Jason Tanamor (born April 25, 1975) is a Filipino-American author, writer, and entertainment interviewer. He and his books have been featured in many publications such as Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, Yahoo!, Esquire (Philippines), CNN Philippines, Daily Inquirer (Philippines), and Daily Tribune (Philippines). Tanamor also is ranked in the Favorite Filipino and Filipino-American Author poll at Ranker. He was named as one of the "5 Best Modern Filipino Writers" by Pinas magazine.
His novels range in genre, from dark in nature to satirical and from young adult to children's. His novel, a NA urban fantasy about Filipino folklore (aswang) called ''Vampires of Portlandia'', touches upon his love for campy horror stories. "It’s not really a fascination but I do love the genre, but mixed with dark humor or comedy, which includes the shows 'Supernatural' and 'Grimm', and the movies '
The Lost Boys
''The Lost Boys'' is a 1987 American supernatural black comedy horror film directed by Joel Schumacher, produced by Harvey Bernhard with a screenplay written by Jeffrey Boam, Janice Fischer and James Jeremias, from a story by Fischer and Jerem ...
' and '
Beetlejuice
''Beetlejuice'' is a 1988 American fantasy horror comedy film directed by Tim Burton, written by Michael McDowell, Larry Wilson, and Warren Skaaren, produced by The Geffen Company, distributed by Warner Bros., and starring Alec Baldwin, ...
'. The new novel is a mashup of these shows and movies." It was recently optioned for screen and is currently in development.
Tanamor's newest effort, a YA titled ''Love, Dance & Egg Rolls'' is set in Portland during the Trump Administration and follows high school sophomore, Jamie, whose sole purpose in life is to become the next Tinikling master. (Tinikling is the national dance of the Philippines.) On May 10, 2022, the day it debuted,
Powell's Books
Powell's Books is a chain of bookstores in Portland, Oregon, and its surrounding metropolitan area. Powell's headquarters, dubbed Powell's City of Books, claims to be the largest independent new and used bookstore in the world. Powell's City ...
picked it as a "Pick of the Month."
His two novels, ''Anonymous'' and ''Drama Dolls'', have received critical acclaim from major publications such as
Publishers Weekly
''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
– who called him a "promising writer with lots of potential" and compared him to
Chuck Palahniuk and
Charles Bukowski
Henry Charles Bukowski ( ; born Heinrich Karl Bukowski, ; August 16, 1920 – March 9, 1994) was a German-American poet, novelist, and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural, and economic ambience of his adopted ...
– and
Audio Book Reviewer.
Biography
Tanamor is from the
Quad-Cities
The Quad Cities is a region of cities (originally four, see #History, History) in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois: Davenport, Iowa, Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa, Bettendorf in southeastern Iowa, and Rock Island, Illinois, Rock Island, Moli ...
(Iowa/Illinois) and is the middle child of three boys of Filipino parents. Asked how he ended up in Illinois, he quipped that his parents ran out of gas. A few more dollars and he could have been from St. Louis. In regard to the diverse nature of his books, he didn't want to be known for being one-dimensional. The world doesn't need another
John Grisham
John Ray Grisham Jr. (; born February 8, 1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas) is an American novelist, lawyer and former member of the 7th district of the Mississippi House of Representatives, known for his popular legal thrillers. According to the Ame ...
novel – they're all about law.
[http://www.tomboy-tarts.com/ep-28-writers-block-jason-tanamor/ ]
He is a former contract specialist for the
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national sec ...
.
His former agency,
Army Contracting Command at
Rock Island Arsenal
The Rock Island Arsenal comprises , located on Arsenal Island, originally known as Rock Island, on the Mississippi River between the cities of Davenport, Iowa, and Rock Island, Illinois. It lies within the state of Illinois. Rock Island ...
[http://www.fedsmith.com/2013/08/19/how-one-federal-employee-used-furlough-days-to-his-advantage/ ] in
Rock Island, IL, was the focal point of the 2016 movie
War Dogs. His former team, Field Support Directorate, won the 2016
Secretary of the Army Excellence in Contracting Award for Contingency Contracting.
In his free time, he has contributed to numerous publications including Yahoo! and Cinema Blend,
Tanamor also has covered
President Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
when he spoke at
Alcoa Davenport Works as a part of the White House Press Pool.
Prior to working for the
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national sec ...
