A Proper Author

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I'm not a proper author, but I'm feeling like one this month. I've just finished our Umbrella Series workshops at The Archive and now it's the LitFest week of madness. I'm going on Dubai One TV today to record a programme for tomorrow, radio tomorrow to talk about the blogging panel on Thursday, then I've got the LitFest moderator's briefing later in the day followed by the author's dinner.

Flash! Flash! Flash! Sweetie!

Then there's the blogger's panel Thursday, with its highly luminary guests. I'm co-hosting a special show on Dubai Eye Radio from the LitFest on Friday from 1-3pm directly following that, Kamal Abdel Malek and I are hooning around onstage in our own session (followed by - ha - a signing session!). Saturday I get to interview Anissa Helou. Following all that I'm giving a talk at Zayed University on the role of narrative next week and then in April I'll be doing a 'More Talk' about telling stories at More Cafe and then joining a panel on self-publishing at the Abu Dhabi Book Fair on the 25th.

You'd almost think I was a proper author, but I'm merely masquerading. It's a load of fun, for sure, but a proper author would be making money out of all this. I'm just losing the stuff. Don't get me wrong - not a shred of regret in the air around here.