Tami Jackson
Biography
Tami Jayne Jackson earned her bachelor’s degree in communications (with a minor in English) from Washington State University. That’s where she also competed for and earned an Emmy Award for her writing. She has sold many trade and specialty magazine articles, has written as a news correspondent for local newspapers, and worked as public relations writer/editor in marketing. Ravena and The Resurrected is her very first book. It’s also the first novel in “The Resurrected Series.”
EXTRA INFO:
Many of the ideas for chapter 34 came from the family interactions that Tami observed or participated in while growing up. She is the fifth child born to a family of seven siblings. Since then, Tami has raised three children and now also has two grown step sons through her happy marriage to Doug. More information on the author can be found at: SunTigerMOJO.com (where you may also find vampire comics). To contact the author send an email to SunTigerMOJO@gmail.com.
Where to find Tami Jackson online
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Smashwords book reviews by Tami Jackson
- When Midnight Comes
on Jan. 03, 2011
"When Midnight Comes" is a short romantic tragedy that breaks far away from Lori's famous paranormal Nightcreature/Jager-Sucher series. That reality took me by surprise, at first, because I had purchased this novella based on Lori's other work, but her reliable talent did shine through and I was not disappointed. This novella's writing style reminds me of a number of best selling classics.
It has strong Catholic overtones with concepts of Purgatory, guilt and internal suffering. The timeline of this story reminded me a bit of Scrooge, in history, but instead of being haunted by horrifying ghosts from winters' past, the main character, Jack Keegan, is haunted by a former girlfriend whose spiritual mission is to get Jack to break through the way he currently sees things and admit he is much more despicable than he views himself. In Lori's words, Jack must admit he is a "selfish man who cares nothing for what is important and everything for what is not.” That is, if he is to save his soul and make his former lover's suffering seem worthwhile.
A couple of Lori's very telling excerpts from this book include: "Shunning a candle, he (Jack) made his way to the narrow bed behind the curtain on his side of the room, stripped off his clothes, and lay down to stare at the night, which pulsed so loudly with silence he thought he might run mad." And: "Hell was not to come; Hell was here and now—when everything she’d ever dreamed of or wanted was offered, and she could not have it. Ever."
One theme from "When Midnight Comes" that proved consistent with Lori's Nightcreature novels was the bedroom scene. As always, Lori writes believable romantic encounters, the kind of lusty scenarios that make frail people blush. KEEP ON WRITING LORI! I felt thoroughly entertained by this well-written tale.
- Vampire Nights and Other Stories
on Jan. 04, 2011
Review Of "Vampire Nights and Other Stories" (VNOS) by J. R. Rain.
When it comes to writers, J.R. Rain is the crème de la crème and VNOS is the book that proves it. The very first short story inside this novella offers a perfectly written and enrapturing twist to a troubled vampire's tale. Yet each subsequent story, with a completely new elocutionist and brand new setting, proves just as bewitching. That's even when the speaker might have changed gender (to the reader's surprise).
The result is a book that flows like fragrant and fresh individual breezes, animating the trees, and changing in intensity with the subsequent seasons. Just as no summertime lasts forever, so this novella comes to an end after 60 pages of delicious bliss, which is when the premium swirled ice-cream falls from the proverbial sugar cone.
As a vampire and horror fan, I was amazed by the experience each new story presented. While I drank in all of this novella, I still feel thirsty for more! (My plight now is to go back in time, to revisit the work, or hope for another warm day when I may read more of J.R. Rain's books.)
This is definitely perfectly polished and entirely worth the time to read.
~ Tami Jackson
Author: Ravena & The Resurrected
- Channeling the Vampire
on Jan. 14, 2011
Channeling The Vampire eBook by Gary Morton
This eBook is grossly under-priced at $2.99
I really wanted to give this book five stars, just because of how fresh and imaginative it is. (See "criticisms" to see why I removed a star).
"Channeling The Vampire" is a fabulously exciting, putting a very new twist on the old fashioned violent vampire genre. Sure people can be bitten by the most hideous sort of rotting vampire known to the imaginations of humanity, but they can also be more gently wooed by a metaphysical vampire that wants to possess them - and once that spirit-vampire enters a human's body, that person can be made to commit heinous violent acts driven by a scorching blood lust that burns the throat.
Each chapter in the beginning of "Channeling The Vampire" presents a new main character in a fascinating new setting. Yet the further one reads, the more each story begins to weave into the other and, in the end, not every channeler, new age guru, Satanist, deviant business man, teenaged gang member, sorcerer, cop or psychic actually survives.