, Tanamor grew up doing stand-up comedy idolizing
Jerry Seinfeld and
Jay Leno. He then transitioned into writing. Since then, he's been juggling full-time employment with writing novels.
Tanamor does this by maintaining a strict routine. "Once I start writing, I make time in the morning, usually around 3:30–5:00 am. Sometimes throughout the day on weekends, but generally I feel motivated early. I have a certain spot on the couch where I sit with my laptop, one of my cats, and coffee."
Tanamor was married in 2006.
He currently lives and works in the Portland, Oregon area, but still keeps a house in Illinois, which was built for John Shields by Rock Island famed architect, George Stauduhar of the
Stauduhar House
The Stauduhar House is an historic building located in Rock Island, Illinois, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. The house is in the Highland Park Historic District.
George P. Stauduhar
George Staud ...
, and was formerly owned by New York Giants football player,
George Franck
George Henning "Sonny" Franck (September 23, 1918 – January 19, 2011) was an American football halfback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants.
Early years
Franck was born in Davenport, Iowa. After his playi ...
.
The house is located in the Highland Park Historic District in Rock Island, Illinois.
Journalism
Western Courier
In December 2001, Tanamor began writing for
The Western Courier, the student newspaper at his alma mater,
Western Illinois University
Western Illinois University (WIU) is a public university in Macomb, Illinois. It was founded in 1899 as Western Illinois State Normal School. As the normal school grew, it became Western Illinois State Teachers College.
History
Western Illin ...
, in
Macomb, Illinois
Macomb is a city in and the county seat of McDonough County, Illinois, United States. It is situated in western Illinois, southwest of Galesburg. The city is about southwest of Peoria and south of the Quad Cities. A special census held in ...
. After one of his first humor/entertainment columns appeared, a Macomb resident wrote in to the editor stating that Tanamor was embarrassing the community by writing babble, instead of contributing columns with insight. The concerned citizen said that Tanamor had an "amateurish level of writing skills." Tanamor continued to write for the paper until December 2002, when he graduated.
Just Laugh
From December 2001 to September 2003, Tanamor expanded his reach by contributing to the Internet humor magazine, Just Laugh. There, he wrote comedic opinion pieces and fictitious news stories.
Rock Island Argus
From April 2003 to May 2009, Tanamor contributed regularly to
The Rock Island Argus
''The Dispatch–Argus'' is a daily morning newspaper in East Moline, Illinois and circulated primarily throughout the Illinois side of the Quad Cities — Moline, East Moline, Rock Island and Rock Island County, but also for sale in retail esta ...
newspaper. At the publication, he covered the comedy beat for the
Quad-Cities
The Quad Cities is a region of cities (originally four, see #History, History) in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois: Davenport, Iowa, Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa, Bettendorf in southeastern Iowa, and Rock Island, Illinois, Rock Island, Moli ...
.
Zoiks! Online
In August 2004, Tanamor started the entertainment website, Zoiks! Online. The first edition ran for almost 18 months. However, his busy schedule put the website on the back burner. According to the Moline Dispatch, "when he went back to relaunch the site, he found he'd forgotten his password, as well as the answers to the security questions he'd made up, and the site's host, Yahoo! wouldn't reveal them, despite his efforts." Tanamor stated that although losing his password sucked, he could definitely vouch for Yahoo!'s security. Ultimately, Tanamor ended up re-launching the site later in October 2008.
In May 2009, Zoiks! Online teamed up with the comedy website, The Laugh Button. While The Laugh Button was tapped to provide comedy bits via video and audio clips, Zoiks! Online would manage the website side by providing written interviews of comedians that The Laugh Button featured. Tanamor stated that both Zoiks! Online and The Laugh Button shared a passion for stand-up comedy. "When we started talking, we realized that there were a lot of synergies between Zoiks! and TLB. It was no-brainer to work together."
On December 31, 2016, Tanamor resigned as editor of Zoiks! Online.
Novels
Tanamor stated, in regard to his readership for his dark novels, that his books are for those who relate to unusual characters and plots, such as those found in
Chuck Palahniuk,
Gillian Flynn
Gillian Schieber Flynn (; born February 24, 1971) is an American author, screenwriter, and producer. She is known for writing the thriller and mystery novels, ''Sharp Objects'' (2006), '' Dark Places'' (2009), and '' Gone Girl'' (2012), which are ...
