Learn more about author Tim Dorsey

     Welcome to what I guarantee will be the most fun inside Serge’s car trunk anyone will ever have!

     Before we begin, let me stress this website is intended as a companion for the Serge Storms literary series and, just like Cliff Notes, not meant to replace novels. Nothing could ever replace the experience of allowing Tim Dorsey to take you on a tour of his zany and twisted version of Florida. The goal of this website is to enhance and further appreciate his body of work.

     As a companion piece to Tim’s literary series, this website is unavoidably chock full of spoilers. (For those in the back row, let me repeat: Massive spoiler alert for this website!) Of course, there are the natural plot twists you’d expect within novels such as these. But, also, there are characters who were believed dead that suddenly return, as well as surprise revelations regarding the relationships between principle characters that occur across the scope of the series. The concept of this website is to treat the entire series as one, big piece of literary work. So, if you’re just starting with Florida Roadkill and, once you turned the last page, please don’t mistakenly assume it is ‘spoiler-safe’ to look over Roadkill’s section on the site.

     Now that we got that out of the way. . . Hi! My name is Rob. I was born and raised in Orlando. My arrival predated Disney World by a couple of years, so I was fortunate enough to grow up before the looming shadow of mouse ears spread across Central Florida. My home was on a dirt road across from an abandoned tangerine grove. My parents and I lived on a corner lot, with my aunt and uncle’s house beside us, and my grandparents’ home next door to them. Three houses in a row, with hardly a neighbor in sight.

     My childhood was filled with exploring the surrounding woods, climbing tangerine trees, watching Apollo and Skylab launches from my front yard, space rocket-themed playgrounds, and bicycling around the all-too-quickly growing neighborhood. Often times, my childhood adventures were shared with my older cousin Jeff (more on him later) and later on, his sister - my younger cousin. While it wasn’t as romantic as say, canoeing up the Loxahatchee in search of Trapper Nelson or teasing hammerheads with bait fish from the bridge, it was as good and idyllic Florida childhood as one could wish for.

     But, like all good things, it was destined to end. For me, it came when my father took an out-of-state job, and we had to move. While in grade school, I would often visit my Florida family during Christmas and summer breaks. As I grew older, however, the trips became less and less frequent. Life – especially after college – tends to get in the way and the next thing you know, I’m realizing it’s been more than a decade since I visited my home state. However, despite my absence, I always considered myself a natural-born, Florida son.

     Flash forward to 2010. I’m at my local library, looking for an audio book to listen to. Atomic Lobster? Flip the cover of the CD case and read the blurb. Sounds a bit zany and possibly entertaining, so I decide to check it out. And, just like that, I became a fan of Tim Dorsey’s writing, not to mention his amazing literary creation – Serge A. Storms.

     Well, to be honest, I fell in love with Tim’s writing almost instantly, but it took me a few chapters to warm up to Serge. For those who have read Atomic Lobster, you know Tim introduces (or re-introduces to readers of his previous novels) a lot of characters, and this Serge guy was just one of many. It wasn’t until Serge handed the Epiphany Cross to the bullied kid in Tarpon Springs that I truly ‘got’ him.  And, the more I read about Serge in the ensuing novels, the more I began to adore him as a well-written, multi-layered literary character.

     I returned to the library as fast as I could and rented out my next portal to Tim’s twisted version of Florida – Nuclear Jellyfish. Unlike the Tampa-based Atomic Lobster, this one had Serge and Coleman going on an epic tour of the entire Atlantic Coast, with inland pit stops in Ocala and Okeechobee. It really provided an opportunity for Tim to flex his love of Florida muscles. And, in turn, it was the novel which reignited my love and passion for the state. Needless to say, I became quite the regular customer at my library.

     As I was devouring the novels in a manic effort to play catch-up, I started realizing this series had a lot of connective tissue. Characters would return, events from previous novels were constantly being referenced, etc. And the novels were often anchored to real life events, like the 1997 World Series. This revelation was the original seed which grew to become what is now this website. So, I began making notes for each novel, tracking characters appearances, distilling each novel into a workable timeline, and making lists – oh, so many lists!

     Whoever said, “Never meet you heroes, because they’re sure to disappoint you”, certainly never met Tim Dorsey. I met Tim for the first time in 2014 at a book signing for Tiger Shrimp Tango. It sounds silly now, especially for those of you who knew him, but I was so nervous! In my defense, I was there to give him a sample of my take on his novels – Electric Barracuda – and was nervous about what he would think of my project. Imagine my surprise (and relief!) when Tim called me the next evening.

     We talked on the phone for like an hour that night. Tim was in the middle of his tour, sitting in his motel room (probably with the room’s AC unit half torn apart!) and was thrilled by my ‘Cliff Notes’ take on his novel. Not only did he enjoy it, but he insisted his fans would also like it. As the years went by, we’d keep in touch either by phone or email. Tim was always there to help answer a question, give advice, and make suggestions for places to visit during my numerous research trips to Florida. During the height of the pandemic in the summer of 2020, he even sent me the fourth draft of what was yet-to-be-titled Tropic of Stupid to keep me company during the lockdown.

