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, August 8, 2012

Got to get back in the groove

That means I have to go back to work. I didn't make it yesterday, so to work I go today. If nothing else, I'll see what kind of disarray the summer custodians made of my rooms. Are the tables and chairs back where they're supposed to be? They haven't been for the last few years, so I don't expect them to be this year.

Once I have my rooms back in order, the rest of the job is routine. You know, welcome the kids back, go to teacher meetings, attend Back to School Night, yeah, the old routine. And then back to teaching kids how to draw and how to sculpt in clay. That's the fun part.

Speaking of clay, this latest revision to THE VASE is about done. And that means I'll be submitting it again. It's a heck of a story. Original, unique, and any other synonym you can think of. Funny thing is, I don't make vases, myself. Just sculptures. But so what. I'm still an expert in clay. And so is the main character in THE VASE, Muhsin Muhabi.

But he has an easier job. All he has to do is sell vases in the Old City Market in downtown Nazareth. I have to manage 30 plus kids in a classroom. Oh well. Such is life.
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