A Little Night Music

"On New Year's Eve 1777, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is mysteriously transported to a rural Pennsylvania countryside where, after befriending some university students, he attempts to integrate into our present day society - without revealing his true identity to anyone." Mozart was an extremely proficient, prolific composer and masterful musician in his brief 35 years on the planet from 1756 to 1791. His short life's work is wonderful and appreciated. The world is grateful. How much more prolific would he have been had he the access to our technology? What would he have done with multi-track recording, synthesizers, social media and self-publishing? J.A. Willoughby asks, then answers those questions by giving "Wolf" a new life in 2016 America. In this realistically written tale, Mozart is forced to deal with everything our world has to offer - like it or not. The reader gets an intimate look into the mind of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as he is confronted with everything we take for granted on a daily basis. His conflicted thoughts wrestle with everything from "lightning contained within the walls" to photographs and bathrooms. On the surface the story appears to be about Mozart and how he copes with his new life. A deeper look reveals that the story is really about us, and seeing the world we have created for ourselves, through the eyes of an eighteenth century man. A man who finds new and wondrous things to learn and use. He also very clearly sees what has been lost over the centuries and realizes that, in spite of new friendships with university students his own age, he is very much alone - everyone he had ever known is long since dead and buried - along with some of the finer things that eighteenth century life had to offer. The domestic challenges he faces on a daily basis pale in comparison to the obstacles already in place in our digital world. Obstacles that all musicians in the 21st century are forced to deal with - the depth, breadth and limits of the technology they have at their disposal with which to promote themselves and sell their work. J.A. Willoughby is a musician and author of This Side Of Center, an anthology and first collection of his original short stories. This is his second book.