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, September 19, 2014

Final "Read-Through" Worthwhile for Killer Eyes

I'm reading through Killer Eyes one last time, and even though I'm only on page 27 right now, I've made enough minor changes to make this final read through worthwhile. Just little stuff. Nothing major. But the little things, in just the first 27 pages, do mean a lot to someone who's a perfectionist, like me. The first book, Killer of Killers, is as perfect as can be, and being the sequel to Killer of Killers, Killer Eyes needs to be just as perfect.

And I must admit, that as I read through it, I am very impressed with how great it's turning out to be. The writing, the story, the plot, the subplots, the climax, and the conclusion all work, and they work very, very well. It's an exciting story, a very intriguing one, and one of the reasons for that is how I've incorporated some real history into the story.

What history? Nanking. The rape of Nanking, or the Nanking holocaust. It was committed by the Japanese army in the 1930s, and not many people, at least not many American people are even aware of it. But it happened, and it's a part of the story in Killer Eyes. How can the rape of Nanking be part of a martial arts story? Buy a copy of Killer Eyes when it comes out, probably by the end of this year or early next year. Then you'll see.

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