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 14, 2010

Make that MS even better

So you think your manuscript is done, and you’ve started submitting it. You find publishers interested, and you send the full. One wants to publish it. Before you commit, you figure to read through it again, just to make sure. No problem, you think to yourself, because the last time you did that it was good to go after a couple minor revisions, maybe a word or two here and there. For sure this time, it will be a clean read.

But no. And it’s not just a word here and there. I’m finding whole sentences in need of revision. And not just one or two. It’s very upsetting. Why? Because I have documented so many times on this blog that no matter how many times you believe your manuscript is finished, there’s always going to be places in it that can be improved.

And it’s particularly upsetting because THE VASE is under review with several publishers right now. I can’t just contact them and say, ‘Hey, read this new improved version.’ You can do that with your agent, but that’s as far as it goes.

There’s only one consolation to finding imperfections in a manuscript that’s on submission. If it’s accepted, there will be more revisions anyway. It’s why editors exist, after all.

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