“Original storytelling at its best. A perfectly curated blend of wit, humor, and horror.”
German fans have been captivated by the Monster Lawyer series—a wildly entertaining urban fantasy saga where courtrooms meet creatures, and justice gets a paranormal twist.
From his humble beginnings as a successful but jaded attorney, Daniel Becker’s transformation into a monster-defending legal sleuth has delighted fans with its sharp humor, unexpected heart, and wonderfully bizarre cases. Whether representing misunderstood magical creatures or bumbling through supernatural investigations, Becker is as flawed as he is lovable, and fans can’t get enough.
“A funny, warm-hearted, and surprising story. An unreserved recommendation.”
“A light, easygoing read – entertaining, self-deprecating, and clever. I’ll definitely buy the next one.”
Critics praise Buckingham’s unique premise — a lawyer who defends monsters — as an “original and engaging” blend of fantasy, crime, and comedy, full of quirky characters, magical chaos, and courtroom suspense.
“More suspense, more fun…extraordinary cases and creatures from page one.”
“Monsters also have rights—and Daniel Becker is the lawyer to defend them.”
With every new installment, the series grows richer, stranger, and more hilarious. Readers and listeners alike love how Becker stumbles through his supernatural cases—sometimes suspecting the wrong creature, sometimes biting off more than he can chew—but always fighting for justice with a big heart and even bigger determination.
“Wonderfully unconventional…I love the mix of fantasy, suspense, and humor.”
Now in Book 3: Lawyers and Other Monsters, Daniel Becker must defend a pot-smoking dragon trapped in the Seattle Zoo, prevent a love god’s deportation, and survive his own day in court as the defendant! With more twists, more magic, and even more monsters, the latest installment promises to be the most entertaining yet.
Readers are loving my Monster Lawyer series. But don’t take my word for it. Check out the 200+ 4/5-star reviews for Im Zweifel für das Monster and Monster Anwalt.
There’s a lot of mystery for authors in the world of publishing with few concrete answers. For years, it’s been tough to find people who will talk openly about, well…anything. I once asked an agent whether anyone talked about their author earnings. The response was a sideways glance and the comment, “Well, if you want to air your dirty laundry….”. Huh.
Fast forward to this spring (17 years and 14 books into my life as a traditionally published author) when I discovered the Publishing Rodeo Podcast by two authors Sunyi Dean and Scott Drakeford. They both debuted books in 2022 through the same publishing house and quickly realized how different their experience had become due to support (for Sunyi) and lack thereof (for Scott) from the publisher. They decided to band together to offer an open discussion about their experiences and observations and have done an excellent job pulling back the curtain on everything from advances to marketing support and retaining rights to negotiating deals.
I’ve corresponded with both Sunyi and Scott, and they’ve been overwhelmed with the response from authors dying to give and get real information about publishing from the source–other published authors. For decades, agents and editors have advised not to talk about, well…anything. Let them take care of it, they say–“you just write, oh, and market yourself.” It’s led to a pervasive control issue–they control the information. I probably don’t need to explain why a business practice of ignorance of one’s own profession is harmful to authors because (1) it should be apparent, and (2) Scott and Sunyi do it for me. 🙂
I highly recommend this podcast for all authors, whether you’ve written your first novel or 50th.
One of the coolest things to happen with one of my books? When Demonkeeper, my first published novel, was adapted into a stage play and performed live. The magical woman who pulled it off, Deb Currier, was an associate professor of theatre arts at Western Washington University and recently posted an excerpt from the documentary about the project.
An original script and production of “Monster Keeper,” adapted from the YA novel, “Demon Keeper,” by Royce Buckingham, summer 2014. An all-ages mainstage production scripted and directed by Deb Currier; scenic and projection design by Luke Freeborn, Costume/Puppet design by Monica hart; Beast Puppet design by Rachel Anderson
Go on location in Seattle with Author Royce Buckingham. Royce, a lawyer who grew up loving monsters, takes you on a tour of the real places where events in his unreal story unfold in the Monster Lawyer series.
Im Zweifel für das Monster (In Doubt for the Monster) is published in Germany. Book 2: Monster Anwalt (Monster Lawyer) comes out October 18, 2023. Rights available in all other territories.
Can’t read German? Listen to a live reading in English by Royce HERE.
Okay, so the Fall 2022 Random/Penguin House catalog for Germany is out. This is the catalog that goes to booksellers…like Barnes and Noble, Village Books, etc.
