When I got the first round of edits back, it was suggested that it had too many elements for a novella. I should either remove all the Apollo scenes prior to the ending or expand on his part of the story. I could have shortened Alexios' story easily. That was in effect what the second incarnation of the story entailed. But my main beta reader felt that springing Apollo at the end as a real entity instead of a cultural concept would be too surprising for some readers.
I will admit that some of my favorite pieces of the story would have gotten the ax so I asked my editor what she would like to see expanded upon. She had several wonderful ideas and sparked a few ideas of my own. My story is growing and Alexios along with it. I'm glad that my editor made that suggestion. Alexios will be the better for it.
