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 18, 2015

Inside the Outhouse breaks the 10,000 word range

As slowly as I'm writing Inside the Outhouse, it's actually an event, for me at least, to have reached the 10,000 word range. It's not uncommon for MG/YA books to only have 40,000 words, which means it's possible I'm one quarter through the story right now.

Does that mean I'm only planning it to be a 40,000 word story? I'm not even sure. I don't think it's going to be that short. It may or may not be my shortest novel. Right now my shortest novel is Second Chance - a Football Story, and it's 86,000 words, more than twice as long as a typical MG/YA novel.

I suppose MG/YA novels vary in length as do all novels. Just how long will Inside the Outhouse be? I won't know until it's done. As for where in the story does 10,000 words put the story of Inside the Outhouse? All I can say is it's still in the beginning stages. Which means there's a lot of writing left to do. We'll see how that goes.

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