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, December 3, 2013

Considered Graphics for Second Edition

When I was completing the second edition of Killer of Killers for the release coming soon, I considered using some graphics for each chapter title page. I got the idea from Penumbra Publishing, which uses some kind of related graphic above the chapter titles of each chapter. For instance, in my book, The Vase, above each chapter title, they used a black and white picture of a vase, which I thought added some class to the book.

So for the second edition of KOK, I thought about using a common martial arts image, of a fist and hand. I found the image I was looking for, which was this:


 ...but the black background looked too bold, and too square, and it just stood out way too much, so I doctored it up some on my computer and turned it into this:
As you can see, I eliminated that square black background by changing it to white, which just blends in with the white pages and gives the impression that the image is independent of any background at all. It's way less imposing, I think.
 
But ultimately I changed my mind. I considered that it might only result in formatting problems, which would turn into an unnecessary headache for Nancy, my Melange publisher to deal with, so it didn't make the final cut. Not to worry, though. I did change the font on the Title Page for the title, and for the title on the blurb, and for every chapter title in the book. And that did add a lot to the overall look of the book.
 
But it's really all about the writing. Graphics won't turn bad writing good, and I am very satisfied with the writing at this point. More than satisfied, really, I'm ecstatic. And with nearly the entire book rewritten to be consistent with 3rd person limited POV, and other prose improvements, it needs no further enhancements.

By the way, right now, the PRINT copy is reloaded. So anyone who wants the PRINT version to hold in their hand, to physically turn paper pages, then it's ready to buy. Just click on the image to the right and the Lulu link is where you go for your print copy. For digital copies, though, better wait another couple of days. I'll let you know.

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