Questions About "Topless Delivery"

Q:   How did you come up with the title “Topless Delivery”?

A:   The title “Topless Delivery” is actually a double entendre. Is the driver topless, or is his delivery vehicle topless? The latter is actually the case. David drives a dark grey 2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse convertible, the perfect car for those hot summer days in Myrtle Beach. I know from experience. I bought mine in Myrtle Beach in May 2007 and drove it until it was totaled in July 2009. I replaced it with a black 2004 Mitsubishi Eclipse convertible, which I still drive today.

Q:   What motivated you to write this book?

A:    After a long delivery career spanning nearly 20 years, including 3 summer seasons in Myrtle Beach, I decided to write a novel based on some of my experiences while I was living and working in Myrtle Beach.

Q:    How would you describe the genre of this book?

A:    I would describe this book as a three-way hybrid of romance, erotica, and documentary with some humor thrown into the mix.

Q:    What is the central theme of this book?

A:    The central theme of this book is change; specifically the changes that our narrator, David Lawrence, seeks to make in his life and his career as his 40^th birthday fast approaches. Ashley Cooper is also seeking to make some changes to her own life as she turns 30. They find in each other the strength they need to make those changes in their lives.

Q:   What is the significance of the sex scenes throughout the book?

A:    The significance of the sex scenes revolves around the rediscovery of David’s manhood after many years of repression, both internal and external, due to his limited social skills resulting from Asperger Syndrome as well as his strict Catholic upbringing. Many of the ladies around him see him as a nice guy and a good friend, but never as a potential date. Ashley, as an exotic dancer and model, has exactly the opposite problem. Many men see her as a potential sexual conquest and not much more. Their relationship evolves over the course of the book from a purely sexual fling into something much deeper as they learn from each other what true love and friendship are really all about. Writing these sex scenes tastefully and without using any profane language proved to be my greatest challenge in writing the book.

Q:    How did you develop the character of Ashley Cooper?

A:     I derived the name “Ashley Cooper” from the names of two rivers in South Carolina, the Ashley River and the Cooper River.  Ashley Cooper is the embodiment of my ideal woman. She is beautiful, brilliant, sweet-natured, and possesses a great sense of humor.

Q:    Is the character of David Lawrence a thinly-disguised version of you?

A:    David is very similar to me in many ways, except with a few biographical details changed around. He is best described as the man I want to become.  He and I share many of the same quirks, hopes, dreams, and desires.  Readers are encouraged to pay particular attention to David’s character in order to get to know me better.

Q:    Why did you write the diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome into David’s character?

A:     I wrote the diagnosis into David’s character order to raise awareness of this neurological condition. I am currently researching and writing a book on Asperger Syndrome from a deeply personal perspective, having the condition myself.  My goal is to complete this book by the end of 2012.

If you have any questions about the story that are not answered here, please be sure to ask them in the comment section of this blog post.  Thank you for your input and support.

Welcome to "Topless Delivery - The Myrtle Beach Experience"

Driving around Myrtle Beach in a convertible during the Summer Tourist Season may seem like a dream job, but there is a lot to the picture than meets the eye. Fighting traffic jams, waiting for elevators in crowded hotels, and dealing with impatient customers are all part of the delivery driver's life. During my 20+ years of delivering pizzas in such diverse places as Champaign, Illinois (home of the University of Illinois) and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (a special place where "Sex on the Beach" does not necessarily refer to a mixed drink), I've pretty much seen it all. Cruising around with the top down made the job a lot more fun.


After seeing what I've seen and experiencing what I've experienced over the years, the time had come for me to write about some of my experiences. Sitting at a table at a Deja Vu Showgirls club in Hammond, Indiana, where I celebrated my birthday in July of 2008, I whipped out a pen and a sheet of paper and began to write what became the outline for my first novel, "Topless Delivery - The Myrtle Beach Experience". Here I began to reflect on my delivery and management experiences...the good, the bad, and the ugly...and searched my mind for those experiences that would be worthy of sharing with the world. A friend of mine asked me to write down everything that I really want for my life. After about four months of reflecting and writing my story, I used the novel to write down all of my desires in life, from the kind of job I really want to the kind of woman I want to marry...in great detail. My narrator is the kind of man I want to become.


A funny thing happened on the way to the Forum. After I had completed "Topless Delivery", I realized that there was indeed more to the picture than meets the eye. A few months after I completed that novel, I wanted to write another novel...picking up where the first novel left off. I recently completed a sequel to "Topless Delivery", called "Forever Autumn - The Myrtle Beach Experience Continues," to answer the question, "What happens to a delivery driver once he hangs up his delivery bag for the last time?"