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.




Wednesday, October 5, 2011

No Surprise Ending

Well, I've just about caught up in my rereading of my WIP, John Dunn, and I am relieved to find it flowed smoothly enough. It didn't get bogged down, and the conflict is building up well. I should get to page 265 tonight, which is where I left off and the war is about to start.

But I don't think there will be a surprise ending. Everyone in Natal, well, the white people, anyway, knew there could only be one ending to that war. They would win it. It's why they went to war with the Zulus in the first place. I don't suppose anyone would go to war if they thought they would lose it. But history is full of examples of losers starting wars.

But not this time. Of course, the British did get a shock at the start of the war. Known as the Battle at Isandlwana, it was the first major battle of the war and a resounding defeat for the British. But they doubled their efforts, and won the war in the end. As they expected.
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