For the past few weeks, my brain has been fully immersed in marketing mode for the upcoming release of Folklore and Flesh. Honestly, the main thing I’ve been focused on is figuring out how to coax people to pre-order—how to cut through the digital noise and make the pitch land.
So, when I saw the dVerse Quadrille Challenge today from Lisa pop up today, requiring exactly 44 words and the word ‘coax,’ it felt like the universe was telling me to put my struggle on paper. This piece is what dropped, a little slice of the literary hustle. Check out the original challenge here, and below is my entry.
Shelf Life
The algorithm sleeps,
it don't got no soul.
My Folklore verse gotta achieve its goal.
It's a digital grind,
a hustle that's major,
against noise pollution and endless page blur.
I gotta coax the consumer,
make the sale stick,
with a headline so sharp,
it's gotta be quick.
Stop the scroll game.
Look here. Read this. Flesh on the rack.
Your purchase?
A kiss.
It’s worth the read.
So, that’s the poetry, the purpose, and the proof that even when you’re slinging pages, you’re still chasing that muse. This coaxing process isn’t just about selling a book; it’s about building a connection—getting the reader to step off the algorithm’s highway and into the dark, detailed world of Folklore and Flesh.
I hope the rest of the writers on dVerse are accomplishing their writing goals today and staying warm – or maybe you like the cold?
Thanks again for the challenge and motivation to write some poetry.
Thank you for visiting with me. For more Poetry or Literature related content, visit our blog at The Ritual. Copyright Mind on Fire Books.
Folklore and Flesh: A Dark Fiction Collection of Folklore and Body Horror
Step into the uncanny with Folklore and Flesh—a collection of visceral horror stories and haunting poems that blur the boundaries between myth and the body. From ancient rituals and supernatural transformations to the raw ache of grief and memory, these tales invite you to explore the shadowed places where folklore becomes flesh.
This collection binds 10 creative short stories and a dozen visceral poems.
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Thanks for diving deep into the world of Folk Body Horror! If you want more unsettling tales where the body mutates and the land has a claim, join the Mind on Fire insider list today. As a welcome gift, I’ll send you “Digital Fangs,” a complete, dark story from the Folklore and Flesh collection—absolutely free!
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