Will iconic images recorded in the grooves of an ancient vase unite the Holy Land or rip it further apart?

THE VASE

A novel by Mark M. DeRobertis

Muhsin Muhabi is a Palestinian potter, descended from a long line of potters. His business is run from the same shop owned by his ancestors since the day his forebears moved to Nazareth. The region's conflict saw the death of his oldest son, and rogue terrorists are in the process of recruiting his youngest in their plot to assassinate the Pope and Israeli prime minister.

Professor Hiram Weiss is an art historian at Nazareth’s Bethel University. He is also a Shin Bet operative on special assignment. With the help of fellow agent, Captain Benny Mathias, he plans to destroy the gang responsible for the death of his wife and only child. He puts a bomb in the ancient vase he takes on loan from Muhsin’s Pottery Shop.

Mary Levin, the charming assistant to the director of Shin Bet, has lost a husband and most of her extended family to recurring wars and never-ending terrorism. She dedicates her life to the preservation of Israel, but to whom will she dedicate her heart? The brilliant professor from Bethel University? Or the gallant captain who now leads Kidon?

Harvey Holmes, the Sherlock of Haunted Houses, is a Hollywood TV host whose reality show just flopped. When a Lebanese restaurant owner requests his ghost-hunting services, he believes the opportunity will resurrect his career. All he has to do is exorcise the ghosts that are haunting the restaurant. It happens to be located right across the street from Muhsin’s Pottery Shop.




Friday, August 6, 2010

Just Do It

Back to the outline. It's amazing how I wrote my first novel with no outline. KILLER OF KILLERS needed a lot of revisions, though, over a year's worth, but still, the first draft flowed.

When THE VASE worked just as smoothly with an outline, and without the major adjustments KOK had, I figured the outline was the way to go.

So, after I wrapped up THE VASE, I proceeded to write the sequel to KOK with an outline. AARRGGHH.

I've documented how I've struggled with changing the events. I thought I had it hashed out. But you know what? It's back to the drawing board. No, I'm not starting over again from scratch, but I am REWRITING THAT OUTLINE. Instead of trying to insert this and delete that, I am putting it all down on the original outline, and from there, I'm making sure everything works just right. The people need to be in the right place and at the right time. They have got to have the right motivations to do what they do, and everything must be timed just right.

I don't want any of the WTF moments to be lost in the resolution. (Apologies to Nathan Bransford for borrowing that term.) And yeah, it's a reference to the show Lost, that he talked about on his blog.

Anyway, I believe in tying up loose ends, and if takes longer to do it, and more of an effort, then JUST DO IT! I've got two more weeks to kill before the teachers report for duty, so let's see if I can wrap up this first draft by then. But I promise this: I won't cop out on a logical and satisfying conclusion. This is my baby after all. So it's got to be as good as it possibly can be.

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