CRITICISMS:
#1 - Personal bias. While historical books have demonized bats, those vulnerable mammals prove vital to the survival of agriculture (our own food sources) and to our escape from blood-born diseases. That's thanks to the flying bat's habit of eating numerous invasive and flesh-biting insects. Even fruit bats are good for the earth with the way they help in reforestation. My plea is for readers to use common sense while reading Morton's violent portrayal of the needless slaughter of innocent bats. In truth, very few species of bats will ever harm any mammal - and if harm ever comes it's most often due to some sort of bacterial or viral disease that was passed from one mammal to another.
#2 - Morton overuses the word "said." Even when a character asks a question, he or she "said" the question (they didn't ask it). This style of writing becomes a bit tedious when reading extensive dialogue.
#3 - Morton depicts Wiccans with a confusing mix of bias against them as well as a certain tolerance for their religion. Perhaps Canadian Wiccans are different from Americans - but I did not relate to how the author depicted that group; not at all.
WHY I'M GIVING THIS BOOK FOUR VERY POSITIVE STARS
#1 - I've never read a vampire book quite like this one. I related to most all of the characters and felt highly entertained, especially in the first 18 chapters. While my interest waned a tiny bit for a couple of chapters after that, perhaps due to so much blood and violence, my fascination picked up again long before the ending.
#2 - The author seems to have extensive experience with the new age movement. He clearly knows his stones and crystals. While this book was not dogmatic or overly religious, it presented a very fun look into such phenomena.
#3 - This book is action packed. It also presents a lot of reading variety. In some places I felt like I had stepped back into a dusty old western novel and then in the next chapter I might find myself in modern suburbia with street gangs.
#4 - Great read. I look forward to reading Morton's next installment.
Review by: Tami Jackson
(author of Ravena & The Resurrected)
BOOK REVIEW BLOG: http://VampireReview.blogspot.com
- Anna Karnivora: A Vampire Novel
on Jan. 15, 2011
Anna Karnivora: A Vampire Novel by Bill Czolgosz
great deal for only $4.99 / 345 pages.
If Larry The Cable Guy (of "git 'er done" fame) ever wrote a full-length novel, this is probably what it would look like. It's red-neck sort of funny. Yet for fans of the vampire genre, it's terribly frustrating to wait all the way until the very end of the book before you finally get to even see one fang. Then, the vampire's raw meat-eating habits and severe mood swings prove more indicative of a werewolf than a vampire - so the reader feels let down even further.
Let me explain it this way: If you've ever been locked inside a dirty bathroom at a distant gas station, when you're supposed to be meeting a hot date, and you must wait for someone to help get the door unstuck, you might try to concede to the situation and maybe you'd read some of the entertaining graffiti that's scribbled all over the walls. Yet in the back of your mind, the longer you wait, the more you keep thinking about that heart-throb you're supposed to be with. Pretty soon, you want "out of Dodge" so badly, you nearly panic, but in this case, Dodge is called Tromso, because that's where main character Bill lives.
With "Anna Karnivora: A Vampire Novel," there are graffiti-worthy visuals of Bill reading on the toilet and his friend whacking off to girlie magazines and a myriad of depressed people living in an even more depressed town getting drunk most of the time. That is, when they're not dealing drugs. Halfway through the book there's still not even a widows peak lurking from the shadows and after reading the book title again, you beg the question: "where in Tromso are the friggin' vampires?"
Finally, when people start dying, it's from suicide, homicide, and a crushing ride down a conveyor belt into heavy machinery. No deaths seem to have anything to do with vampires, but the door still hasn't budged, so you keep reading to kill time until they do.
The reason I'm giving this book three very positive stars is because Bill Czolgosz truly is a very gifted author. His style is quite unlike most novel writers I've seen. This work could be most entertaining for someone whose expecting a light-hearted book of some generic theme. If it had not been for the many teasers in the first few chapters that insisted the book would be about vampires, and if the book had not been named "Vampires," then maybe I would not have accumulated such false expectations.
Reviewed by Tami Jackson
Author of Ravena & The Resurrected
- Sarah Palin: Vampire Hunter
on Jan. 22, 2011
REVIEW OF: Sarah Palin: Vampire Hunter by Dan McGirt (eBook - 52 pages) perfectly priced for this very short novella: $1.99
If you have ever laughed at photos posted on the Internet, where Walmart shoppers shamelessly wield their plumber's cracks, then you'll feel intrigued by this book's somewhat impious humor (in spite of yourself). Go ahead. GUFFAW when Sarah Palin shows up to make everyone go "crazy stupid" as she shoots vampires, and the town mayor, in the head.