     As my project got underway, I quickly realized it was high time I got back to my home state. As a boy, my parents were great about taking me to the beach, Walt Disney World, etc. But now, thanks to Tim's books, I’m learning about places like the mysterious Loop Road, the Key’s bat tower (R.I.P.), Spook Hill, the Desert Inn (R.I.P., too), the Pier II bar in Okeechobee, Red’s End of the World, and countless other places which Tim’s skill as a storyteller made irresistibly fascinating.

     Since 2016, I’ve made about a dozen trips to Florida, armed with a detailed list of places to see that would rival even the most ambitious of Serge’s treks across the state. At the risk of sounding immodest, I’ve visited about 95% of the places Tim has mentioned in his series. For those of you who have taken ‘Serge tours’ of Florida, you’ll understand when I say that every time I roll up to a location, the corresponding scene in the novel comes flooding back into my mind. I’ve had to sneak or con my way into some places; but for the most part, whenever I approach a place and tell them the truth – that their place is featured in a Tim Dorsey novel – the red carpet rolls out instantly.

     I took my dad along for the ride on the first couple of trips. While my parents were great about child-friendly trips to Disney World, etc., working full-time back in the 1970’s didn’t exactly leave much free time for us to explore the nooks and crannies of the state. With Dad serving as copilot, we would take weeks-long trips up-and-down both coasts, crisscrossing across the interior for good measure. And me clicking away with my camera every step of the way. Dad’s gone now, but – thanks to Tim Dorsey – I have some very special memories of us on the road that I’ll cherish forever. When Dad passed away, I made sure to let Tim know how grateful I was for this unpredicted byproduct of his work.

     Of course, during our trips, Dad and I spent about half the time visiting our family still living in Florida. My aunt (Dad’s sister) has proven to be an excellent partner-in-crime. During the tour of the JFK nuclear bunker on Peanut Island, she was more than willing to lag from the tour group and take a picture of me sitting at President Kennedy’s desk. And, as for gravesite hunting partners, one couldn’t ask for anyone better. If it weren’t for her keen eye, I doubt I would have located half the Florida Highwaymen graves in the Fort Pierce / Vero Beach / Gibson cemeteries.

     My cousin Jeff (See, I told you I’d get back to him!) recently began his own literary journey into the madcap misadventures of Serge and Coleman. He’s reading them in order, and at the time of this writing, he’s on Torpedo Juice. Not too soon after his exposure to Florida Roadkill, he firmly put his shoe up my butt and said, “Let’s get this website going.”. Honestly, if it weren’t for Jeff’s urging and tech-savviness, what you see before you would still be just a collection of word documents gathering digital dust on my hard drive.

     One final note: A couple months before my most recent research trip in December 2023, I reached out to Tim. I was planning on exploring the Islamorada and Keys locations featured in his last couple of novels and wanted to see if he’d like to meet for lunch. Around mid-November, I started getting a bad feeling because he hadn’t replied. I learned of Tim’s passing the day before I was to hit the road. Shell-shocked is the only word I can think of that describes what I felt at that moment.

     For those of you who were fortunate enough to have known him, you know how special a person Tim was. For those who weren’t fortunate enough, he was – despite his fame and notoriety – one of the most humble and down-to-earth souls you’d ever want to meet. Tim was as much a fan of his fans as they were of him. His extraordinary literary talent was matched only by his talent at being a good and decent person. Although he will live on through his body of work and our memories, he will be missed.

     This website is dedicated to you, the fans, and to the memory of Tim Dorsey. Here’s to you, Tim. If there were ever a reason to bend the “I follow nobody” rule, it’d be you, my friend.

Shula!

Special thanks to the kind and generous people at: 

Palm Beach Historical Society

Florida Keys History Center

Tampa Bay Historical Society maps and photos serge stoms

     Hi, I'm Jeff, a born in New York and raised in central Florida, where the sun shines, the gators roam, and Publix reigns supreme. I should know—I worked at Publix for a whopping 38 years, starting as a front service clerk and working my way up the ladder to store manager. After I finally hung up my apron and retired in 2022, I thought I’d spend my days traveling with my wife and yelling at squirrels to get off my lawn. But instead, my cousin Rob introduced me to something that changed my life: the wild and wonderful world of Tim Dorsey novels.

    One book in, and I was hooked like a bass in the St. Johns River. I’ve always been a fan of history, and Florida’s past is a treasure trove of strange and fascinating stories. Tim Dorsey manages to capture all that and more, blending historical tidbits with his own brand of hilariously chaotic storytelling. When Rob showed me all the research he’d done on the historical references and adventures hidden in Tim's books, I was blown away. Who knew there was so much Florida history tucked between the car chases and madcap adventures?

    Now, I’ve never built a website before in my life—HTML might as well be a brand of cereal as far as I'm concerned. But I had an idea and enough free time on my hands to make it happen. I wanted to share Rob’s incredible research with other fans and create a space where we could all appreciate the genius of Tim Dorsey. So, sergescartrunkcompanion.com was born. It’s a place for folks like us to dig deeper into the history, humor, and sheer madness of Dorsey's world, where the truth really is stranger than fiction.

    I hope this site adds a little extra joy to your reading experience. Who knows, you might even learn something between laughs. Welcome to the ride—just make sure to buckle up, because with Tim Dorsey, you never know where you’re going to end up!

Jeff