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.




Monday, March 7, 2011

Editing Notes

Rolling along with Ti on the editing of THE VASE. She does four chapters at a time, and then sends them to me in an attachment. I loved her edits in chapters 1-4, but like I said before, I didn't use all of them. There are some parts, afterall, that she may suggest a change, but due to sentimental reasons, or even personal taste, I don't make those changes. I mean, there might be some part where the grammar is not proper, but for literary license, it's the way I want it to be. And there's a few places that happens.

Now we're on chapters 5-10, and I've made my first pass through chapter five, six, and I've started chapter seven. But it doesn't mean I'm done with them. I thought I was done with Chapters 1-4, but I went back over them, and sure enough, I made some more changes. Some changes I changed back. Then I changed them again. Then I changed them a different way. Writers know what I mean. And through it all, it is a lot of fun. A different kind of fun than art. It's more similar to writing music. You might write a song one way, and then decide to change it to another way.

Last week, I said I was going to talk about that. I think I'll post something about it tomorrow.

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