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, April 2, 2012

Talking About Antagonists...

I was talking about antagonists last Friday, but I didn't mention the antagonists in my own books. In KILLER OF KILLERS, there's more than just one. There's a lot. Every killer who Trent Smith kills can be called an antagonist. But there are two main antagonists in the story. Each of them are billionaires. One is Abraham Soriah, and the other is Karl Manoukian. They are the top guys in the secret society of men who have discovered the means by which one will never age.

It's a drug discovered, or funded, I should say, by Karl Manoukian. But in doing so, he ran out of money and brought in Abraham Soriah, the world's richest man to continue the funding of the drug's development that was so close to completion. The only problem with Abraham Soriah is that he is already old, like near 90, and he doesn't want the drug to just halt the aging process. He wants to make the drug capable of reversing the aging process. Does he succeed? Well, you have to read the book. And it's not so easy as that. There are side effects, which they need to overcome, as well.

So where did I get these names? Abraham Soriah? Well, if anyone ever saw that musical movie from the 60s called Paint Your Wagon, there was a song someone sang that had the words: "They call the wind Moriah..." Yeah, for some reason, that came to mind, and I came up with Soriah. Abraham just seemed like a good fit as a first name, so that was that.

As for Karl Manoukian? Well, when I was a kid, my childhood doctor's name was Dr. Manoukian, and I never forgot that guy. So I put together the name Karl Manoukian. Plus, I know names that end with ...ian.... are Armenian names and many Armenians were in Turkey. And this guy is from there. I know about the Turkish/Armenian genocide, but that has no role in the book.

However, there is a genocide from history that does have a role in the book. Especially in the sequel, KILLER EYES. More about that later.

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