting published this weekend (which is the most likely scenario), I’ll still glean some insights on the life of a full-time author and on the craft from professionals in the field. Should be an exciting and enriching weekend, no matter which way things happen.

Also on the writing front, I’ve begun preliminary work on a non-fiction book based on my experiences, observations, and thoughts about life on the ground here in Dubai. Plenty of books have been written on the city, but most of them have been from a business perspective. Dealing with the children from all over the world, from all sorts of religious, economic, racial, national, and cultural backgrounds, as well as watching the interplay between them and the society they call ‘home’ (at least as much as anyone calls Dubai ‘home’, but that’s a different chapter altogether) has provided a unique insight that I haven’t found to be attainable outside my profession. The book will be probably divided into two sections – one on life as a ‘normal person’ in Dubai (rather than as one of the rich and famous for whom the city is designed to be a playground, or as one of the businessmen responsible for designing and constructing said playground) and one on the insights gleaned as a teacher of the various children of the people making up this grand microcosm of the world. There’ll likely be some overlap there, but those are the basic divisions. I’ve also been told that I should write a book of travel writing, and in all likelihood, I will, but that’ll be separate from this project. I haven’t started actually penning the book itself at the moment, as my writing energies are primarily dedicated to the novel (and keeping you folks back home abreast of my adventures… though I’m sorry for the somewhat rambling nature of this entry… I just churned out another thousand words of From the Ashes, and it used up all my good writing), but I’m keeping notes and recording statistics, experiences, and anecdotes so that when I do begin writing it (probably not until after my stint here is complete), I’ll have a wealth of material already at my fingertips.

So there I am. Hoping, praying to get published in 2009, and pursuing every avenue God opens up to me. And since I’m on it (and I know many of you probably already are), I’d appreciate your prayers on this matter: for the right doors to be opened at the right time. Also, any support you can offer me in this endeavor (whatever that means to you… not donations or anything like that… unless they’re made in cookies!), would be greatly appreciated. And drop me a line if you can sometime (JeremyJBurns@gmail.com). I don’t have much Internet time out here (I only have access at school for the time being), so I might not be able to respond in a timely manner, but any little note from you folks back home would be neat. It gets lonely out here sometimes.

Here’s hoping for magic happening and dreams being fulfilled this weekend and beyond, and as always, thanks for tuning in!

“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”
– Walt Disney