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.




Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Multiple Manuscripts

How many different manuscripts can you work on at the same time? I used to only focus on one at a time, but lately that's not the case. Right now I’m reading through THE VASE again, and revising it still. But I really call it a completed manuscript, so much so that I have submitted it to several publishers. It doesn’t mean I’m not still working on it though as this latest reading proves.

I’ll probably read through KILLER OF KILLERS again and more than likely find enough in need of improvement that it, too, can be considered a WIP.

I’m in the thick of revising KILLER EYES, and it’s a long way from anything close to completion. And I’m in the beginning stages of INSIDE THE OUTHOUSE, my first effort toward an MG/YA novel.

So that’s four different novels I’m working on right now, but I’m concentrating on making THE VASE as good as it possibly can be.

It’s a good feeling when you’re reading your own work and you find yourself thinking to yourself what great writing it is.

It would be great if an editor thought likewise. Oh, but there’s that subjective thing again. Still, if what I’ve read in bookstores can be considered good writing, then I believe I have a chance.

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