Reaching for the Stars Read online

  It was one of those moments. It was a moment I knew was unlikely to happen again, so I had to strike, quickly, knowing I had just a few seconds. As the photographers ignored me and took lots of pictures of Mr Smith, I called out to him, and he called me over. As we hugged, I quickly told him I had written a book with him in the lead role and that I wanted him to play it!!!!!! I gave him my card, which he took very graciously before joining his lovely wife Jada in the car. I was shaking when I did this, but I did it nevertheless.

  Hey, it’s my DREAM after all!

  Once I had calmed down it was time to take a look in the shop and see my books on display for the very first time.

  There they were, sitting on a shelf. My dream. Little stars shining for all to see.

  By The Time You Read This…by Lola Jaye.

  Wow.

  And then I had to take a moment to think about all those years of struggle, hope, lack of hope, prayer, determination, disappointment, visualization, sweat, daydreaming, happiness, fears and tears, realizing it had all come down to this wonderful and beautifully special point in time.

  Never Stop Dreaming

  When I was fourteen, I remember really wanting a particular pair of Adidas trainers. My best friend Donna wanted a pair of British Knights. Both cost over seventy pounds. With one pound a week pocket money, I was going to have to save for the rest of my life, and by then the trainers wouldn’t be in fashion any more! I knew there was no point in even asking my foster mum for the money, as things were very tight. So my friend and I both decided to get a job. The trainers were our goal and we were determined to buy the ones we wanted.

  After lots of CVs handed in at various shops, we finally got jobs with a football pools organization. It got us out of bed on a Saturday morning. That bit was hard, but what kept us going was the thought of our brand spanking new trainers. The day came soon enough, when we were able to afford them I will never forget how it felt to open up that box of fresh-smelling trainers.

  On top of this, my friend and I stayed at our jobs because we liked the independence of having our own money and the confidence a job gave us. We felt like real grown-ups, and, another plus, we made new friends too. I remember our tea breaks were spent around a large table in the dining room with other teenagers. Donna would bring in freshly made sandwiches that tasted like no other, while a very funny girl we made friends with lit up our tea breaks with her energy and madcap jokes. We never spoke a lot about what we wanted to be when we grew up, but ambitions were mentioned from time to time. It wasn’t hard to see what interested these two girls: Donna is now a successful pastry chef, and Jocelyn is a comedienne with her own show on BBC2!

  I suppose the point I am trying to put across here is: I once dreamt of a fresh-smelling pair of trainers, and also dreamed of becoming a writer. They are not on the same level, but they are dreams nevertheless. I am constantly dreaming. And you could be too.

  As you know, I had been dreaming about the moment I would become a published author for a very, very long time. And now it’s here, does this mean I’ve stopped dreaming? Before I answer that question, I want to raise something here about having a dream, a goal, a vision of where you want to get to. It is such an important starting point.

  During my first event as an author, I was invited to a library to meet some school children. The first lot of children were very young – around eleven or twelve years old. They were lively and enthusiastic and I answered a lot of their questions. I also wanted to get across the point that they could be anything they wanted to be as long as they had the determination and were willing to put in the hard graft. They seemed OK with that suggestion.

  When the older kids arrived (aged about fifteen) I knew the group would be a different experience and a lot harder. They weren’t going to give me an easy ride – but hey, they are teenagers, and we were all like that once…But I suppose the contrast with the earlier group shocked me, because I wasn’t prepared for the blankness I got back when I asked the question, ‘What is your dream?’ A few shrugged shoulders, and finally one boy said, ‘I don’t have one,’ and this made me sad. At his age, not all of my friends knew what they wanted to be, but most had dreams and some sort of plan for how to get there. Or they had at least thought about something, whether it was working with animals, or being an astronaut, or a baker…

  After a bit of prodding, the boy with no dream mentioned that he liked football and enjoyed music. It was a start, I thought. But his lack of enthusiasm saddened me still. Or perhaps he was just a shy child and his dreams were tucked away in his mind to remain private. I’d like to think so. After that, at the library, it was nice when a young girl came up to me and asked me to sign my book for her. Then without warning she said, ‘Do you think I can do it?’ I wondered what she meant. I could hardly hear her as she spoke so softly. ‘Do you think I can become a lawyer?’ she said. I looked at her and said, ‘You can do anything you want to. Who told you you couldn’t become a lawyer?’

