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, October 15, 2010

To Blog or Not to Blog

There has been a debate on some blogs that it really isn't necessary to blog, or to network, or to have a platform. The usual advice is to do all of the above. Even Twitter. Whatever that is. I have no clue how to Twitter, and I'm not even sure I know what it is. Is it something like email? As far as I can tell, it is. Or is it more like texting?

Anyway, the argument against it is that authors such as J.D. Salinger were very reclusive, and they didn't need to do any of that. But now, the trend is to be outgoing, get known to as many people as you can BEFORE you are published, and I admit I have fallen for that concept, and I'm not sure I am right to do so.

I was a lurker for a long time on many blogs, learning about the publishing business, and I learned a lot. Then I started commenting on one or two, and then, finally, (last May) I started my own blog. But I am not sure I agree with the necessity of it. I mean, authors were successful before the internet. They didn't rely on cyberspace.

But then again, I'm a guy who didn't get a computer or even a cell phone until years after they became available. I'm an old school type, but I eventually get with the program. I suppose it's called progress.

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