About the Book
Book: Maxine Justice: Galactic Attorney
Author: Daniel Schwabauer
Genre: Science Fiction
Release date: March 29, 2022
Can Justice Save the Earth from Extinction?
Maxine Justice is an ambulance-chasing lawyer desperate for relevance and cash when aliens hire her to represent them before the United Nations. An off-planet consortium wants to heal humanity of every natural disease in exchange for 30% of Earth’s gold reserves.
The deal launches Max to legal stardom and makes her an international target for assassins. New Pharma, Sky Cross, MediCorp—the big medical companies all have good reasons to want Max out of the way. Worse, she discovers her alien clients may be planning something more sinister than anyone has imagined.
Can a lawyer who failed the bar exam three times find some way to save the world from global and interstellar conspiracies? Or will humankind’s future end in a galactic courtroom?
Click here to get your copy!
About the Author
Daniel Schwabauer, M.A., is a lifelong reader of speculative fiction. He studied the genre under science fiction great James Gunn before graduating with honors from Kansas University’s Masters program in Creative Writing. Winner of the Eric Hoffer and Ben Franklin awards for his middle grade fantasy series, The Legends of Tira-Nor, Daniel enjoys riding his motorcycle on country roads and pondering other worlds. He lives in Kansas City with his wife and dog.
More from Daniel
What in the World is a Galactic Attorney?
Maxine Justice: Galactic Attorney started as a short story concept I began twenty-five years ago but never finished. Back then I thought it would be interesting to write about a hostile takeover of the planet by aliens. But instead of using advanced weaponry and space ships, my aliens would conquer Earth the way modern corporations subsume smaller competitors—through the law.
The main problem with my original story idea was the lack of a suitable hero. It wasn’t until 2018 that an off-handed remark from my daughter provided the inspiration I needed to rethink the entire storyline, and an irrepressible, snarky young lawyer named Maxine strode into my imagination and began a hostile takeover of her own.
Yes, this story was going to have aliens in it, but the aliens were not humanity’s real problem. Our real problem was the medical industry. And the insurance industry. And the Department of Justice. And the whole legal profession. Our real problem was ourselves. (Maxine’s problem was that she had no money and no clients, though she did have an axe to grind and a very good reason to give it a fine edge.)
What if Maxine’s search for real solutions to our most corrupt systems led her to realize that Earth’s doom may not come through the cleverness of intergalactic adversaries, but via the corruption of its apex predator?
Could Justice save Earth from extinction then?
Author Interview with Daniel Schwabauer
What’s your favorite under-appreciated novel?
The Crying For a Vision, by Walter Wangerin, Jr., is an absolute masterpiece of narrative fiction. It’s not just great writing, it’s great storytelling. The characters, setting, and voice all weave a theme that lingers in the soul without ever calling attention to itself.
If you had to do something differently as a child or teenager to become a better writer as an adult, what would you do?
I wish I could go back in time and tell my younger self to trust that innate desire to write and to tell stories. I’d encourage myself to read more of the books I liked, and write more of the sorts of stories I cared about—regardless of whether or not teachers and professors considered them literary or worthwhile. In short, I would try to give myself the encouragement to practice more when I was younger, and hopefully gain some proficiency at an earlier age.
What comes first, the plot or characters?
For me it’s usually plot, though I can never start writing a book until I know the personalities of the main characters. I can write without the plot; I can’t write without the people. Still, for me the first sign of a story blooming is the arrival of an idea that provokes me to ask storytelling questions. You might say that plot is the airliner that delivers my characters and all of their assorted baggage to the “complaints” kiosk of my imagination.
Who is the author you most admire in your genre?
S. Lewis was such a brilliant communicator, but he was also a master storyteller. He not only wrote nonfiction and academic works, he penned groundbreaking science fiction and fantasy novels—two genres that are not as similar as many assume. But he didn’t just write in different genres, he wrote for different ages. And he did so in a way that has crossed cultural and generational barriers. Besides that, he gave us Puddleglum and Reepicheep. What more could you want in a literary hero?
What do you like to do when you are not writing?
I enjoy long walks with my dogs, biking on wooded trails, and riding my motorcycle down country roads.
Thank you, Daniel, for taking the time to let us get to know you better!
Blog Stops
Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, March 31
Through the Fire Blogs, April 1
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, April 1
Texas Book-aholic, April 2
Inklings and notions, April 3
For Him and My Family, April 4
deb’s Book Review, April 5
Locks, Hooks and Books, April 6
Wishful Endings, April 7
Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, April 8
Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, April 9
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, April 10
Christina’s Corner, April 10
Artistic Nobody, April 11 (Author Interview)
Blogging With Carol, April 12
Inside the Wong Mind, April 13
Giveaway
To celebrate his tour, Daniel is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 Amazon card, a signed copy of the hardcover!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
https://promosimple.com/ps/1c56e/maxine-justice-galactic-attorney-celebration-tour-giveaway