  ‘Everyone.’

  I was very grateful to have spoken to that girl because it gave me hope that some young people are still dreaming. And that is pleasing.

  As for me, no, I’ll NEVER stop dreaming.

  A Little More Hard Work…

  I’m now a published author, so all I have to do is sit back and enjoy it…Wrong! I have another book to finish writing (which incidentally is called – While You Were Dreaming…). And then it’s back to meetings, edits, re-writes, covers. Juggling the day job, life. But I don’t mind because this is the type of work I really, really enjoy.

  Remember what I said about enjoying your dream? That is so important. I’m not saying your goal will always feel like fun. There will be times when you are just not in the mood, you are tired or your brain just won’t function the way you want it to. But for the most part, it should be satisfying, rewarding and something you can see yourself doing for a long time.

  I’m told we live in a celebrity age, where people want to get on a reality television show and earn lots of money, or date a famous celebrity and, again, get lots of money – quickly. I’m not going to judge anyone. I’ll simply say that, when you have worked hard for something over a period of time, it feels all the more lovely to finally have it in your grasp. Like wearing my lovely trainers felt all those years ago. Like becoming a published author feels today.

  The challenges don’t stop just because you have reached for that star and caught it! New challenges just appear in place of the old ones. If the challenge before was finding the time to pursue your dream, the time issue might even have got worse. For me, juggling the day job with the writing became even more difficult. When I dropped a day at work, things got a little better.

  Other challenges can arise once you are touching your dream, like dealing with people’s jealous reactions to your achievements, or people thinking you are suddenly richer than the queen, or not coping well with the sudden increase in responsibility and work. Many challenges may arise, but when they do, just face them like you did the earlier ones. The strength you used when reaching for your dream will be the same type of strength needed to combat new challenges and deal with the rewards that will come your way once you are achieving your goal.

  Now, as a newly published author, nothing and EVERYTHING has changed.

  My book, By The Time You Read This…has sold to other countries and will be translated into many other languages.

  As I start on this new journey as a writer, living the dream I first visualized as a little girl, here are a few last points I’d like to share with you:

  Never forget where you came from

  Don’t look for your dream to make you happy

  You are responsible for your own actions and how you respond to things.

  Balance your goals with everything else in your life

  Keep those that you love and trust close to you: they’ll be the ones who encourage and support you through good and bad times

  Never, never, never give up trying to
reach your dream

  Reach for those stars, grab hold of them, feel, enjoy, and never let them go!

  Acknowledgments and Further Resources

  Oodles of thanks to my case study contributors!

  Angela Buttolph – www.angelabuttolph.com

  Paul (Woody) Wood – www.paulwoodfreestyle.com

  Jocelyn Jee Esien

  Justina Ifayemi

  Donna Douglas

  Carly Antoniades

  Joanne Collins

  Beverly Weekes

  Simon Watkins

  Courses and Funding

  www.learndirect.co.uk

  Telephone: 0800 101 901

  www.connexions-direct.com

  Telephone: 080 800 13 2 19

  www.princes-trust.org.uk

  Telephone: 0800 842 842

  www.direct.gov.uk

  www.hotcourses.com

  www.floodlight.co.uk

  Quitting Smoking

  www.quit.org.uk

  Telephone: 0800 00 2200

  www.nhs.uk/gosmokefree

  Telephone: 0800 169 0 169

  Healthy Eating

  www.bhf.org.uk

  Telephone: 08450 708070

  www.bda.uk.com

  Bits & Bobs for other budding Writers!

