Driving Crazy

by Randy D. Pearson

Jay Naylor thought winning the Crazy Climber auction would be the hard part. Man, was he ever wrong! With his best friend Austin Ridenour by his side, Jay takes to the streets in this wild, hilarious adventure. During their journey from Lansing, Michigan to Weedpatch, California and beyond, they’ll run headlong into adversity, desperation and their fair share of lunatics. They’ll need every ounce of their luck and ingenuity if they hope to get this classic arcade game, and themselves, home in one piece. Our heroes would rather spend their time seeing the sights, but they can’t. They’re too busy… Driving Crazy.

258 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Randy D Pearson’s creativity and love for the written word came about at an early age. His first creation, a cartoon book entitled The Adventures of Marvin and Randy, was concocted at age nine as a birthday gift for his father. From there, he began writing creative fiction on his Atari computer.

Randy’s writing has been featured in several publications, including the Washington Square Review, Pets Across America: Volume 3, Voices from the Ledges, Fiction 440: Volume 1, and Retrocade Magazine. He also received 2nd place in the Lansing Community College portion of the 2011 LAND (Liberal Arts Network for Development) short story contest.

His debut novel, Driving Crazy, was published nationally in June 2015. It received rave reviews, both locally and internationally.

Randy's next work is his short story collection, Tell Me a Story. It will be released April 23, featuring over 36 short stories with a fun and funny "Tell me a story!" storyline weaved throughout.

Reviews

[G.S. Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful read about two best friends on the road in search for their “Holy Grail,” a Crazy Climber arcade game. Not unlike Odysseus, they bravely face all the trials and tribulations that their search entails. Somewhere along the way they not only find what they seek, but they also find themselves

[Mick Mcart · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a busy author and illustrator, I spend much of my free time writing or drawing, so I rarely get to do any reading for fun. I met Randy at an art show and we exchanged books. I'm glad I did because I really enjoyed reading this fun book. It was easy to read and unpredictable. It's pretty much a buddy comedy about two slackers off on a quest to get a Crazy Climber video game. I laughed quite a few times in this book and highly recommend it to people looking for a chuckle. I hate to admit it, but I think there's a little bit of Jay and Austin in me, I miss those old games...and I snore like a bear! :)

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun and funny read about an intentional journey with very unintentional turn-of-events. Randy's writing is loose and fun and his characters are both 3-D and likeable!

[Diana Duell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this would be a fun read and it was, but it had more depth than I anticipated. The first half of the book was fun, the second half had human kindness as well as fun. I liked the ending.

[Michelle Croal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book from the author at a local book festival. It was such a fun read! The characters Jay and Austin are likeable and you can't help but root for them to get through all the scrapes and trouble they get into. They travel from Michigan to California and back, and then down to Florida as well, all in the name of acquiring a Crazy Climber arcade game, running into various thugs, kids, bikers, kind-hearted souls and flirtatious women along the way.

Pearson paints vivid descriptions of the towns, the dive bars, the characters and the period, accurately capturing what it's like to take a road trip across the US in 1999. Looking forward to this being made into a TV series.

Write on Randy!

[Reza Beha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny and interesting, especially for a Michigander. The book is hard to put down once you've started it. This road-trip adventure really brings out the reader's wanderlust.

[Dre · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was fun thrilling quick read that had me smiling at the end. The two main characters will live in my head as if they’re real people and I will be thinking periodically what they will be up to!