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.




Friday, February 17, 2012

Second Revision Completed on WIP

Last night I completed the second read-through of John Dunn, Heart of a Zulu, which is my fourth and latest novel. I liked how it turned out. My only concern when I wrote it was the ending, and I think the ending works well. The Battle of Ulundi is the climax of the story, and the capture of King Cetshwayo and then John Dunn's return to eMangeti, (his home in Zululand,) is the denouement.

So now I think it's ready for the Beta readers. My brother, a lawyer in Hawaii, won't be ready to read it until March, he says. But I would like for Barb to check it out, too. Who's Barb? Well, Barb was the first person to follow this blog. She writes historical fiction, too, and she had made a few comments during the course of my blogging on the progress of this book.

But something happened, and I see that she is no longer on my list of followers. It could be that she took down her own blog, which I read from time to time. But now I can't find it.

So Barb, if you are still there, and if you are reading this, please contact me and I would like to send you the attachment of this manuscript for some feedback. OK? Ok.

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