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.




Friday, May 18, 2012

Two Ways to Edit/Revise

I'm still revising KILLER EYES, of course, and I expect to be focusing on that over the summer vacation. But when I get KILLER OF KILLERS sent to me from my editor at Melange, it will be all about that.

One way I revise is to read it from beginning to end and make the changes I see fit from that perspective. And it will be like that with KOK when I review the edits. But another way is to read it from chapter to chapter, and not necessarily in chronological order.

There are advantages and disadvantages in both ways. If you bounce around, you might lose the context in which a passage was written in the first place. But it also gives you a new perspective on the scene and in the writing.

My advice is to do it both ways. That way, you don't miss the advantages. You get the best results. It's how I did KOK, and it turned out great.

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