About ME
J.J. Poret
J.J. writes speculative fiction that delves into themes of grief, recovery, and the mundane aspects of life, often drawing on the inspiration of horror and the human experience. His horror short stories have been featured in various publications, including Midnight Chem, Tales from the Crosstimbers, and The Corner Bar.
Hailing from Louisiana, J.J. Poret once resided in a historic house built in 1835, and although he has never encountered a ghost, he remains patient in his wait for the supernatural. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Louisiana, Lafayette, where he earned a master's degree in engineering. While this background may not seem like a traditional pathway to a writing career, it significantly aids him in crafting detailed plot spreadsheets for his stories. J.J. currently resides in Houston, Texas, with his family, using his experiences as an author to enhance his storytelling platform.
Novels & Projects
Drowning Hungry Ghosts
John Earl didn't believe in ghosts until he quit drinking.
An American expat in Bangkok, John Earl is estranged from his wife, Rachel, but clings to the hope of reconciliation while numbing himself nightly in Nana Plaza bars. After a bar fight, he sees the ghost of a woman watching him suffer. Only the spirit doesn't vanish when he sobers up, she follows him.
Drowning Hungry Ghosts is a literary horror novel influenced by my own experience with addiction and recovery in Bangkok. The novel threads psychological unraveling through Southeast Asian folklore, fusing the supernatural mystery of Kylie Lee Baker's Bat Eater: The Many Names of Cora Zeng with the addiction driven intensity of Clay McLeod Chapman's Ghost Eaters.
Learn more about the novel here.
The sketch on the left was created by Amelie Poret and is a draft concept for the book cover. Follow her beautiful and chaotic artwork @itsameliejk
Short Stories
Amends
The Remembering of Bruce Vidrine
The Remembering of Bruce Vidrine
Originally published by Maudlin House
A recovering addict revisits the first thing he ever stole, confronting the shame that has shaped every version of himself since.
Read the story here.
The Remembering of Bruce Vidrine
The Remembering of Bruce Vidrine
The Remembering of Bruce Vidrine
Originally published in Tales from the Crosstimbers
After his wife’s death, a lonely widower becomes the protagonist of this horror short story, haunted by a cat that refuses to stay dead.
Read the story here.
White Elephant
The Remembering of Bruce Vidrine
White Elephant
Performed at the Festival for Horror
A dramatic reading of the horror short story, White Elephant, during the Festival for Horror in January.
Listen here.
The Rider
Safe Places, Forgotten People
White Elephant
Originally published in Corner Bar Magazine
A lonely man encounters a unique insurance policy that presents him with a haunting dilemma: is the payout worth the price of such a terrifying agreement?
Read the story here.
Safe Places, Forgotten People
Safe Places, Forgotten People
Safe Places, Forgotten People
Originally published in MidnightChem
A memory-stricken survivor seeks help in a ruined New Orleans—only to discover that the man offering sanctuary is building a church from which no one escapes.
Read the story here.
Own Your Transition
Safe Places, Forgotten People
Safe Places, Forgotten People
Parhelion Literary
What's scarier than the prospect of being laid off from your job? This unsettling theme inspired my first ever published horror short story, which originally appeared in Parhelion Literary Magazine.
Read the story here.