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Interview by Craig Rogers or call Gulfscapes Magazine office 361-749-4081
Recurrent heroes in novels aren't rare.
Many of our most respected authors use
the same characters over and over. James
Patterson has Alex Cross. John
MacDonald had Travis McGee. Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle had Sherlock
Holmes. Agatha Christie had two,
Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. Sure,
all these authors are literary legends who
created lasting repeating heroes, but who
couldn't make a hero out of someone as
wholesome as Sherlock Holmes, genius
and all around good guy. Try making a
successful, recurring hero out of an
escaped criminally insane serial killer.
Now that takes talent! And that's why
Tim Dorsey has out-written all those
respected authors with his creation of
Serge A. Storms, hero of nine novels,
and The World's Most Loveable Serial
Killer.
Like Carl Hiaasen, and before him
John MacDonald, Dorsey uses Florida as
not only a backdrop for his novels, but
also as an integral plot device. The
strange, illogical, criminally inclined
underbelly of the Sunshine State flows
through Dorsey's novels like the
Everglades flow through the swamps of
... OK, bad example. Take two. Like the
Everglades USED to flow through the
swamps of South Florida, before farming
and development impeded its flow.
The official history of Florida, along
with its little known trivia, long forgotten
tales, and off the beaten track tourist
attractions are woven into each story
through a most unusual literary tool-
Serge's incessant, knows-too-much
tourist guide narrations of almost everything
he encounters. Serge will break
into his history/trivia narrations at any
time, often without Serge even realizing
he's talking. Want to know which movies
were shot in Florida, or when a city was
first devastated by a hurricane, or where
The Honeymooners was broadcast? Ask
Serge. Or rather, just hang around Serge.
You don't really need to ask. As soon as
he sees a landmark, he automatically
breaks into tourist guide narrator mode.
Dorsey also uses Serge's sanity-challenged
character to voice biting social
commentary seldom seen anymore, outside
of The Comedy Channel's "South
Park". Irony and sarcasm are alive and
well in Dorsey's witty, rapid fire dialogs
and soliloquies. Serge is just as likely to
burst into a "what's wrong with society"
rant as he is to deliver the history of The
Keys. His entertaining critique of modern
society will ring true to many an ear.
Serge's love of Florida's history
makes for fun, "I didn't know that!"
reading. The social commentary will
cause you to spill your coffee. But it's
Serge's other passion that will keep you
glued to the pages, waiting to see who's
next. You see, Dorsey uses Serge as a
Redeemer; someone unbound by sanity
or fear to act out against the evils that we
bump into in our daily lives. Have you
had enough of the angry young man with
the loud car speakers who won't respond
to a polite request to turn the volume
down? Don't worry, you need not act
out. Serge will do it for you. And in an
unusual, sadistic, and very satisfyingly
violent way most of us couldn't dream
up. Those robber baron corporate heads
who ruined their employees' retirement
accounts? Sit back, relax, and watch
Serge make them cry. Since vigilantism
is frowned on by the legal authorities
these days, why not enjoy it vicariously,
through Serge? It'll make you feel better,
and keep you out of jail. It's a win-win
situation!
Social commentary, Florida history
and multiple killings will only take you
so far, and then you need humor and a
good plot to make a good novel, and
Dorsey applies plenty of both. He piles
on humor that will make your side hurt
from laughing. His supporting characters
take on a life of their own. His mysteries
are sometimes whodunit murder stories,
sometimes who's-trying-to-kill-who head
scratchers. One thing they all are is highly
entertaining and far above the average
novel in intelligence.
Dorsey's hilarious mysteries have
already won him a broad, loyal fan base
that comes out in droves to support him
at his numerous book signings. His startlingly
strange but all too familiar characters
have taken on cult status, with
some fans coming to book signings
dressed in costume. There have even
been spottings of graffitti left by Serge.
Sure, Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha
Christie have better known repeating
heroes, but when's the last time you saw
"Hercule Poirot was here" scrawled on a
bathroom wall? I tell you, Tim Dorsey's
out-written them all!
I spoke with Tim Dorsey about his
background, his memorable characters,
and his new book, "Atomic Lobster",
due out in early 2008 from the William Morrow division of HarperCollins Publishers. Here's the interview:
Where were you born?Indiana in 1961.
Where were you raised? Riviera Beach,
Florida. We moved there when I was
one.
College? I graduated from Auburn
University, with a B.S. in Transportation.
Transportation? Yeah, I know. But
there's a reason. I had a Navy ROTC
Scholarship for two years. I took
Engineering for the first two years. By
the second year I knew I wanted to write.
I also knew I needed to work for a newspaper
to get experience. But if I had
switched my major to Journalism at that
point it would have taken an extra year
to graduate. I couldn't afford another
year of school, so I found a major where
I could earn my degree and graduate on
time. I didn't need a degree in
Journalism to get a job with a newspaper.
I understand you are married. Yes, to
Janine Dorsey. It was a newsroom
romance. We were both working at the
Tampa Tribune. She's now an editor at
the Tribune's online site,
TampaTrib.com.
Kids? Two daughters. Eight and ten.
