New York Times bestselling author Tim Dorsey has just completed his 12^th book featuring the beloved psychopath Serge A. Storms and his drug-saturated sidekick Coleman. “Gator A-Go-Go,” is a seriously twisted, ridiculously funny trip around Florida landmarks with Dorsey’s trademark murder-n-mayhem that is sure to make you laugh out loud as you remember your own weird Spring Break adventures. Sevier CountyNews.com spoke with Dorsey this week by telephone to discuss the book before the January 26, 2010 release.

 

SCN: Twelve books in the series now. A milestone!

 

TD: Well, the characters evolve over time. Serge is my mouthpiece, pretty much. Whatever is on my mind at the time, I let Serge vent it, so it changes constantly.

 

SCN: By now those years you spent as a reporter and editor at the Tampa Tribune are not even a speck in the rearview mirror.

 

TD: I really never thought (my writing career) would happen like this. I dreamed it would, but truthfully my best case scenario was seeing myself holding one hardcover book one day and that would be the end of it.

 

SCN: This time around we get to go on Spring Break with Serge and Coleman, although we learn in the story that Coleman has “been on Spring Break since 1977.”

 

TD: He has. He’s on a permanent Spring Break. So this is right in his kill zone, a place where he can fit in and excel.

 

SCN: And Coleman also knows 101 ways to open beer bottles.

 

TD: It’s a good skill to have.

 

SCN: There’s one place in the story where you mention the Hammerhead Ranch Bar and Grille and a character named Tommy Diaz. He’s a former cocaine dealer who has ‘gone legit.” Is this a reoccurring character from your previous book “Hammerhead Ranch Motel?”

 

TD: It is. I have an ensemble cast, with major and also supporting characters that show up from time to time in later episodes.

 

SCN: So it’s like a little reward to your readers who have read all your books, to see this reference.

 

TD: Yes. And it’s a challenge at times to write a story that can stand alone, where you don’t need to have read any of the other books to enjoy it, but still have these callbacks for people who have read all the books

 

SCN: You said “episodes,” a second ago, like it’s already on television.

 

TD: Well, it is already a television show in my mind. That’s how I see it when I am writing, when I get an idea for a story, I see it visually. I get my best ideas while driving or in the shower.

 

SCN: There’s another callback too, where you mention the Big Bamboo Lounge near Orlando. And you have a book called “The Big Bamboo.”

 

TD: That’s a real place, too. It’s closed now. As time went on, every time I drove by it became more and more dilapidated. It had this overgrown field and a rusty ambulance out front.

 

SCN: An ambulance?

 

TD: It was a M*A*S*H* type ambulance, part of the décor. There was a tower with a windsock too. The place was gutted by fire, and then the last time I drove by it had been bulldozed to make way for new development.

 

SCN: These Florida landmarks and history are part of your style.

 

TD: The history is real and the places I mention are real. I take trips and do research.

 

SCN: I mentioned on Facebook that Tom Petty reference you made that related to the bridge and the Elvis movie landmark.

 

TD: A real bridge, and I found that bridge by accident. I was doing research about Panama City, and stopped at a red light, and saw “Follow That Dream Parkway.” So I turned there. I got out and took some pictures of the place and of course said “Okay, somebody has to die here.”

 

SCN: I love the childhood memories that Serge shares about what it was like to play in the huge back seat of the family car. Or lie down on the window ledge. Those are your memories, aren’t they?

 

TD: Yeah. The back seat was like another room. People had bigger cars back then.

 

SCN: Anyone who would remember what that was like, (jumping around with no seatbelts on) would have to be middle-aged. Is that your core reader audience?

 

TD: My readers are like a cult almost. I have pockets of ecclectic core readers, some of which are even in their 70s and 80s, who remember what Florida was like a long time ago and appreciate the history part of my writing.

 

SCN: As well as the humor! Are they mostly female?

 

TD: A little, because most readers in general, I think, are female.

 

SCN: Serge seems a little more introspective this time around. To quote him, “There’s a definite point in every life where you have to do the right thing no matter what the cost.” He also says in another place, “I’m foreclosing on his karma.” And my personal fave quote this book is: “Putting an end to something requires thorough prep and a killer soundtrack.”

 

TD: I wouldn’t disagree.

 

SCN: Plus I love the long Christmas Xerox letter Serge writes. Good stuff.

 

TD: I have readers at signing events tell me that they really like how the story will be going along and then suddenly Serge will just go off in a blog, or make a speech after drinking a lot of coffee or something.

 

SCN: And Serge has his own theology, which we get to find out when he meets up with the church youth group. That set-up alone requires no additional comment.

 

TD: That was all part of the research I did for the book, where I took a trip to visit Daytona, Panama City, and Fort Lauderdale, including a trip to the exact birthplace of “Spring Break,” at the site of what was the Casino Pool, which is now a parking lot.

 

SCN: This book gets released January 26 and the tour starts then? By the way, this is the fourth of your books I have read and my favorite so far.

 

TD: Thanks for being interested enough to read it and write about it. That’s right, January 26.

 

SCN: And people can visit www.timdorsey.com to find out more about you, or about Gator A-Go-Go, or other books, or about Serge…

 

TD: They can. And they can even dress like Serge if they want to.

 

SCN: I saw Serge’s merchandise store on your site. His prices are insane!