, and
Charles Bukowski
Henry Charles Bukowski ( ; born Heinrich Karl Bukowski, ; August 16, 1920 – March 9, 1994) was a German-American poet, novelist, and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural, and economic ambience of his adopted ...
books. Also, that he is inspired by people who are "messed up," saying that these types of individuals make his life feel normal. "I wanted to write a book with stories that people like to hear, but don't necessarily like to tell". Since then, he's gone onto write lighter works.
Love, Dance & Egg Rolls
The YA rom-com novel, ''Love, Dance & Egg Rolls'', is loosely based on Tanamor’s time dancing Filipino folk dances... The novel tackles a topic that people of color go through regularly—cultural identity... “I wanted to write a story about my experience because growing up, I didn’t see characters that looked like me,” he said. “Most of the stories in the past that I’ve written were either white or faceless because I didn’t think that people of color deserved to be main characters. It was something that media and society had conditioned me growing up.”
Booklist
''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...
reviewed the book and, in regards to the seriousness of the topic, said,"...Tanamor balances the serious subject matter with keen humor... making this book both impactful and fun."
Vampires of Portlandia
The new adult/urban fantasy novel, ''Vampires of Portlandia'', is about a family of Filipino vampires that immigrates to the weird city of Portland, Oregon, only to discover that there are other breeds of monsters living amongst them. The novel will appeal to fans of ''
The Twilight Saga'' and the television show, ''
Grimm
Grimm may refer to:
People
* Grimm (surname)
* Brothers Grimm, German linguists
** Jacob Grimm (1785–1863), German philologist, jurist and mythologist
** Wilhelm Grimm (1786–1859), German author, the younger of the Brothers Grimm
* Christia ...
''. The book will be published by Parliament House Press, a SFF publisher. Tanamor said about the novel, "I’d always wanted to write about Filipino lore (my parents are from the Philippines), and when I moved to Portland, I discovered this entirely different world downtown. It all made sense to have the family relocate. In an interview with GoodNews Pilipinas, regarding the characters, Tanamor said, "The main characters are homogenized versions of various Filipinos I know, either friends of the family or relatives. I’d based the young twin, Geena, off my niece when she was the same age as the character. Overall, I think that each character has a little bit of me in them. But, mostly Filipinos have similar traits – they point with their lips, and are always offering you food." Regarding the folklore and staying true, Tanamor told Sci-Fi and Scary, "The thing with aswang folklore is that there aren’t a lot of “standards” outside their physical traits. There are so many different interpretations, different ways to become an aswang, or kill them, unlike what we see in Hollywood renditions. My hope is to introduce the folklore to the mainstream and encourage other stories about Filipino folklore and culture. Whether or not they stick to the lore." Asian Journal listed the book as a "Fil-Am book to read during Summer 2020." And bestselling author,
John Shirley
John Shirley (born February 10, 1953) is an American writer, primarily of fantasy, science fiction, dark street fiction, westerns, and songwriting. He has also written one historical novel, a western about Wyatt Earp, ''Wyatt in Wichita'', and ...
, said the novel "rocks Filipino folklore, shape shifters, vampires, and quick moving, tricksy, balls-out adventure, and it's a helluva lot of fun."
Publishers Weekly
''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
wrote "...creative worldbuilding of Portland’s supernatural underworld...the most devoted vampire enthusiasts will find this rewarding." And
Library Journal said about the book: "Those who enjoy the “Twilight” books or TV series “Grimm” may find this entertaining. Portland enthusiasts will also appreciate the references."
Drama Dolls
The dark humor/psychological thriller, ''Drama Dolls'', was born after Tanamor watched a documentary about grown men dressing up as dolls and going out in public. Tanamor said, "During the interview, it was clear that in their minds they thought everyone was staring at them because they were beautiful, but then the juxtaposition was the majority of people who were going, 'What is that?'"
He thought about why men would act out in this manner, chocking up that a death of a spouse may trigger this behavior. This kicked his thought process into gear and the result was a story about a man who grieves his wife unnaturally by dressing as cheerleaders with his friends.
