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.




Thursday, March 8, 2012

Solar Flares Hitting Earth Today

Just like in my novel, THE VASE, charged particles from solar flares are striking earth today and will result in magnetic storms interacting with our atmosphere. If you click on the title to this post you can read an article that explains it.

I don't want to give away any spoilers, but the sun undergoes what astronomers call a "Solar Maximum" phase every eleven years which result in increased sunspot activity and an increase in the number and duration of solar flares. (You see? All that research pays off.)

Anyway, this is the year our sun is having its "Solar Maximum" phase, and solar flares are emitting a bunch of charged particles that hit earth's magnetic field at tremendous velocities. And when that happens, a whole bunch of electromagnetic phenomena occur.

I use that as a catalyst for what happens in THE VASE, and that's why that story is so interesting. I'm still waiting on those publishers who are considering publishing it. I hope they read the news and know about those solar storms happening right now. As I have already acknowledged in prior posts, timing is everything.

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