What about your parents? Do you get
your intelligence and sense of humor
from one of them? I definitely got intelligence from my parents. They both
have a good sense of humor, but my
sense of humor is very different from
theirs. It's so different, I may be adopted
– and that would be a compliment to
them!
Where did you get your journalism
experience? I was editor of my college
paper. Then I worked for a couple of
years at a paper in Alabama. I started
with the Tampa Tribune in 1987 as a general
assignment reporter, then as a political
reporter. I then became a copy desk
editor, and when I left the paper in 1999,
I was the night metro editor. I loved
working for the paper. It didn't feel like a
job.
How did you make the jump to novelist
after 16 years as a newspaperman?
Abruptly! I always knew I wanted to
write, so the day the first book hit the
shelves, I gave my two weeks notice to
the paper.
How many times did you submit your
first book to a publisher before you got
a bite? Florida Roadkill, which was my
first book, was picked up right away. It's
unusual. There are often several rejections
before a book is first picked up, but
I'm my own worst critic. You could say
that I rejected myself a thousand times
before I ever submitted it. So really, I
had been polishing the first book for 16
years before ever submitting it.
How do you describe your books when
trying to get someone interested?
Criminally insane serial killer as hero
sounds like a hard sell! You're right, it
is hard to describe the whole premise.
Most of my readers tell me that one of
their friends recommended me. So most
of my publicity is from word of mouth.
When someone asks me to describe the
books, I tell them that if they like Carl
Hiaasen or Quentin Tarantino, they
should give me a try.
That's funny, I was recommending you
to a friend and tried to describe your
style. I came up with Carl Hiaasen on
steroids. Hiaasen said he gets some of
the weird Florida stories and characters
straight from the newspaper. How
about you? Absolutely. Fans send me
weird news stories constantly. I have a
stack of them on my desk. Florida seems
to attract the dumbest criminals in the
nation. The weirdness is palpable.
So do you need to have any imagination
nowadays, or is the real world so
weird you can just plagiarize it? I feel
like I'm cheating! It's too easy with all
the weird news. I feel like I'm writing
documentaries.
Your novels always include tons of
Florida factoids. Where did your fascination
with Florida history and trivia
come from? I've always been the kind
of person who just takes the narrow little
road to see where it goes. And I like to
stop along the way at points of interest.
I'm fortunate to have a character where I
can just spill out all kinds of this trivia.
When I began writing the first book, I
realized I had way too much Florida trivia
and not enough plot!
In your latest novel, Hurricane Punch,
the newsroom of a fictitious, large
Tampa newspaper is one of the main
settings. Your characterization of that
newspaper is part newspaper, part circus,
part Entertainment Tonight. What
is your perception of where our newspapers
are heading, and did you get
any grief from friends who are still in
the newspaper business for your characterization
of the paper in Hurricane
Punch? Actually, my friends in the
newspaper industry liked it. As far as
where the industry is going, I don't think
newspapers should be so cheap with their
resources. Like police and teachers,
newspaper reporters do a civic duty and
should be paid better for it. The reporter
who sits through the City Council meetings
and reports on things that are going
on is performing an important service for
his town. How else would we know
what's going on?
In Hurricane Punch, Florida is hit
with numerous hurricanes within the
span of a few weeks. What came first,
the multiple hurricanes that actually hit Florida in 2004 and 2005, or your idea
of a novel with multiple hurricanes as a
main plot event? I wrote it between those
two seasons, so I knew about the bad 2004
storms, but I had no idea 2005 would be
another horrible season. One of the fictitious
hurricanes I wrote about in Hurricane Punch
cut across south Florida near an old bank at
Everglades City. In 2005, Hurricane Wilma
went across that exact area near the bank.
You live in Tampa. What do you do when a
hurricane is coming? I have family who live
in Vero Beach, Florida, which is on the east
coast, so when one is coming my way, we go
to Vero Beach. When one is coming toward
Vero Beach, they come stay with us in
Tampa. We went back and forth several times
in 2004 and 2005.
You've created one of the more memorable
repeating characters in fiction in Serge A.
Storms. Where did you get the idea of
Serge? In Florida Roadkill, I was trying to
create a really bad villain. I kept working on
him, making him criminally insane, and having
him kill people. After I finished, I realized
that I had revealed something about myself. I
realized that Serge had killed people that I
really don't like! Child molesters, people who
exploit the elderly. Bad guys. I was subconsciously
killing off people I hate.
Who's Serge likely to whack next? I'm pretty
peeved at litterbugs right now.
Serge actually drives in the eye of a hurricane
in Hurricane Punch, staying in the
eye as it crosses the state. Where did the
idea of driving inside a hurricane eye come
from? It just came to me. Serge loves hurricanes
and I knew he'd want to be a witness.
At first I had him just riding out the storms,
but then I kept asking myself, "How can I
make this more absurd"? It was an evolution.
I kept pushing it and the final outcome was
Serge driving along inside the eye.
I have enjoyed several of your books, but I
have never actually read a single word;
instead, I've listened to them in the audio
book versions, which was a new experience
for me. What do you think of audio
books? They sell really well! But when I'm
writing, I write for the books to be read. I
can't really think about how they'll sound.
