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, March 21, 2012

Contracts: Be Careful

KILLER OF KILLERS is getting published in August, and THE VASE has an opportunity to get published, too. But I’m waiting on THE VASE. Why? Because I’ve been down that road twice, and both times didn’t end well.

Of the two contracts on the table for THE VASE, one is a superior contract, but the other is a more established publisher. But I want to consider all options. There’s a British publisher considering the full right now and three American ones. Of the three American publishers, one is a very prominent publisher, one is a major Christian publisher and the other a well-established mid-sized publisher. I would rank them in that order as to which I would prefer. But really, I would be happy with any of them.

But that could change once I see the contracts. And as I said, I’m not going to be quick to sign a contract. Well, it depends on the contract. And with contracts, there are many different aspects about which you’ll want to be careful. And I guess the most important part of a contract is royalties. (But make no mistake; there are many other very important parts to a contract.)

When it comes to royalties, I’m familiar with the industry standards now for both print and eBooks. But some publishers want royalties for movies, too. That’s not right. It's only a dream at this point, that any of my books will get a movie deal, but sometimes dreams come true. And if an author has the good fortune to get a movie deal for his/her book, the publisher should not be expecting a piece of that pie.

It’s not as if they lose out, though. Publishers will no doubt get the benefit of increased book sales as a result of a movie based on a book they published.

At least there is one positive thing about these contracts I’ve signed. I know which ones were good and which one wasn’t. And that will help me with my next one.

BTW, the Melange contract was pretty good.

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