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.




Sunday, April 2, 2017

Found the Perfect Actor for Cetshwayo!

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is the one. I know I was thinking about David Oyelowo playing the part of Zulu king Cetshwayo, but I had some problems with that. Oyelowo is too short and he doesn't look like a king.

Well, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is not too short. Like the real King Cetshwayo, Adewale is 6' 2" tall, and look at these pictures! He looks like a king. I mean talk about perfect casting. This guy is as right for the part of Cetshwayo as Sean Connery was for James Bond. Like William Shatner was for Capt. Kirk, and like Leonard Nimoy was for Spock. Like Robert Conrad was for James West and like Clint Eastwood was for the Man With No Name! And like Henry Cavill would be as John Dunn.

But Adewale is 49 right now, which means his window for being Cetshwayo is closing fast. Cetshwayo was in his forties during his kingship of Zululand. Adewale still looks youthful enough. I suppose he will look the part for another ten years.


Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje with a beard
Like Dunn, Cetshwayo had a beard, so I found a photo of Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje with a beard. And I can imagine him wearing the leopard skins of Shakan royalty in a show in which he stars as the Zulu king.

You know, I would make a great casting director, seeing as how I can find the right actors for the right parts. Maybe my talent is restricted for the characters that I either created, (Trent Smith, Samanth Jones, Susie Quinn, Muhsin Muhabi, Naji Muhabi, etc.) or those characters about whom I've written, (John Dunn, Cetshwayo, etc.) But whatever.

Btw, David Oyelowo could be cast as Cetshwayo's younger brother Dabulamanzi and that nails it. If my John Dunn book is ever made into a movie, or TV show, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is the one and only actor to play King Cetshwayo. Henry Cavill is John Dunn, Candice Patton is Catherine Pierce, and David Oyelowo is Dabulamanzi. Bingo. The main parts are nailed!

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