Daniel Schwabauer, MA, is a lifelong reader of speculative fiction. His professional work includes stage plays, radio scripts, short stories, newspaper columns, comic books, and telescripting. Daniel's middle-grade fantasy series, The Legends of Tira-Nor, has received numerous awards, including the 2005 Ben Franklin Award for Best New Voice in Children's Literature and the 2008 Eric Hoffer Award.He studied science fiction under science-fiction-great James Gunn before graduating from Kansas University's master's program in Creative Writing in 1995. He lives in Olathe, Kansas, with his wife and dog.

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. MediCorp, Star Cross, PharFuture--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?