Guest Post: Extraordinary Rendition by Paul Batista

Extraordinary Rendition

By: Paul Batista

Pub. Date: May 1, 2013

Publisher: Astor + Blue Editions LLC

Pages: 380

When Ali Hussein—suspected terrorist and alleged banker for Al Qaeda—is finally transported from Gitmo to the US mainland to stand trial, many are stunned when Byron Carlos Johnson, pre-eminent lawyer and the son of a high-profile diplomat, volunteers as counsel.  On principle, Johnson thought he was merely defending a man unjustly captured through Rendition and water-boarded illegally. But Johnson soon learns that there is much more at stake than one man’s civil rights.

Hussein’s intimate knowledge of key financial transactions could lead to the capture of—or the unabated funding of—the world’s most dangerous terror cells. This makes Hussein the target of corrupt US intelligence forces on one side, and ruthless international terrorists on the other.  And, it puts Byron Carlos Johnson squarely in the crosshairs of both.

Pulled irresistibly by forces he can and cannot see, Johnson enters a lethal maze of espionage, manipulation, legal traps and murder. And when his life, his love, and his acclaimed principles are on the line, Johnson may have one gambit left that can save them all; a play that even his confidants could not have anticipated. He must become the hunter among hunters in the deadliest game.

Written by no-holds-barred-attorney Paul Batista, Extraordinary Rendition excels not only as an action thriller, but as a sophisticated legal procedural as well; tearing the curtains away from the nation’s most controversial issues.

Provocative. Smart. Heart-pounding. A legal thriller of the highest order.

 WHEN WHERE AND HOW DO YOU WRITE?...

I hear this question many times.  And the answer is: "wherever, whenever, and by any means possible."

Here is just one example.  I have been a long-distance runner for many years.  I often take a hand-held voice recorder with me and dictate into it as I run.  I do get puzzled looks from fellow runners, but over the last few years as more and more people use cell phones all the time, even while running, I get fewer and fewer quizzical glances as I speak into a recorder. I'm blessed to have an assistant who doesn't mind typing from dictation, and I find that after a six mile run my dictation translates into four or five written pages. Listening to my panting, almost breathless voice on the tape could make you think I’m doing something other than running. Since I run in places as diverse as central park, long island, and whatever city I happen to be in, the answer to “where do you write?" is "all over the place."

As to "when do you write?" the answer is any time during the day when I can. I still practice law because I enjoy it, but it's demanding work.  There are times during the day when I can start or finish a scene in a new novel but those interludes don't last for more than fifteen minutes before I have to take a call or leave for court.  And I can even write when in court, because a judge often takes a long time before appearing on the bench, and that enables me to write while waiting rather than staring out the window.  A great deal of my writing happens in the quiet hours of the night.  I'm one of those people who'd rather write about intrigue than watch "CSI."  It would be nice to have the kind of routine some writers have   with a set schedule of writing from 8 to noon, as if it were a job.  I admire that discipline; I will say that on a day when I don't write I get that empty feeling that the day was not as well-spent as it could have been.

About the author: 

Paul Batista, novelist and television personality, is one of the most widely known trial lawyers in the country. As a trial attorney, he specializes in federal criminal litigation. As a media figure, he is known for his regular appearances as guest legal commentator on a variety of television shows including, Court TV, CNN, HLN and WNBC. He’s also appeared in the HBO movie, You Don't Know Jack, starring Al Pacino.

A prolific writer, Batista authored the leading treatise on the primary federal anti-racketeering statute, Civil RICO Practice Manual, which is now in its third edition (Wiley & Sons, 1987; Wolters Kluwer, 2008). He has written articles for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The National Law Journal.

Batista's debut novel, Death's Witness, was awarded a Silver Medal by the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA). And his new novel, Extraordinary Rendition, is now being published—along with a special reissue of Death’s Witness—by Astor + Blue Editions.

Batista is a graduate of Bowdoin College, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and Cornell Law School. He’s proud to have served in the United States Army. Paul Batista lives in New York City and Sag Harbor, New York.

You can pre-order Extraordinary Rendition now at Barnes & Noble and Amazon!