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.




Thursday, April 26, 2012

Why Do People Kill?

The news is currently filled with stories about killers and the people they killed. And it makes me sick. I'm not talking about killers who killed as a result of a fight or some kind of altercation. I'm talking about psychopaths or sociopaths who kill innocent and unsuspecting people, some of whom they never even knew.

What prompted this post was an article in the news today that said the police just arrested someone for the murder of a teenage girl whose body was found in a river. It reminded me of the little girl whose body was found floating in a lake, stuffed inside a suitcase. And then there were the recent multiple murders here in the Bay Area: one at an Oakland college (seven people killed,) and one at a San Francisco residence, (five people killed.)

And these incidents are just the tip of the iceberg. There seems to be a limitless amount of people out there who, for some reason, believe they can just murder innocent people who have done nothing to them. They just murder them. And often in a very brutal and horrible fashion.

And on top of all of that, there is a faction in our society who seem to relate to or sympathize with the murderers. They want us to feel sorry for the MURDERERS! I shake my head at them. If it was THEIR daughter or son who was murdered, I bet they wouldn't be so forgiving.

I have no compassion for these murderers. ZERO. And it's one of the reasons I wrote KILLER OF KILLERS. The main character is a lot like me in that regard. Like me, he is tired of murderers murdering innocent people, and then being acquitted. In the story, the string of acquittals has reached an unprecedented number. And no one is doing anything about it.

When I began writing the story, I had no reason for it happening. But after I started writing, I developed it into a more complex and intricate plot. The MC uncovers the truth behind the killings and the acquittals. Yeah, it involves a drug. A drug that had been recently invented to cure all disease. But it had side effects. Homicidal rage being one of them.

It was inspired by these real life situations, but I couldn't just leave it at that. It's fiction after all, and I had an obligation to entertain the reader. Otherwise no one would think to publish it. Yeah, KILLER OF KILLERS. It's one heck of a story. And my favorite book.
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