How much of it I keep will depend on how much info I decide the characters (and readers) need to have at that point once the revision gets there. That brings the count up to -three- mysterious characters tailing the heroes and dropping them cryptic advice.

The suave, handsome red-coated stranger, the seven foot cloaked snakeman ninja with the crimson eyes, or the creepy blind child sitting on a hill in the middle of a blank black dreamscape, playing with string…

Who would YOU trust?

If the answer’s ‘NONE OF THEM’, you’re STILL screwed! Ha ha ha.

It sounds like a blast. I’d love to read it someday.

The problem with the printer is this: I set it to print out my document, with the pages reversed (so it’d end up in the right order as a stack of papers), sat back, and waited.

It pumped out a few chapters and then printed a few streaked pages before finally printing blank. I checked the ink: still full and healthy. Checked the nozzle. Printed a test colour sheet….just fine.

Tried to print again. All blank pages. Tried to print something else. Blank pages.

So I have the end chapters of my manuscript printed but, annoyingly, nothing else.

What if Mr. N made contact with the hero, didn’t know he was the hero, and forgot about it? Or “lost” him? …Or was testing the other guy, who answered wrong?

But the more I think about the revision and some of Holly’s advice the more I think Mr Nothing needs to make contact with the heroes. I even have a perfect spot where the MC blacks out right after his powers are awakened.

This would be a good, good place for Mr N. to become aware of the heroes and make his first ‘Hello, there.’ psychic connection.

This is about more than introducing the series villain early. Since he is exactly what they are, only gone horribly wrong, and he’s the only character other than Snake Eyes who has full knowledge of what’s going on, he can provide some valuable clues to make the archplot less vague, tie the current story to the prologue, AND take some of the exposition weight off poor Snake Eyes.

But it does ruin a scene later in Book V or so, when Mr. N returns in full force and throttles the heroes’ location out of Red Coat. (In a way that would make Darth Vader pee himself) Since he already knows who, what, and where they are…

Hm.

When your book is published, please find a way to ask your agent to get English versions published. I’m really not up to learning Italian yet.