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Thanks be to God in the highest! I have a new blog design. My co-workers at Tradical 360, Caroline and Abu, helped me. It’s great because I plan to release a novel soon, and elements such as infinite scrolling and image-rich grids are really trendy right now, helping me to keep my bounce rate low. I also installed a Yoast SEO plugin, which helps me to optimize my headlines, focus keywords, and meta-descriptions.
A blog isn’t a be-all end-all for an aspiring author, it’s just that it’s a great way to launch your name to the top of the first page when people Google you. Fresh, keyword-rich content is still king, which is why blogs are prevalent in so many industries. Along with the backlinks that social media channels provide, a blog is the best way to generate information regarding your own personal brand.
So now that I have a proper format for my work, without further ado, here is the first chapter of my forthcoming novel: Lovers and Gods. Feel free to let me know what you think of it in the comments below!
Sebastian looked at the early morning clouds that crossed the horizon. He stood on a red steel bridge between two islands, one large, one small, above a river. A faint sea-smell hung in the air, and a thin mist covered water and land.
Down he walked onto the smaller island, past church steeples and scuttering rats, beneath thick west-rolling clouds that scudded over sewer caps and cracked blacktop, down into the heart of the city.
His cardboard sign read, ‘Where is the Will?’ and its worn edge dragged as he walked to his destination. When he arrived he chose a corner where everyone could see him. It took a while for someone to approach him, but it was only to ask for directions to the subway. Some time later, a ruddy man greeted him with an outstretched hand in a Teutonic accent. He introduced himself as Will.
“Oh. Nice to meet you,” Sebastian said. “But I wasn’t looking for men named Will—I was referring to desire—appetites, wishes. Since you’re here, though, let me ask you—when you set out to do something, how much Will do you put into it?”
“I am Will.”
“Right, but when you have a goal or a dream that you want to fulfill, do you put all you can into it?”
Will looked at him blankly.
“Let me rephrase. Your intent, your desire—your Will—where does it come from?”
“I come from Germany.”
“Yes, I see that. Let me explain,” he said slowly, making sure the tourist understood. “In English, Will means—”
A black Devil rose above the square. Tourists looked up in fear and ran away but for others it was too late—the beast trampled a dozen people with every step, looking like a child burning ants with a magnifying glass. His other six heads made Carravagesque faces of pain, his crooked horns butted glass windows and the screams of those who had been working moments before sounded faint and distant. When his veiny wings flapped they blocked the red sun and swatted giant billboards to the ground, hissing as electric sparks flew and spread fire. A sinkhole had opened in the middle of the square, where tables and chairs with bright umbrellas had been moments before. A swipe of one of the beast’s six arms took a swathe out of a skyscraper, which toppled and fell into a metal and glass rubble. In its collapse, it pulled down a neighboring building in a domino tumble and fire from fallen electric signs caught onto stray electric wires. Yellow flames leapt around the great beast as he walked forward, leaving bodies scattered across the square in his wake, red and gray material streaked over the macadam. The Devil opened his mouth and in a voice like the screeching of eagles, said:
“Have cause to fear: I am Alpha and Omega. In the beginning was the Deed. Shouldst thou want Will to combat me I shall bring upon thee fire and blood. Prepare for war!”
And he lifted his foot to crush Sebastian, who stood tall, unafraid.
Then he blinked. Will had fallen back into the crowd of Times Square. Stock quotes flashed on electronic ticker tape. Jumbotron news anchors chattered over the humming masses. The sun was past its crest. His sign lay trampled nearby and he walked to it to pick it up but legs and feet moved over it in a tumult; Moses could not have parted the waves of people. He managed only to pull off a corner and gave up, holding back hot tears. With his head back he screamed into the sky, “Where is the Will?!”
For a moment passers-by spread away from him to see if he was crazy. But deciding that he was too well-dressed to be dangerous, they flowed back into their ambulatory grooves. It was then he realized that he had embarked upon a new chapter in his search. But to everyone else, it was another day in the city.
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