Recently, Roy Blomstrom read at an event sponsored by the Northwestern Ontario Writers Workshop (NOWW). Six times a year, NOWW invites its members to read portions of their work, and each evening includes an "open mic" portion, where non-members can read short works.
At the September reading, Roy chose a brief excerpt from the (current partial) draft of his next novel, which is a companion to SILENCES: A NOVEL OF THE 1918 FINNISH CIVIL WAR. It's early in the writing process for this work, so who knows if what he read will even remain when the story is complete and the book comes out. However, preparing to read the work and seeing the audience respond was valuable. It's always nice to receive validation and applause, but it's also interesting to notice when the audience looks away or gasps or otherwise responds.
Roy is working diligently on this draft, but it's too soon to put it on the publication calendar. But stay tuned...in this companion novel, you may learn even more about Rabbit, Jussi, and Viktoria.
And if you're a writer, go to a reading. Stand up at an open mic and read a short work. Then go home and revise. It's a great part of the process.