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.




Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Happy Holidays

I hope everyone had a happy holiday. It's an interesting time. Used to just say Merry Christmas, but now it's gotta be Happy Holiday. It's a religious holiday, of course, and there's not just one religion. Sure all the different branches of Christian celebrate Christmas, I think, with perhaps a couple exceptions, but they are the exceptions. Then there's the Jewish faith which celebrates Hanukkah at about the same time, and the many other religions who don't celebrate anything this time of year.

But for me, it's about writing. Yeah, I have a family, and spent the time well with them. But I'm getting writing done during the times everyone is asleep. Like over the summer. I can afford to stay up late and write. That's when I get the most done. Some people tell me that they write in the early morning, like six to seven or eight in the morning. Not me. I'm really not a morning person. And it's just as well, because when school's in session, I've got to be in my classroom during those hours anyway. No time to write then, so I shouldn't be getting used to writing during those hours.

For me, it's about ten or eleven at night to when I start getting sleepy, which is about two or three. You get a lot done during those hours. No kids calling for dad. The wife's asleep. The phone's not ringing. The dog next door isn't barking. Yeah, nice and peaceful. Just the way I like it.

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