Anonymous
The literary/horror novel, ''Anonymous,'' was the result of an online course facilitated by Palahniuk, where students had to write a short story based on writing lessons and the
Fight Club (novel)
''Fight Club'' is a 1996 novel by Chuck Palahniuk. It follows the experiences of an unnamed protagonist struggling with insomnia. Inspired by his doctor's exasperated remark that insomnia is not suffering, the protagonist finds relief by imperso ...
author would offer feedback at the end of each lesson. Tanamor stated that each short story shared a common theme and eventually became the novel. One such story involves a man who impersonated Britney Spears' manager in order to embezzle money from restaurants.
The novel received a Star Review from
Publishers Weekly
''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
.
The Extraordinary Life of Shady Gray
For his young adult novel, ''The Extraordinary Life of Shady Gray'', Tanamor referred to it as his "Oprah" story, stating that the novel will encourage readers to appreciate their own families. Referring to this book as a fictional biography, whereas many of the past events in his real life are played out through the main protagonist's life, he went on to state how personal the events were in his childhood, which made writing the novel a challenge.
"When I was trying to engage myself as young Jason Tanamor it was often difficult to get back in that frame of mind or recall specific emotions that surrounded that experience." He stated that the bulk of this novel was written during the DoD
Furlough which resulted in
United States budget sequestration in 2013
The 2013 budget sequestration refers to the automatic spending cuts to United States federal government spending in particular categories of outlays that were initially set to begin on January 1, 2013, as a fiscal policy as a result of Budget Co ...
.
Hello Fabulous!
The satirical novella, ''Hello Fabulous!'', is loosely based on a real life story involving Tanamor and his doppelganger. The author was continually getting confused with his twin by random people – mostly women – and even his twin's own mother. The long drawn out process resulted in the novella about a straight, boring man who was continuously being mixed up for a gay, fabulous man. Tanamor stated that writing out the story was therapeutic. The two eventually met in real life.
I Heart Superhero Kid
The children's superhero themed book was illustrated by Tanamor's son. The story revolves around a battle between Superhero Kid and Evil Man, written in rhyming verse. According to a
Rock Island Argus
''The Dispatch–Argus'' is a daily morning newspaper in East Moline, Illinois and circulated primarily throughout the Illinois side of the Quad Cities — Moline, East Moline, Rock Island and Rock Island County, but also for sale in retail esta ...
story, Tanamor said that the book surrounds a hero, his arch-enemy, talking cats, and a girl with a crush. "People are fascinated with superheroes. Me included. Since I was a child, there was this secret obsession with having super powers," Tanamor said.
In regard to the book's audience, Tanamor stated, "I love superhero stories that have real world implications... When people can relate to the storyline, it gives readers hope that they can conquer their own complex situations or battles."
Tanamor stated that the inspiration behind the children's superhero book came from his work with the
United States Department of the Army
The United States Department of the Army (DA) is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the U.S. The Department of the Army is the federal government agency within which the United States Army (U.S.) is or ...
.
Moo Moo the Serial Killer Cat
Tanamor's cat, Moo Moo, has brought in many animals for his parents to enjoy. After the cat brought in a headless bunny, Tanamor started sharing the kills on social media. "Part of the reason I started posting them was mainly to document our life in case he was practicing his craft," he said.
"If Moo Moo decided to kill my wife and me, I at least wanted Facebook to know where to look first. When people say, 'It's always the boyfriend,' in this case, 'It's definitely the cat.'"
When the posts became popular, Tanamor put them together and wrote a rhyming story around it.
All the proceeds of the book go to the local shelter where Tanamor adopted Moo Moo. "I know how much help the shelters need," he said. "I figure this would be a good way to donate to an important cause and make it fun." Each book comes "paw-tographed" by Moo Moo.
Awards and recognition
* Ranked in the "Favorite Filipino and Filipino-American Author" list on
Ranker
Ranker is a digital media company located in Los Angeles. The site features polls on entertainment, brands, sports, food and culture. Ranker claims to be one of the largest databases of opinions with more than 1 billion votes gathered on over mil ...
* Named one of the "5 Best Modern Filipino Writers" by Pinas
* Listed in Positively Filipino's "Fil-Ams Among the Remarkable and Famous" list.
References
External links
Jason Tanamor's Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tanamor, Jason
American male novelists
Living people
1975 births
Place of birth missing (living people)
Novelists from Illinois
21st-century American novelists
21st-century American male writers
Filipino novelists
Filipino male writers
Writers from Portland, Oregon
Novelists from Oregon
American writers of Filipino descent
Filipino writers
21st-century Filipino writers