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.




Saturday, December 23, 2017

Good News, Bad News

Yes, there is both. Good and bad news. Let's start with the good news. It's not all that monumental, but good news is still good news. And that is The Vase is better than ever. I've always said that rewriting makes a book better. And The Vase sure is better. And that's because I've been rewriting it for the past couple of months big time.

Yes I sent the first hundred pages to Macmillan Australia. And I've even rewritten some of those pages as well. I've got a couple months under the belt now with that submission. That leaves four more months to wait as they said it takes about six months to get back to you.

So in the meantime I've just been rewriting the prose of the story. Certainly the story is the same. But with the prose so much better, that can only help my cause. Fingers crossed.

Now the bad news. And that is yet another of my publishers is going out of business. Or in their (her) words it's "closing." That would be KRP, AKA Knox Robinson Publishing. I got the word a few days ago. Yes it is sad. I thought KRP had a lot of potential, not just for my books, but for all their books. I thought they were going nowhere but up. And with two of my books on their list, Second Chance and John Dunn, I was glad for that.

But not to be. But this bad news carries with it a silver lining. And that is the same silver lining that the closing of Penumbra Publishing had. Which is now I have another chance to rewrite those two books also. And I certainly will. Not that the writing actually needs to be improved. I've already pointed out that no matter how good the writing is, it will always get better with rewrites.

I'm focused on The Vase right now. And then I'll get back to John Dunn and Second Chance. And once the rights to those two books are reverted back to me, I'll start submitting them again for publication. It's a chance to crack the Big Five again. I will take that chance and I'll make the most of it. Which is exactly why I'm considering the closing of KRP a silver lining. Like Penumbra and The Vase, the books will be a lot better, and the chance to crack the Big Five will be highly improved.

So, really, I can't wait for it all to happen. I'm so thrilled with how good the writing is in The Vase, and I'll have the same thrill for John Dunn and Second Chance. As for Macmillan Australia? Like I said. Fingers crossed. The New Year has a lot to look forward to.

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