The audio books are produced really well.
There are certain scenes that I can't image
just reading. The "Bad Monkey" scene in
Hurricane Punch was hilarious. I kept
replaying it over and over. I can't see it
being as funny in writing. The voice inflections
were the key. It translated very well
into audio. Yeah, I can see where some
scenes may play out a little better on audio.
Which leads me to the next question, will
we be seeing Serge on the Big Screen anytime
soon? I hope so. The idea is out there in
Hollywood somewhere. Once it goes out
there, you don't really hear about it until the
movie is done.
Who would you like to play Serge in a
movie? Anyone who'd take the part! As long
as it was being made I'd be happy.
In Torpedo Juice, Serge wants to be the
next Jimmy Buffett. Then, he complains
because his cheeseburger at the
Margaritaville Cafe, Buffett's restaurant
chain, doesn't have the same condiments as
the burger Buffett sings about in his song
Cheeseburger in Paradise (Cheeseburger in Paradise Restaurant ). Are you a
Parrothead, a Buffett fan? Yes, I'm a fan. I
go to the meeting down in Key West every
year. I saw Jimmy perform in an intersection
in downtown Tampa in 1992. It was when
Bill Clinton was campaigning and came
through town. They set up a stage in the middle
of the intersection, Jimmy came out and
played a few songs, then Bill gave his speech.
Lots of fun.
The scene in TP where Serge orders a
Cheeseburger in Paradise and it doesn't
have the right condiments, was that from
your own experience? Yes. There were no
pickles! The song says there are pickles. The
reason I went to the Margaritaville Cafe was
to have the Cheeseburger in Paradise. I was
bummed!
Ever met Mr. Buffett? Never have.
I've been a Parrothead since I was 18. I
always said I never wanted to meet Jimmy,
because my ideal of him is so perfect, I
couldn't help but be disappointed. He's a
human, so he has to have bad days, and
I'm sure I'd catch him on one. How do you
handle your interaction with fans? You're
right, no one can be "on" all the time. We all
need our down time. When I go out on book
signing tours, no matter how I'm feeling that
day, I make sure I'm always polite. My fans
are so pleasant, it isn't hard. Especially when
they come dressed as one of my characters.
One of your influences was Hunter S.
Thompson. Are your recurring characters
Lenny and Coleman, who are drunk
and/or stoned 24/7, an embodiment of Dr.
Thompson? No, Lenny and Coleman aren't
smart enough to be Hunter. Hunter would do
all that stuff, but would still be lucid.
Torpedo Juice starts out with the book's
narrator complaining that he's not a major
character in the book. And the story is
delayed by weather. Where in the world
did you come up with that idea, and how
much guts did it take to actually put it in
the novel, as opposed to just thinking about
doing it? I can see why you would ask. I
was just having fun. But I wouldn't have
done it in my first book! You get to know
your audience after a while. I discovered that
if I have fun writing it, then it usually goes
over well. As long as it makes me laugh, it's
usually well received.
Your next book is titled "Atomic Lobster".
What is Serge up to? It's basically a reunion
of the Triggerfish Twist cast, ten years later.
And Coleman and Lenny finally meet.
How do you celebrate once a book is finished?
I collapse. That's like asking a
marathon runner how he celebrates – he sits
down! There's an old video of a runner wobbling
across the finish line. I feel like that.
But it feels like a great weight has been lifted
off my shoulders. I'll decompress, relax, and
then start scheduling tours.
You write some very violent, strange
scenes. Where do you draw the line on
some of the outrageous things you write
about? Where is the line between going too
far, and going far enough to be entertaining
and provocative? I have a moral barometer
that I trust. This will sound strange, but I
wouldn't have Serge do something he's
morally against. And this is a little counterintuitive,
but I wouldn't have Serge be a
bully-he only kills bad guys.
I have always been told the only place
weirder than South Texas is South Florida.
Have you visited Texas? Only briefly. I've
been to San Antonio, Austin and Houston,
mostly.
In Hurricane Punch, Serge gives marital
advice. His advice is to forfeit at the beginning
of a fight, rather than argue. He said
the grief a husband gets for not arguing is
less than the grief he'd get if he continued
the argument. Where did Serge come up
with such a great idea? You know, I hesitated
to give up some of my secrets. Once my
wife reads them, I can't use them anymore.
Speaking of marital aids, what's your
favorite Florida bar? The No Name Bar and
The Big Bamboo. Unfortunately, the Big
Bamboo was gutted by a fire right before the
book bearing its name was released. The No
Name Bar mentioned in Torpedo Juice is a
real bar, complete with the dollar bills stapled
all over the ceiling. A fan sent a photo of the
women's bathroom wall where someone had
signed, "Serge was here". It's weird getting a
photo of a fictional character's graffiti.
Which of your books is your favorite?
That's like asking which of your children is
your favorite. But I guess we always like to
assume that we improve the more we write -
so you tend to like your last one best.
So your youngest daughter is your
favorite? Oh great! That'll get me in trouble.
Thanks a lot.
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