William Leibowitz has been practicing entertainment/media law in New York City for a number of years. He has represented numerous renowned creative people and many leading intellectual property companies. William has a Bachelor of Science degree from New York University (magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa) and a law degree from Columbia University. He lives in the village of Quogue, New York with his wife, Alexandria, and dog, George.William wrote Miracle Man because of its humanistic and spiritual messages and because he feels that in our current times--when meritless celebrity has eclipsed accomplishment and the only heroes are those based on comic books, the world needs a real hero--and that, of course, is Robert James Austin, the protagonist in Miracle Man.
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About the Book:
REVERED REVILED REMARKABLEThe victim of an unspeakable crime, an infant rises to become a new type of superhero. Unlike any that have come before him, he is not a fanciful creation of animators, he is real.So begins the saga of Robert James Austin, the greatest genius in human history. But where did his extraordinary intelligence come from?As agents of corporate greed vie with rabid anti-Western radicals to destroy him, an obsessive government leader launches a bizarre covert mission to exploit his intellect. Yet Austin’s greatest fear is not of this world.Aided by two exceptional women, one of whom will become his unlikely lover, Austin struggles against abandonment and betrayal. But the forces that oppose him are more powerful than even he can understand.Miracle Man was named by Amazon as one of the Top 100 Novels of 2015, an Amazon Top 10 thriller, an Amazon bestseller and an Amazon NY Times bestseller.
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As a book bloggin’ and book luvin’ Princess, I’m always
curious to find out how authors got the ideas for their books. How did you come up with the idea for your
book?
I wanted to create a believable modern day “super hero” who is an “anti-celebrity” and isn’t a comic book character. I thought that such a person could be inspirational when contrasted with the meritless celebrities that dominate media today (e.g., the reality TV stars who are famous for being famous, but have no real talent.) My protagonist, Robert James Austin, is this person.
Can you tell us what your book is about?
Miracle Man tells the story of Robert James Austin, the greatest genius in human history (we’re talking 10X Einstein’s brain power), from the time of his birth and tragic childhood through his extraordinary accomplishments in curing diseases. The book is a psychological/medical thriller with a fast paced twisting plot as Austin battles powerful forces, external and internal, that seek to destroy him.
Can you tell us a little about the main characters
of your book?
The protagonist, Robert James Austin, possesses an extraordinary intelligence the likes of which has never previously existed. He’s a highly complex person, both psychologically and spiritually, and begins in his childhood to suffer intense nightmares and to fall into prolonged trances –conditions that continually get worse as he gets older and makes progress in his quest to cure diseases. His extraordinary intelligence and relatively undeveloped social skills are self-isolating. Nevertheless, he yearns to be loved. In fact, there is a very powerful love story in Miracle Man that readers have really latched on to.There are several antagonists, but one of the most interesting is Column McAlister, the CEO of a major pharmaceuticals company. He is obsessed with stopping Austin from curing diseases because each time Austin does so, one of McAlister’s “cash-cow” symptom -treatment drugs becomes obsolete. McAlister is a sinister and highly resourceful politically connected “Big Pharma” magnate.Orin Varneys, is the head of two U.S. government agencies that interact with Austin throughout Miracle Man. The first of these is the OSSIS (Office of Special Strategic Intelligence Services), which discovers, nurtures, educates and then seeks to direct and control Austin as it views him as an “intelligence weapon.” Ultimately, Varneys rises to become head of the CIA and in that capacity he hatches a bizarre plan to exploit Austin.Christina Moore, is a beautiful and extremely intelligent PHD of mathematics, with a tragic past. She becomes Austin’s love interest.
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what
would that be?
Always be your own toughest critic and don’t think you’re finished until you know that you have done the absolute best that you can.
What would you say is one of your interesting writing
quirks?
Once I start writing, I become so immersed that I completely lose track of time.
Do you hear from your readers? What do they say?
I’ve been fortunate to have gotten a great number of very positive book reviews from readers and many have emailed me to discuss the book and its characters. This has been so rewarding – for a new author that kind of support and encouragement is wonderful.
What is the toughest criticism given to you as an author?
My favorable reviews outnumber my unfavorable by many multiples. On Amazon, I have over 730 reviews with a 4.2 overall rating----so I am extremely fortunate. But there are always some cranks who are so negative that you wonder if they read the same book as the people who loved it!
What has been the best accomplishment?
Being able to express myself creatively and at the same time getting readers to consider certain humanistic and spiritual messages that are important to me that I was able to convey in Miracle Man. One of the underlying themes in Miracle Man is the sanctity of each and every human life. As the story of the protagonist unfolds, I think the reader will come to appreciate that one can never predict the ramifications of one person’s death. Robert James Austin should have died as a new born, but he was saved in the most unlikely of manners; he then went on to change the world in extraordinary ways. We all are bombarded every day by statistics of death –how many people died in the latest war, or from famine, or epidemic or other manmade or natural cataclysm. People’s lives are jumbled together by the media as meaningless numbers. But what I want the reader of Miracle Man to think about ---is the individual. That’s why Miracle Man begins with the quotation from Scriptures – “To destroy one life is to destroy an entire world, and to save one life is to save an entire world.”I also wanted to get readers thinking about a real-life problem that affects us all. One of the powerful forces fighting Bobby Austin is “Big Pharma” which views him as their enemy since he cures diseases and thereby makes many of their “cash-cow” drugs obsolete. In short, Austin is bad for their business. Like Austin, I find it incomprehensible that virtually no major disease has been cured in over 50 years. How can that be the case when so much money has been spent over the decades on research? Simply put, there’s a lot more money in treating symptoms than there is in curing diseases. Austin realized that Big Pharma has no interest in curing diseases. It just wants to keep on selling expensive symptom treatments –and as we know, many people are on expensive ‘medication maintenance programs’ for years, sometimes for life. Austin wanted to change that. I think people need to start questioning Big Pharma on many fronts –from the price of drugs -- to why there aren’t more cures.---So what I tried to do in Miracle Man is first and foremost to write an entertaining book that engages readers and keeps them turning the pages. But within that entertainment context I wanted to get my readers thinking.
Do you Google yourself?
Of course!!!!
How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?
None. I’m working on my second book now.
Do you have anything specific that you would like to say to
your readers?
The saga of Robert James Austin is a trilogy, with Miracle Man being the first book. There will be many surprises –both as to plot and character. Things aren’t always as they seem.
William R. Leibowitz is giving away one autographed copy of MIRACLE MAN, 5 e-copies and 4 pens!
Terms & Conditions:
- By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.
- Ten winners will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive prizes.
- This giveaway ends midnight May 31.
Good luck everyone!
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