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Abraham Owens may just be a lowly thug-for-hire, but that doesn't mean he's not the sensitive type.
In fact, he's super-sensitive, suffering from a debilitating case of empathy. The only way he avoids being overwhelmed by other people's emotions is through isolation and booze. Lots and lots of booze.
Now, with his reserves run dry and the last of his cash gone, Abe is about to run fist-first into a chaos-loving maniac who's weaponized the local alt-right movement.
But what's a little racism between Nazis, right?
After having the last of his cash stolen in a bar fight, Abraham Owens takes a gig from a former alt-right acolyte who's trying to reconnect with his ex-girlfriend. The kid thinks he has a shot at talking her out of the cult of personality, but first he needs to find her in the middle of a violent white supremacist rally.
Abe needs the cash and, well, it's not like he's got anything against punching Nazis.
This audiobook was an absolute trainwreck ... but hopefully, you’ll never notice.
While this isn’t my first novel, it is my first audiobook production -- and with hindsight being 20/20, I can say I picked the absolute worst possible title to cut my teeth on.
Abe Owens has been a voice in my head since 2017, when I first started writing this novel. So when it came time to record audio, well, I either had to “do the voice” or literally shut the fuck up. And since Punched Drunk is told in the first-person, I not only had to “do the voice”, but I had to do the voice ALL THE TIME.
And of course, if I’m doing a voice for the main character-slash-main-narration, I should probably do voices for the rest of the characters. Granted, no other character had such an extreme or challenging voice, but that didn’t alter the sheer vocal challenge in front of me.
Okay, let me put it this way: a third-person narrative can simply be, well, narrated. Which would be an excellent way for a novice audiobook narrator to cut their teeth. A first-person narrative demands to be performed. And when that first-person voice is murder on this narrator’s throat, resulting in 30-minute max recording sessions ... you can probably see why I elected to not go back and re-record after I fully found Abraham’s voice.
I am a video editor by trade, and this was my first audiobook production -- and let me be clear, I really did produce the whole thing, independently, from start to finish.
That included 16 hours of raw audio for 6 hours of runtime and over two months of editing and re-editing.
It also included all the mistakes a first-time narrator, producer, and audiobook editor would make. From the noticeable -- the evolving voice of Abraham Owens -- to the subtle -- microphone technique, audio quality, and pacing.
For you, the listener, my hope is that Punched Drunk is nothing more than “trashy, pulpy, Nazi-punching fun”. For me, it’s a time capsule, a progress report, and a creative statement: I made that.
I didn’t know how to do it … but I figured it out.
And that’s pretty cool.
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