Tim Dorsey

Tim Dorsey
Dorsey at a book signing at Haslam's Book Store in 2011
Dorsey at a book signing at Haslam's Book Store in 2011
BornTimothy Alan Dorsey
(1961-01-25)January 25, 1961
Carmel, Indiana, U.S.
DiedNovember 26, 2023(2023-11-26) (aged 62)
Islamorada, Florida, U.S.
OccupationNovelist
NationalityAmerican
Alma materBishop Guertin High School
Auburn University
Children2
Website
www.timdorsey.com

Timothy Alan Dorsey (January 25, 1961 – November 26, 2023) was an American novelist.[1] He is known for a series starring Serge A. Storms, a mentally disturbed vigilante antihero who rampages across Florida enforcing his own moral code against a variety of low-life criminals.

Biography

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Tim Dorsey was born in Carmel, Indiana, and was taken to Florida by his mother at the age of 1. He grew up in Riviera Beach, a small town in Palm Beach County just north of West Palm Beach. Dorsey graduated from Bishop Guertin High School in Nashua, N.H., in 1979.[2]

Dorsey attended Auburn University, where he became the editor of The Auburn Plainsman, the student newspaper; he wrote about racism while at Auburn.[3] Dorsey graduated in 1983 with a Bachelor's degree in Transportation. After graduation, he moved to Montgomery, Alabama, and served as a police reporter for a local newspaper. In 1987, Dorsey relocated to Tampa, Florida, and became a reporter for The Tampa Tribune. Until he resigned from the paper in 1999 to write full-time, he worked variously as political reporter, correspondent in the Tribune's Tallahassee bureau, copy desk editor, and, finally, night metro editor and news coordinator.

Dorsey lived in Tampa with his wife and two daughters and was a Tampa Bay Rays fan. He also still considered himself a Boston Red Sox fan, cultivated while attending high school in New Hampshire as a teen.[4]

Dorsey died in Islamorada, Florida, on November 26, 2023, at the age of 62.[5]

Serge Storms

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Most of Dorsey's novels feature Serge A. Storms as the primary character. The character has several coexisting mental illnesses that render him obsessive, psychopathic, schizophrenic, and frequently homicidal, but Storms serves as the anti-hero in Dorsey's works due to his strong sense of moral absolutism and justice. Serge is intelligent, and frequently devises wildly inventive ways of condemning villains (or at least who he perceives as such) to death. His co-pilot in the majority of his adventures is Coleman, whose personality is the exact opposite of Serge. Whereas Serge is a high-strung straight-edged coffee addict, Coleman is an alcoholic drug user who goes to extreme lengths to maintain his buzz.

Novels by Tim Dorsey

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Order of
Publication 		Order in
Chronology[6] 		Title Publication ISBN
1 2 Florida Roadkill 1999 ISBN 978-0-06-113922-2
2 3 Hammerhead Ranch Motel 2000 ISBN 978-0-380-73234-0
3 5 Orange Crush 2001 ISBN 978-0-06-103154-0
4 1 Triggerfish Twist 2002 ISBN 978-0-06-103155-7
5 4 The Stingray Shuffle 2003 ISBN 978-0-06-055693-8
6 6 Cadillac Beach 2004 ISBN 978-0-06-055694-5
7 7 Torpedo Juice 2005 ISBN 978-0-06-058561-7
8 8 The Big Bamboo 2006 ISBN 978-0-06-058563-1
9 9 Hurricane Punch 2007 ISBN 978-0-06-082967-4
10 10 Atomic Lobster 2008 ISBN 978-0-06-082969-8
11 11 Nuclear Jellyfish 2009 ISBN 978-0-06-143266-8
12 12 Gator A-Go-Go 2010 ISBN 978-0-06-143271-2
13 13 Electric Barracuda 2011 ISBN 978-0-06-187689-9
14 14 When Elves Attack 2011 ISBN 978-0-06-209284-7
15 15 Pineapple Grenade 2012 ISBN 978-0-06-187690-5
16 16 The Riptide Ultra-Glide 2013 ISBN 978-0-06-209278-6
17 17 Tiger Shrimp Tango 2014 ISBN 978-0-06-209281-6
18 18 Shark Skin Suite 2015 ISBN 978-0-06-224001-9
19 19 Coconut Cowboy January 26, 2016 ISBN 978-0-06-224004-0
20 20 Clownfish Blues January 24, 2017 ISBN 978-0-06-242922-3
21 21 The Pope of Palm Beach January 30, 2018 ISBN 978-0-06-242926-1
22 22 No Sunscreen for the Dead January 15, 2019 ISBN 978-0062795885
23 23 Naked Came the Florida Man January 7, 2020 ISBN 978-0062796004
24 24 Tropic of Stupid January 26, 2021 ISBN 978-0062967503
25 25 Mermaid Confidential January 25, 2022 ISBN 978-0062967534
26 26 The Maltese Iguana February 28, 2023 ISBN 978-0063240629

Short stories and Essay collections by Tim Dorsey

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  • Florida Roadkill: A Survival Guide (2010)
  • Squall Lines: Selected articles & essays (2012) ISBN 978-1-47-925806-2
  • Tropical Warning: An Original Serge Storms Story and Other Debris (2013)
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References

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  1. ^ Risen, Clay (December 2, 2023). "Tim Dorsey, Who Turned Florida's Quirks Into Comic Gold, Dies at 62". The New York Times. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  2. ^ Shaw, A. (Spring 2012). Gunfights and Florida History: An Interview with Tim Dorsey. Saw Palm, 6, 25-30. Retrieved from http://www.sawpalm.org/uploads/6/6/2/8/6628902/saw_palm_-_volume_6_-_2012.pdf on 2 February 2022.
  3. ^ Washington, Jesse (2015-02-12). "Up From Leeds". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on 2016-08-13. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  4. ^ interview "In the footsteps of subversives" by Anna Mundow, Boston Globe February 25, 2007.
  5. ^ "Tim Dorsey, who blended crime, comedy in Florida-based novels, dead at 62". Boston25 News. 28 November 2023. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  6. ^ "Tim Dorsey". www.timdorsey.com.
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