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, April 23, 2012

Revision Options

While I'm waiting for the edits to begin on KILLER OF KILLERS, I've been using this time to revise my WIPs, particularly KILLER EYES, the sequel to KILLER OF KILLERS. But after having read through it once already, I've been spot checking it here and there.

It's because reading it from beginning to end, and making revisions while doing so, is a very time-consuming process. So lately I'm just randomly selecting a chapter or a passage and reading it and improving it right there.

I have found some spots that I've changed considerably using that method. It's weird how I didn't notice the need for those changes as I read through it chronologically. But it happens. I remember with both THE VASE and KILLER OF KILLERS, I found spots that needed changing or adjusting because it was out of sync with the rest of the story.

And I'm looking at this from another mindset, too. For the first time, I'm considering a third book in the TRENT SMITH story, and I am inserting some things into KILLER EYES that might set up that third storyline.

And like I said last week, I might even change the name of the book from KILLER EYES to THE KILLERS GUILD. But I'm not sure. I like both titles and both would fit. We'll see.

UPDATE: It seems there has been some kind of new format change made by the blogging gods. The draft page looks very different, but at least I've figured out how to make the line breaks now. You have to save it from the "Options" tag on the menu.

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