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.




Thursday, June 4, 2015

News Flash! Contract Offered for John Dunn book!!

I never post twice in the same day, but the news flash is, as the headline says, a publisher, (Knox Robinson,) has just sent me an email offering me a contract for John Dunn, Heart of a Zulu!!

This is big news for me. Knox Robinson Publishing is a print run publisher with offices in New York and London! So this is very exciting for me.

They are not one of the Big Six, however, and I did submit to three of the Big Six publishers, and I'm waiting on their replies. But wait a minute. How did I manage to submit to Big Six publishers without an agent? After all, weren't agents the only ones allowed to do that?

Well, my relentless research uncovered a way to do that. At least four of the six Big Six publishers (or three of the five if you count Penguin and Random House as one) have imprints or International offices that will accept submissions from authors. So that's how I did it. And those three are sitting on my John Dunn submissions right now. How much more time will it take them to decide? When I asked my brother, the lawyer, what to do, he stated the old adage: A bird in the hand...

Knox Robinson is not one of the Big Six, but they are a step up, (maybe two steps up) from my current POD publishers, Melange and Penumbra. Now, be clear about this. I have great relationships with both Melange and Penumbra. In fact, Melange is in the process of publishing my third book, Killer Eyes, right now. Killer Eyes will be released as soon as next month.

The only knock on POD publishers is they don't usually publish hard bound copies and they have no placement in bookstores. And that's the reason I was seeking a bigger publisher who can make those things happen. So I've got some serious thinking to do. Regardless, this is a big day for me!

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