Monster Lawyer (by me) is the second book listed under fantasy. This is an “I’m #2!!!” victory, which is awesome by itself. But that’s not all.
Many huge titles get a full page in the catalog. I’ve shown the Game of Thrones page below as an example 10 books–one page. The Star Wars books (written by Terry Brooks, R.A. Salvatore, George Lucas and other random authors of some repute)–two pages.
And Monster Lawyer? One book–two full pages (fun pics below). Wow! Love it. Cautiously optimistic about its lauch. Aww, screw it…crazy excited for the Halloween launch. They’re calling it “Unsere gruseligsten fantasy-titel zu Halloween.” Yeah, I didn’t know either, but Google translate says: “Our spookiest Halloween fantasy title.” I’ll take it!
Looking forward to going to Germany to promote it in October. The last two times my publisher supported/marketed my books like this we ended up on the bestseller list, and so I see good things ahead (and dead people, but that’s from Monster Lawyer II, which I’m currently writing–just did a killer whirlpool sucking down a boat at Deception Pass scene…so much fun).
I grew up playing Dungeons & Dragons. This is my original Players Handbook. It got a lot of love when I was a kid.
And these are my two best childhood friends, Mike Francis & Eric Yatabe. We get together every few years.
We played many hours of D&D growing up–sometimes a single game would last for weeks–so we decided to dig out our D&D supplies and play over the weekend as 50 year olds.
I volunteered to be Dungeon Master, selected a classic dungeon module from my original stash (Hall of the Fire Giant King), and studied it. My sons created character sheets. We took over the dining room table. And we played.
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Being Dungeon Master is lot like being a storyteller. The Dungeon Master sets the scene and guides other players through the dungeon, always revealing just enough about what monster, trap, or treasure might be lurking or hidden around the next corner to keep them hungry and surprised. On this occasion the players broke into the castle with a spell that created a hole in the wall, and they trapped the Fire Giant Queen in her chambers. One player died in the fracas, and there was much debate about, well, everything. It was just as intense as when we were kids.
When I write, I tell stories the same way–set the scene, reveal enough to make the reader want to know more, and let the tale unfold naturally according to what the characters would do. I also think its infinitely more fun to show readers what’s going on than telling them–a mantra pilfered from my creative writing instructors in days of yore.
So…the game was still awesome. And relevant. I highly recommend a reboot for you elders who grew up with it. And, for my younger fans, it’s never too late to pick up the dice!
Royce Buckingham has done it again. He’s penned the amazing new medieval fantasy, Die Klinge Des Waldes (Verlagsgruppe Random House – Blanvalet, Germany) due out this fall. Royce took a few minutes to talk about writing fantasy, his newest project, and how it’s connected to his best-selling Mapper Series (Penhaligon/Blanvalet).
Q: Why do you write? A: Because I have so many stories in my head. If I don’t get them out, they’ll drive me crazy!
Q: What’s your favorite genre? A: Medieval Fantasy. I used to like horror stories best. Then I had kids, and horror movies lost their luster. Teens getting killed in the woods doesn’t intrigue me now that I’m not a teen and I have a couple of them. I do still love a good monster story.
Q: What is it about Medieval Fantasy? A: I like the idea of chivalry that is associated with the (loosely interpreted) time period. I’m not sure if people actually were chivalrous, but the concept makes for good character motivation, hypocrisy, and internal conflict. The other fun I have toying with the medieval genre goes back to Dungeons & Dragons, where I learned to imagine medieval scenarios. I have a strong vision of what fantasy medieval worlds can look like.
I also like the low-tech setting. In my new novel, Die Klinge Des Waldes (BLADE to my US fans), I have an inventor who designs and builds things that I get to dream up. They seem fantastical, but possible. It’s hard for me to write sci-fi these days. With the advances in the technology of our time, it’s difficult to imagine innovation beyond what innovators are actually doing. We’ve been wowed to death by amazing tech. It’s easier for me (and fun) to imagine what might be astound people in medieval times.
Q: What’s an example of that? A: A mechanical elephant in a medieval world would be fascinating. In our modern world it would be an internet sensation for maybe a day. So when I create my mechanical elephant with flames coming out of its trunk and crossbow bolts shooting from its tusks my characters (and audience) say “how can that be?” or “that’s amazing!” instead of “huh, cool, what else is on youtube?”
Q: Where do your stories come from? A: A couple of places. One is the drama of real life–problems anybody might have like, “oh no! I’m going to get killed and I don’t want to….” That’s a real problem now and in medieval times. In fact, it was likely extra-challenging to live and survive back then. Other everyday drama can include things like “I don’t love you” and “you’re fired.”
