SoulFire77
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I have 95 stories published in
6 collections on the site.
My stories have been read 22340 times
and 92 of my stories have been cherry picked.
9 of my 77 comments have been voted Great Feedback with a total of 11 votes
J. Oliver Padgett writes horror and dystopian fiction from the North Carolina Piedmont. His work explores economic coercion, institutional complicity, and what people become when survival demands compromise. Novels include "Lily", "The Interview", and "Escape From Room 101". His prose favors psychological dread over graphic violence, working-class authenticity over literary posturing, and endings that deny comfort. By day, he works in warehouse logistics—a background that informs his fiction's attention to the quiet machinery that grinds people down.
My collections
My stories
Teeth Tales: "Ratoncito Pérez is Not a Fairy"
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- 62 reads
Admission (2)
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- 4 comments
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- 84 reads
Admission (1)
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- 2 comments
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- 91 reads
Courtesy Calls: The Better Business Bureau (3)
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- 4 comments
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- 120 reads
Courtesy Calls: The Better Business Bureau (2)
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- 70 reads
This is channeling Bukowski's
Posted on Wed, 14 Jan 2026
This is channeling Bukowski's "The Last Night of the Earth" (which I love). I think dystopia is a writer's form of "playing the blues". I'd like to believe that when it "all goes down" or society collapses altogether that one of us will have the...
Read full commentPosted in Gloom and Doom (sorry)
I'm glad you noticed this
Posted on Thu, 19 Feb 2026
I'm glad you noticed this detail! The US military has terminology for "clearing a room", but it didn't seem strong enough. If the room is "cleared" of the enemy threat, the room could be empty, or the enemy could be captured, not killed.
...
Read full commentPosted in Courtesy Calls: The Fire Lane (2)
I had never considered that.
Posted on Sat, 31 Jan 2026
I had never considered that. I do love audiobooks, so I will think about that one.
Read full commentPosted in The Less Miserables Enter a Contest (3)
This hit hard. The Wuthering
Posted on Sun, 18 Jan 2026
This hit hard. The Wuthering Heights detail especially... a kid hiding books like contraband because who he actually was wasn't allowed in the house (crushing). Also, your father's first words after you were wounded being tactical advice... that'...
Read full commentPosted in Bred to Arms - IP
I am so pleased that you
Posted on Thu, 15 Jan 2026
I am so pleased that you enjoyed this story! Honestly, if I hadn't been a little in my cups at the time I may not have posted it! This is a wonderful birthday present, I am so grateful to have a place to share my current work as well some of...
Read full commentPosted in The Less Miserables Land a Gap (1)
I Love Music!
Posted on Sun, 11 Jan 2026
Lately, I find that silence is better when I write. However, I like to turn up the volume while working on other odd projects around the house. I'm a big fan of The Flaherty Brotherhood and a band called "Goodnight, Texas".
Read full commentPosted in Darius.
Enjoyable Read!
Posted on Tue, 23 Dec 2025
I enjoyed reading this story very much! The opening sequence effectively builds dread through pure sensory detail and parallelism: “The woman’s footsteps ring out as she hurries along the side street, cobbles glistening, then left into Avenue...
Read full commentPosted in Fade
This Made Me Smile
Posted on Thu, 04 Dec 2025
"Morning billows concealing / Blink of sun's rays, then suddenly / Disbanding" I think captures perfectly the blink-and-you'll-miss-it nature of inspiration. I wonder how many great ideas pass us by just because we are not paying attention?
Read full commentPosted in Happiness Of Anticipating Inspiration