Those who’ve read just one of my books will know, based off of my dark sense of humor, that I’m not optimistic enough to assume things are suddenly going to get better just because 2020 is over. After all, it’s called COVID-19, not COVID-20, so we’re not out of the woods yet. My writings also reveal that I firmly believe that beauty outweighs ugliness, good outweighs bad, and happiness easily outweighs the inevitable (and unavoidable) tragedies. Therefore, even if we don’t go back to normal in 2021… if we made it this far, we’re going to make it.

2020 being over also marks another year of Whispering of the Autumn Leaves being unpublished. Certainly, as my fifth novel moves closer to a release date (whenever that will be), there will be last minute changes. All-in-all, I’m satisfied enough with the manuscript to be itching to share this with the world for almost two-and-a-half years now. Unfortunately, there are more reasons not to release it. For starters, I’m just not convinced people are interested in reading anymore. Any time I point this out to writers, I’m immediately seen as a pariah. My conclusions are based on what I see; too many distractions that have quicker payoffs for entertainment than reading, such as: movies, videogames, the ability to get any song you want right away on Spotify, the concept of “binge-watching” which has turned into a common pastime. This is the world we live in now, for better or for worse. Instead of resisting and being an embittered old man about it, I’m doing my best to embrace the inevitability. Thanks to advances in technology, people can still celebrate the Holidays with their loved ones while also social-distancing by using Skype, Google, Zoom, etc. With progress, however, there are also drawbacks. At this time, due to the state of the world and the lack of demand for literature, it’d be unwise for me to take the next step in releasing Whispering of the Autumn Leaves.

To me, Whispering of the Autumn Leaves is my best work. There was so much of my blood, sweat and tears put into this book. I hope to share it with you some day. In the event I’m stubborn enough to never release it, I’ve given a copy to four people: my wife, my father, my best friend, and one of my wife’s friends. So, Whispering of the Autumn Leaves can never be taken to the grave with me, and they have my permission to publish it if I die before choosing to release it.

In an attempt to stay current, I’ve turned to YouTube as a creative outlet, and it’s honestly been nothing short of fulfilling. The encouragement I’ve received to continue making Mysterious Music episodes is inspiring, plus I’ve also had an opportunity to meet fellow horror-movie fans in response to my Scream content. So, until Whispering of the Autumn Leaves is published, anyone reading this will have plenty of Mysterious Music and Scream episodes to look forward to, as well as other YouTube content which I plan on releasing every first Wednesday of the month, from February–August 2021. As for September 2021 onward… well, that’s the start of autumn, so it might be a good time to revisit the possibility of releasing Whispering of the Autumn Leaves. We’ll see…

Lastly, you can count on more updates at www.cwschultz.com throughout the year. I even gave the website a makeover for the first time in several years. While posts will be more frequent, they’ll probably also be more lighthearted. Before, the site only got a post for something significant; for now, my motivation has shifted to stay in touch and stay writing, regardless of progress.  I was partially inspired by a blog called One Day in the Life of Jerome.  As of this writing, the blog has been taken over by his son Matthew, after Jerome passed away from COVID-19 in July 2020.  Despite his untimely death and having never met him, I found Jerome’s love for life touching.  Since you’ll probably agree that my time is better spent writing stories and making videos, I’m unable to commit to a daily blog.  So, I’ll use a different line from a similarly titled Beatles song and call it… 4000 Holes.

So, here’s a picture of my cat in a box on the couch. My wife and I wanted to snuggle with her on the couch, but Snowpuff refused to leave her box that was on the floor; so, I instead moved the box to the couch with her in it, and she still refused to leave.

Anyway, we’ll see how long this nonsense lasts. Until next time, stay safe and thanks for visiting www.cwschultz.com!