Douglas Brunt: Interview at Politics and Prose with Megyn Kelly
“Part fairy tale and part cautionary tale, Brunt’s third novel follows the life of a tennis prodigy from early promise to full stardom. Driven by personal ambition and shaped by coaches, Anton Stratis lives the dream of professional tennis…”
“Trophy Son”: Excerpt
In the end, man shapes the world, but the world gets the first crack at us. We’re not much more than a puddle before we’re two years old, and then more years to develop so we can survive on our own. Until then we take in more impressions than we give.
Doug Brunt on CBS This Morning
“New York Times best-selling author Doug Brunt is out with his third novel, "Trophy Son." It chronicles the intense and isolating life of Anton, a young tennis prodigy. Despite the highs that come with each win, Anton struggles with his identity off the court. Brunt joins "CBS This Morning" with more on his new novel.”
In ‘Trophy Son,’ Fictional Character Accuses Real Life Tennis Stars of Doping
By Stuart Miller, New York Times
The professional tennis trainer Bobby Hicks claims nearly everyone at or near the top of the men’s tour uses performance-enhancing drugs.
“It’s pervasive in tennis and has been for years,” Hicks said.
And he is willing to name names, starting with Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and David Ferrer.
There is one catch to these very public accusations: Bobby Hicks is a fictional character.
Hicks appears in Douglas Brunt’s new novel, “Trophy Son,” which will be released next week. It tells the story of Anton Stratis, a tennis prodigy whose childhood is stripped away by an ambitious father who nurtures talent and resentment in his son. Stratis, his entourage and his rivals are all made up.
Today: Douglas Brunt on his novel ‘Trophy Son’
Kathie Lee and Hoda welcome best-selling author Douglas Brunt, who talks about “Trophy Son,” his novel about an overbearing father who pushes his son to become the world’s greatest tennis player. He talks about how sports takes kids away from family time and reveals that he and his wife, Megyn Kelly (who’s watching), are already discussing the issue in relation to their three kids. Watch the interview here.
Town & Country: “A New Novel Explores the Dark Side of Professional Tennis”
There's a moment in the novel Trophy Son where a friend reminds main character Anton Stratis: "The bigger the star, the bigger the sacrifice." It's a theme that runs throughout the book, which follows tennis prodigy Anton as he deals with an obsessive and overbearing father, navigates the competitive world of professional sports (and the performance-enhancing drugs that inevitably come with it), and struggles to figure out who he is outside the court.
Trophy Son… is at once a fascinating look inside this milieu and also a cautionary tale about the dangers of our achievement-obsessed society. Below, author Douglas Brunt talks to T&C; about the sports world, the domino effects of early excellence, and how he plans to raise his three kids with wife Megyn Kelly.