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.




Monday, October 30, 2017

Nice Review for Second Chance

Okay, I'll bite. Got a nice review for Second Chance. On Amazon. Don't know why getting reviews seems to be as hard as pulling teeth. The big time authors seem to get reviews as easy as standing in the wind. It seems like before even their books are released they've already got a hundred or more five star reviews listed on Amazon for their books. Which begs the question. If their books aren't even released yet, just how did so many people get ahold of those books, read them, and be in the mood to write such wonderful reviews about them?

It makes me suspicious of course. It could be the system is rigged. How could it not be. But shouldn't I be glad for an author's great reviews? I am. But how is it they get so many reviews so quickly, and again, before their books even hit the stands?

I know there are people who make a living by being paid to write reviews. I would never pay for one, but I've given a couple free copies for reviews. Only three or four on Goodreads. And then I stopped. I don't want to do that anymore. It's not like the reviews are skewed. Sometimes the reviews are good, sometimes they're not, sometimes, they're mixed, but overall it's a waste of time.

I figure the best review is the unsolicited one. Which again brings me back to those reviews which number in the hundreds, even thousands for some of these authors whose books aren't even out yet. Unbelievable. As for Second Chance? It just made two.

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