Introducing DRANK MYSELF STRAIGHT, a novel by Troy Broussard!

This novel is available for purchase in paperback and eBook now!  Click the link below to ORDER TODAY.

On a January afternoon a couple years back, I was entertaining my friend Rob Taylor with a story.  Laughing, he challenged me to write the tale into a script.  I explained that I didn’t know how to write a script, but accepted his challenge to write something for him.   The following September, on his birthday, I delivered the first draft of what had morphed into a full-blown novel entitled Drank Myself Straight.

An excerpt from Chapter 13:            

Kristy Phillips & me at La Griglia with an advanced copy of Drank Myself Straight.

As the third quarter began, Paisley wanted to see the lake.  I walked with her across the road separating the front yard from the water’s edge.  The wharf shook as we trod upon it, disturbing a blue heron resting on a cypress knee; its graceful ascent skyward caused Paisley to gasp.  Curtains of Spanish moss swayed and a pair of rainbow windsocks filled and deflated in the sultry breeze.

              “Did your mom hang the windsocks for gay pride?”

              “She has no idea they have meaning—she just thinks they’re pretty.  They’re pretty rainbow colors.”

              She laughed heartily.  “Does anyone plan to tell her?”

              “I think it’s funny when Gray is fishing and guys on jet skis pass real slow to check him out.”

              “He has no clue it’s the international gay friendly signal?”

              “No idea he’s being cruised.  One time he was shirtless, a Gayjun rode up on a Sea Doo and tried talking to him.”

              “What’d he do?”

              “He yelled at him for scaring away the fish!”

              “That guy was barking up the wrong tree.”

              “I’ve never had such luck.  I sat out here with a fishing pole for a week after he told me about it.”

Only a couple months prior to that January day, I had finished writing a novel called Hunkering Down—historical fiction about two brothers Brad and Gray Benoit who ride out Hurricane Gustav.  With the characters fresh in my mind, I was able to fast-track Drank Myself Straight because I simply reused the protagonist, Brad Benoit, and his relationships.  All I had to do was make Brad gay…

Drank Myself Straight is told from the point of view of Brad.  Though his best friend Jubal and his brother Gray are notorious womanizers, Brad keeps his sexuality a guarded secret.  But when a series of risque mishaps leads to his outing, one lady in his life still finds him to be a catch.

Within the often salacious circumstances and comical anecdotes, the relationships between gay men and straight women are examined.  There are also observations about acceptance and homosexuality in the Deep South.

An excerpt from Chapter 9:     

Drank Myself Straight by Troy Broussard.

As summer transitioned to fall, only the tallows changed colors, but the chilled air was change enough.  Time passed since Jubal and I returned from Galveston.  But upon our return he confirmed my homosexuality to my brother who, in turn, obliged in informing our parents.  It was my official outing. 

               My family acted knee-deep in shame, blaming each other for what caused such a calamitous outcome. 

               Dad called Mother for the first time since their divorce to remind her that he did not want me to wear sandals when I was little; she assured him that sandals did not turn their son gay.  He then recalled the Christmas when she let me try on her new mink and, reaching even further, remembered catching her singing Georgy Girl to me one night instead of a lullaby.  

               With a classic nature versus nurture rebuttal, Mother reminded him that he had two uncles who never married—and collected antiques. 

               But the father of a thin, compulsively neat bachelor who sends thank you notes, has a separate drawer for gloves, owns four kinds of bath salts, and six kinds of tea should have gotten the hint long before Jubal’s confirmation.

               Gray stated that he knew since we were little, that when Mother made us alphabet soup, I would always choke on D. 

               It all sounds hilarious, but it was not so funny to me.

One criticism from my small group of beta readers was that the book was too short, especially in comparison to other novels.  I am flattered that people wanted more and I continued to improve and revise until the last proof.  I am blessed to have a group of friends who are intelligent, hard-working, innovative, and witty, but they are not a group of avid readers.  Drank Myself Straight is a short novel—longer than Breakfast at Tiffany’s by 8,000 words—and was partially designed with those friends in mind.  Perhaps my crowd represents an untapped market of Americans who find a short, pithy manuscript more palatable than Gone with the Wind, The Gold Finch, or anything thicker than People Magazine.

I can remember a fascination with writing from a very early age.  My Grandad Robert Prather taught me the basics of typing at ten-years-old.  And in 2002, I attempted my first novel length manuscript which I completed in 2004 (Jake the Vampire).  I write a lot—I’ve completed several novels.

And after so much time of telling my friends about things I write, a finished book was long overdue.

But please be aware, this novel contains adult situations and strong language, and is not suitable for all audiences.

So please buy a copy or two—one to share.  The large trade paperback is $13.49 and the eBook is only $2.99.  I encourage everyone to write a review on Amazon.

Thank you, spread the word, and enjoy the read!

ISBN-10:  1986815803

ISBN-13:  978-1986815802

ASIN:  B07D8H6PCR

Library of Congress Control Number:  2018904070