James Joseph Emerald is an Irish student who is naïve enough to believe that he can make it as a writer. It's his dream to be a published author, and it's a dream that he's holding onto firmly, regardless of his chances, because it's the only thing that has ever really interested him for an extended period of time. He's been writing (and subsequently thinking he's the best writer ever) since he was in diapers... though retrospectively, he probably wasn't as good as he thought... back then...