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, December 7, 2011

Goal: Finish WIP by end of Year

My WIP is longer than any of my prior books. It's at 102,000 words and on the home stretch. Last night I was writing the scene where Lord Chelmsford seeks out John Dunn and let's him know how he really feels. After all, the general had just lost about a thousand soldiers at the Battle of Isandlwana, and he's not a happy camper. So he tells Dunn to help him, or else.

I've been waiting to get to this point because I have Dunn's memoir, and Dunn writes about that event. It's when he agrees to assist Chelmsford. But Dunn makes it clear in his memoir that Chelmsford is not one of his favorite people. Not by a long shot.

So, the Battle of Gingindlovu is next and then the end of the war, as the British finally overwhelm the Zulus and capture their king who happens to be Dunn's best friend. Dunn is not happy about any of it, and he never sees his friend, the Zulu king again.
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