First and foremost, I hope everyone is staying healthy. I try to avoid talking too much about COVID-19 because you just can’t go anywhere (not that you should be going places) without hearing about it; but then again, it’s a very real problem and has had an affect on some of these updates.
More important than any hinders COVID-19 has had to the release of my upcoming work is that my loved ones (some of whom are high-risk) and I have remained in good health through all of this. I hope this message finds you all well, too; and, if not, I sincerely wish you and/or your loved ones the thoughts and strength to rebound from all of this.
Despite the optimism of my first two paragraphs, I admit the introduction of this post is grim. So, I might as well get the bad news out of the way, before moving on to the good news.
The bad news: Whispering of the Autumn Leaves has made no progress in getting published. There was a publisher interested, but when COVID-19 hit, they were forced to pushback their 2020 and 2021 releases. This would push the publication of Whispering of the Autumn Leaves to 2022. A lot of things could happen between now and then, so commitment from either party wouldn’t make sense at this juncture. As I’ve stated before, the novel itself has been completed, and careful instructions have been given to a select few, should anything happens to me before it gets published.
Now, the good news: Aaron Calafato’s podcast of non-fiction vignettes, 7 Minute Stories, will be featuring a short-story read and written by me, called “Rooster”. It will premiere on April 30. In the meantime, Aaron has a lot of fun stories of all different genres, including “The Yellow Bird”, which was featured on NPR. So, regardless of my appearance on the podcast, I highly recommend you navigate over to the one and only 7 Minute Stories podcast.
Last but not least, the fifth episode of Mysterious Music will be released the first weekend of May 2020 (either the 2nd or 3rd). What began as a two-part examination of trends between songs which are unidentified versus tunes whose artist/band have since been located, has since sprouted into an ongoing series of all different types of mysterious music. I thank you for all of the interest and your eagerness to get involved in the quest to solve these songs.
So, despite the state of the world, it’s a time for creativity, inspiration and reflection. I hope I’m doing my part in keeping us connected and reminding you that better times are ahead. Stay safe and thanks again for everything.