I also ask myself, “what if?” The answer is then the story. For Die Klinge Des Waldes, I thought “What if you took a Disney princess and had awful things happen to her? How would she handle that?” The answer in my world is: not very well initially.
The ways people deal with conflict is what makes for a good story. The more challenging, the better. The struggles of a fallen princess are especially awesome.
Q: Die Klinge Des Waldes (Blade) features a strong female protagonist. In your dozen or so previous books you’ve used primarily male protagonists. Did writing a female change your approach to this story? A: The Mapper Series had a female protagonist in one book, and I enjoyed working with a female lead. Building on that experience, this character is even more well-developed. She should appeal to both men and women. Her struggles are very human and mostly genderless (such as “I don’t want to get killed”), but she lives in a world where being female has its own unique challenges.
Q: What drives your stories first–character, plot, world-building? A: It used to be the plot, but now I am more character-focused. Readers like characters. If readers love the character, they want to see what that character will do, even if the conflict is as simple as, “what’s for dinner?” For this work, I focused more on our princess’s evolution than the events around her. But of course a zebra can’t change its stripes. There are still some big plot twists!
Q: How else has your writing evolved? A: My world-building has gotten better. When you read Die Klinge Des Waldes, you experience a complete and detailed world. Having environments that are really developed is fun for readers. It’s very much like Game of Thrones, in which the world is extensive and has many distinctive characters and locations. The city I’ve created in Die Klinges Des Waldes has 35-districts, each with its own personality. It’s almost like Munich, Barcelona, Lagos, Seattle, Tokyo, and Rio all pushed together beside each other to form one big city, only its medieval.
Q: What is your favorite district? A: The Carnival District! And it’s the favorite of the city’s citizens as well–parties, performances, politics, and a crazy/brilliant Duke who runs the show. I’m pretty sure it’s also the favorite of my editors who created a blow-up of the carnival castle and circus tent on one of two beautifully illustrated maps for the novel.
Q: Yes. Tell us about the maps! They seem to be an important part of your medieval fantasy books. Can you talk about that? A: It started with my second best seller in Germany, Die Karte Der Welt (The Map of the World). My publisher, Blanvelet, asked me to sketch a map. I scribbled out an amateur diagram so they knew where the landmarks were, and they hired professional cartographer, Andreas Hancock, Bielefeld) to create a real map for the entire Map of the World series. Super cool. In my new novel, the world is so extensively developed that, even though the story subject wasn’t maps, my editors wrote and said, “I know you’re busy, but can you sketch up another amateur map of your world so a professional can draw it?”
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Q: Was that a fun process for you? A: Oh yeah. Yes! I have to admit I really dig making maps. In fact, I got a little obsessive and spent a week re-reading my entire 600 page novel to get every location right. Then I sketched it like a kindergartener…or at least a kindergartener with Photoshop. I also wrote three pages of detailed notes about the map. Random House hired a professional who translated all of the materials I provided into beautiful maps for the interior of the novel. It was awesome!
I don’t think every author gets that much creative input with their novels’ artwork. My publisher did, however, reject my cover idea. They said my concept was too polarizing, and then they sent me the beautiful cover they had already created.
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Q: What do you love about Die Klinge Des Waldes? A: I love Flora. She’s a complex person. She starts simple and becomes very complicated. It’s like watching her grow up, only there are wars and swordplay and mechanical elephants that shoot flame from their trunks.
Q: Why should other people love the story? A: It’s big and cinematic and intimate at the same time. We get to know a lot about Flora, and then we get to see her on a huge stage trying to deal with disasters, triumphs, and everyday problems, like the overthrow of entire kingdoms and spats with her older sister.
Q: What’s different about this story from others that you have written? A: This is an adult story, and so it is different than my bestseller Damliche Damonen (Demonkeeper) in the same way that Game of Thrones is different from Lord of the Rings.
Q: What’s next for you? Any new projects on the horizon? A: Yes. I am always thankful that my editors believe in my work. I am currently writing another medieval fantasy with Blanvalet. It’s due at the end of the year, and I expect will be released some time in 2019.
Q: Is Die Klinge Des Waldes going to be available for U.S. fans to read? A: I certainly hope so. I will be taking it to US publishers soon. But that’s a new blog entry entirely…. Stay tuned!
ROYCE BUCKINGHAM 