  www.authonomy.com

  www.writersconference.co.uk

  www.hilaryjohnson.demon.co.uk

  Quick Reads

  Books in the Quick Reads series

  101 Ways to get your Child to Read Patience Thomson

  All These Lonely People Gervase Phinn

  Black-Eyed Devils Catrin Collier

  The Cave Kate Mosse

  Chickenfeed Minette Walters

  Cleanskin Val McDermid

  A Cool Head Ian Rankin

  Danny Wallace and the Centre of the Universe Danny Wallace

  The Dare John Boyne

  Doctor Who: I Am a Dalek Gareth Roberts

  Doctor Who: Made of Steel Terrance Dicks

  Doctor Who: Revenge of the Judoon Terrance Dicks

  Doctor Who: The Sontaran Games Jacqueline Rayner

  Dragons’ Den: Your Road to Success

  A Dream Come True Maureen Lee

  Girl on the Platform Josephine Cox

  The Grey Man Andy McNab

  The Hardest Test Scott Quinnell

  Hell Island Matthew Reilly

  How to Change Your Life in 7 Steps John Bird

  Humble Pie Gordon Ramsay

  Life’s New Hurdles Colin Jackson

  Lily Adèle Geras

  One Good Turn Chris Ryan

  RaW Voices: True Stories of Hardship Vanessa Feltz

  Reaching for the Stars Lola Jaye

  Reading My Arse! Ricky Tomlinson

  Star Sullivan Maeve Binchy

  The Sun Book of Short Stories

  Survive the Worst and Aim for the Best Kerry Katona

  The 10 Keys to Success John Bird

  The Tannery Sherrie Hewson

  Twenty Tales from the War Zone John Simpson

  Quick Reads

  Pick up a book today

  Quick Reads are bite-sized books by bestselling writers and well-known personalities for people who want a short, fast-paced read. They are designed to be read and enjoyed by avid readers and by people who never had or who have lost the reading habit.

  Quick Reads are published alongside and in partnership with BBC RaW.

  We would like to thank all our partners in the Quick Reads project for their help and support:

  Arts Council England

  The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills

  NIACE

  unionlearn

  National Book Tokens

  The Vital Link

  The Reading Agency

  National Literacy Trust

  Welsh Books Council

  Basic Skills Cymru, Welsh Assembly Government

  Wales Accent Press

  The Big Plus Scotland

  DELNI

  NALA

  Quick Reads would also like to thank the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills; Arts Council England and World Book Day for their sponsorship and NIACE for their outreach work.

  Quick Reads is a World Book Day initiative. www.quickreads.org.uk www.worldbookday.com

  The Dare

  John Boyne

  Black Swan

  At the start of his school holidays, Danny Delaney is looking forward to a trouble-free summer. But he knows that something terrible has happened when his mother returns home one afternoon with two policemen.

  There has been an accident. Mrs Delaney has hit a small boy with her car. The boy is in a coma at the local hospital and nobody knows if he will ever wake up.

  Danny’s mother closes herself off, full of guilt. Danny and his father are left to pick up the pieces of their broken family.

  John Boyne tells the story from the point of view of a twelve-year-old boy. The Dare is about how one moment can change a family forever.

  Other resources

  Free courses are available for anyone who wants to develop their skills. You can attend the courses in your local area. If you’d like to find out more, phone 0800 66 0800.

  A list of books for new readers can be found on www. firstchoicebooks.org.uk or at your local library.

  Publishers Barrington Stoke (www.barringtonstoke.co.uk), New Island (www.newisland.ie) and Sandstone Press (www.sandstonepress.com) also provide books for new readers.

  The BBC runs a reading and writing campaign. See www.bbc.co.uk/raw.

  www.quickreads.org.uk

  www.worldbookday.com

  About the Author

  REACHING FOR THE STARS

  Lola Jaye was born in west London, grew up in south London and has also lived in Nigeria. She has a degree in psychology and psychotherapy. She currently works for the NHS as a counsellor. In between writing and working, Lola likes watching reruns of Dallas and The Sopranos while dipping into a huge tub of ice cream. Lola’s first book By The Time You Read This…, was published in July 2008. She is currently writing her second novel, which will be in the shops this summer.

  Find out more about Lola and what she’s been up to by visiting www.lolajaye.com

  Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.

  Also by Lola Jaye

  By The Time You Read This…

  Copyright

  HarperCollinsPublishers

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  Published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2009

  FIRST EDITION

  Copyright © Lola Jaye 2009

  Lola Jaye asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

  A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

  EPub Edition © MAY 2010 ISBN: 978-0-007-35936-3

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