Whether you like her or not - you'll recognize her tone because McGirt recreates her speaking-habits so perfectly you'll swear Sarah is reading her dialog out loud to you.
"Okay, I see by your faces some of you are shocked by my statement. And some of you, I just betcha, are only pretending to be shocked. Shame on you!” Said Sarah, at a town meeting, where she addressed the "good people" of Twinkle, Oregon, about the infestation of supernatural monsters.
“Do you know what a ghoul is?” (Palin had asked the mayor, earlier)
“What?”
“There are several meanings of the word. You’ve got your desert demons and your Massachusetts corpse-eaters. But some people apply the term to living human beings placed under the control or direction of a vampire. Isn’t that the darndest thing?”
WHY I LIKED THIS BOOK
* Beyond the hilarious dialog, "Sarah Palin: Vampire Hunter" is loaded with comical conspiracy theories. (For example: one suggests the Xbox was designed to make "easier chewing for the zombies.")
* Lots of "suitable" double meanings such as when "Palin blasted her way through Swimwear" (in reference to the athletic department, not necessarily referring to her ability to annihilate bathing-wear itself).
PET PEEVES AND ANNOYANCES:
* Author consistently ends questions in dialog with "said" instead of the more appropriate "asked" or "queried."
* Proper names such as "Axel" and "Gogo" are not capitalized. These peeves were not even a speed bump for me, however, as the entire manuscript was so perfectly written otherwise.
RATING: FIVE STARS for rapt attention maintained all the way through. It's a fast and curiously fun read.
- Sarah Palin: Vampire Hunter
on Jan. 22, 2011
REVIEW OF: "Sarah Palin: Vampire Hunter" by Dan McGirt (eBook - 52 pages) perfectly priced for this very short novella: $1.99
If you have ever laughed at photos posted on the Internet, where Walmart shoppers shamelessly wield their plumber's cracks, then you'll feel intrigued by this book's somewhat impious humor (in spite of yourself). Go ahead. GUFFAW when Sarah Palin shows up to make everyone go "crazy stupid" as she shoots vampires, and the town mayor, in the head. Whether you like her or not - you'll recognize her tone because McGirt recreates her speaking-habits so perfectly you'll swear Sarah is reading her dialog out loud to you.
"Okay, I see by your faces some of you are shocked by my statement. And some of you, I just betcha, are only pretending to be shocked. Shame on you!” Said Sarah, at a town meeting, where she addressed the "good people" of Twinkle, Oregon, about the infestation of supernatural monsters.
“Do you know what a ghoul is?” (Palin had asked the mayor, earlier)
“What?”
“There are several meanings of the word. You’ve got your desert demons and your Massachusetts corpse-eaters. But some people apply the term to living human beings placed under the control or direction of a vampire. Isn’t that the darndest thing?”
WHY I LIKED THIS BOOK
* Beyond the hilarious dialog, Sarah Palin: Vampire Hunter is loaded with comical conspiracy theories. (For example: one suggests the Xbox was designed to make "easier chewing for the zombies.")
* Lots of "suitable" double meanings such as when "Palin blasted her way through Swimwear" (in reference to the athletic department, not necessarily referring to her ability to annihilate bathing-wear itself).
PET PEEVES AND ANNOYANCES:
* Author consistently ends questions in dialog with "said" instead of the more appropriate "asked" or "queried."
* Proper names such as "Axel" and "Gogo" are not capitalized. These peeves were not even a speed bump for me, however, as the entire manuscript was so perfectly written otherwise.
RATING: FIVE STARS for rapt attention maintained all the way through. It's a fast and curiously fun read.
(I purchased this book)
~ Tami Jackson
author of: Ravena & The Resurrected
- NO REST FOR THE WICCA
on March 01, 2011
(no rating)
I really loved the writing style of Toni LoTiemp's book, "No Rest For The Wicca." It's lively, fast-paced and presents a fantastic witch's tale intertwined with an interesting "who done it" plot where “evil can fester even in the best of men . . ."
The eclectic witch Morgan tries very hard to determine who is killing hereditary witches. In her words: "Vanquishing daemons and exorcising ghosts is an important part of law enforcement, even though the big boys upstairs don’t share our sentiments.”
Please stay focused on this first fact, that I really loved the writing pace in this book, when you read the last part of this review, which emphasizes what destroyed the fun, for me (inconsistencies and false descriptions of religious practices).
THE GOOD PART
The author writes great dialog. Here's an example where main character is talking to Cole, later referred to as a "supercilious bastard." I wanted to slap that smug half-smile off his oh-so-handsome face. “Well, great, Sherlock. Let’s hear ‘em.” “Not here. Let’s meet back at SF Headquarters at oh-four hundred.” I took a deep breath. “Fine.”
