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, December 31, 2012

Last Post of 2012

So it's been a good year. My first book got published in 2012. Killer of Killers was my first book, so it's fitting that it got published first. My second book, The Vase, will be published second. Still not 100% sure which publisher will publish it. I have a contract in hand. An offer has been made, but another publisher who offers higher royalties is considering the revised manuscript right now.

So, even though I haven't seen the entire contract, I only know the royalties, I suspect I will go with them, if they do offer the contract. Yeah, there might be some sticking points, but then again, there might not be. I'm pretty experienced with contracts now. I've been offered, let's see, one, two three, four, five of them to this point, NOT including two others from agents.

Of the three publisher contracts I signed, Virtual Tales was a good one, Cogito was a bad one, and Melange was acceptable. But this latest one, is also acceptable. It just depends on which of the latest ones is best. We'll see.

But as far as the year o 2012 is concerned, Killer of Killers is published, and I'm working on polishing up the sequel, Killer Eyes right now. I will submit it to Melange. They will be the publisher for that series. It seems right. They were the ones who took a chance on it, and I hope it continues to do well. Killer Eyes is the continuation of that story. And I plan on wrapping it up with one more. I'll call it The Killers Guild. Hopefully I can write that one this summer. We'll see.

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