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.




Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Finished, But...

All right. Last night I made it all the way through that second round of edits. And even had some time to review some of them. But I wasn't fast on the trigger, and I didn't send it back to Penumbra yet. No, I've learned by now to not be so quick. Instead, I'll go home after work today, and review those edits. Even the ones I've already reviewed. Of course, the amount of revising wasn't as much as the first round, but still there seems to be a lot, and I even had to rewrite a couple paragraphs. I'm using Track Changes, this time, and when you do that, the original wording is left on the document, but it's crossed out, and combined with using comments in the margin, which also highlights the relevant text, it can look a little confusing and/or convoluted. So I put the clean rewritten versions of the two paragraphs I rewrote in the comments, just to make sure they are clear on how those two paragraphs are supposed to read. Bottom line, the manuscript has never been better. I believe it could pass the inspection of even the toughest literary police out there. I'm hoping it gets the chance. It's a winner.

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