THE BAD PART (For me)
As a book addict, I like to feel I can trust whatever is presented as known reality in a fantasy book and regard it as fact. So if an author writes a fairy tale about huge trolls flying with delicate tiny wings around modern New York, I want everything that's said about the Big Apple to be authentic and factual. Unfortunately, I did not feel confident that the religious aspects of this book (known realities) were truthful or correct; not hardly at all.
That's what created a rather large problem for me because the story takes the reader to "witch school" and presents itself as an authority on religion when it's clearly NOT accurate in that regard. Not in many ways. Here's the first clue as to why this book should not be taken too seriously. Not only does the author capitalize Wicca and not Voodoo (a fact that should tell readers something about how the author feels about the two religions) but she does precisely what Hollywood has done to demonize Voodoo, that religion that comforts the severely oppressed and suffering.
In all fairness, even Wicca is wrongly presented as lacking "oomph" when it comes to facing down evil spirits. The "no oomph" is why main character Morgan presents herself as a half-Wiccan who practices sensationalized Voodoo. She catches daemons off-guard by carrying a Voodoo gourd. She also employs Voodoo powder and sings Voodoo chants (while she doesn't seem to do any of the necessary work religion requires and she does not pay homage to any Voodoo Lwa).
Truth is, everything I've read about Voodoo practitioners (from non-fiction) suggests they are monotheistic (believe in a loving but terribly busy God whose not always available). That's why the religion has ancestral spirits known as Lwa (much like Catholics honor saints who were previously human). Voodoo practitioners believe the Lwa may have time to help those oppressed who call upon them - and that's why Lwa are so important to Voodoo.
Unfortunately, Toni LoTiempo doesn't seem to understand these known realities. She wrongfully demonizes some Lwa and wrongfully presents the Lwa Marinette, who was strongly instrumental in launching the Haitian Revolution, freeing people from horrible slavery and often sparing them from violent death. QUOTE FROM BOOK: “Have you ever heard of Marinette?” I looked at him, startled. “She’s a female lwa—one who oversees black magic and evil works. Why do you ask?”
THIS PART WAS BETTER: attending a lecture, Morgan hears the instructor present a class on Voodoo like this: “Many think voodoo is some sort of mystic rite, mumbo-jumbo connected with zombies, pagan gods, and the likes. I hope to enlighten you, during my series of lectures, that voodoo is actually a religion shrouded in mystery, in myth, if you will, for centuries. If there’s anyone here who thinks all there is to voodoo is black magic spells, pins stuck in dolls, and the living dead, get out! I mean it. Get out now.”
Unfortunately, I did not take that instructor's advice to "get out" and subsequently found many more falsifications and other ways that the book presents religion incorrectly.
Example 1: Erroneously implying there's more than one God in Voodoo, deity whom someone might call upon for empowering a voodoo doll. "The power of a voodoo doll comes not from the object, but rather from the one who made it. They are not considered toys, but rather a messenger to the other side, usually a particular god."
Example 2: Correctly admitting Lwa are not Gods but falsely claiming that all who practice black magic worship Lucifer. "Black magic witchcraft, or Satanism, revolves around the worship of Lucifer. Thinking of the African spirits as gods is a mistake"
Example 3: Erroneously referring to Voodoo as having more than one God and referring to the Lwa (saints) as Gods (conflicting with what's said in example #2). “An excellent point. I myself am not as well versed in voodoo as either Professors Graft or Morrow, but I do know some lwa’s, the voodoo gods, are depicted as dark and dangerous, while not considered evil."
THERE'S EVEN MORE FALSE SENSATIONALISM. Repeatedly, the author demonizes Voodoo for having participated in human sacrifice, historically, when nearly all religions - even Christianity, Judaism and Paganism - have also done that. "Have you ever heard of the term Odic Force?” He shook his head. “Can’t say I have.” “I did some research on it. It’s got roots in both Wiccan and Haitian Voodoo. The voodoo part, however, could involve some sort of human sacrifice.”
Then, again, much later: (realize that I'm not particularly picky about typos but this book does have a lot of them with spacing problems and sentence structure issues): "Someone is killing these witches as a service to an lwa, hoping to get something in exchange." (Suggesting the Lwa want spiritual people to commit murder.)
CONCLUSION: If you're looking for a sensationalized read - and don't care if the facts presented in the book are accurate or not - then you will be highly entertained by NO REST FOR THE WICCA. Author Toni LoTempio is highly creative and her work shows great imagination. I felt this book was entertaining, at least.
(4.60 from 10 reviews)