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, March 21, 2011

Virtual Tales Publishers

I’ve been pleased with the process so far at Virtual Tales. They have the author’s forum, which includes all the people associated with Virtual Tales, and they post about anything that has to do with their experiences regarding their books, the publishing process, and the company in general. I mean everybody posts something about something. Most of the authors are actively posting, the editors are posting, the Promotion/Marketing Director posts stuff about marketing and promotion, and the top guy, David Law, posts something once in a while.

I’ve only posted congratulations to new authors who have signed on after I did, but when I have more to say I will post more, and I certainly want to contribute as so many others do. Some people even post their personal business, and that’s OK, I figure it’s a way they can express themselves. It’s not what I would do, but, hey, only I am going to do what I would do.

I would call it a community of authors, and what these authors have in common is that they (we) are all Virtual Tales authors. I truly believe that the books offered by Virtual Tales are great books, and I will get to reading some of them soon. But right now, as most of you already know, I am 100% involved in the editing process of THE VASE, and I have time for only that.

Don’t forget, being married with kids means you have got to portion a good chunk of your time to the wife and kids. Yesterday, for instance, I spent the better part of the day helping my little son read through a kid’s version of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. And then we had to write a first draft for a special type of book report assigned by his teacher. So just as soon as I have my part of the editing done, which will be soon, I will be looking forward to some of the stories my fellow VT authors have written.

I’m particularly looking forward to RIVER BOTTOM BLUES by Richard Bush. It’s a debut novel by a former teacher and current music critic about a killing in the music world. I believe it's due to be released this summer, and I should be ready to read by then. So it will be good timing.

OK. That’s all for now.
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  1. Ricky BushMarch 22, 2011 at 7:20 PM

    Thanks for the kind words! Looks like the release of RIVER BOTTOM BLUES will be closer to September or October according to the publication schedule. Oh, and I do know how time consuming those edits are. Seems like I've read my manuscript a hundred times now, but it all paid off. Now, get back to editing.

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