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, June 4, 2012

Summer is Here!

And since my debut novel, KILLER OF KILLERS, is due to be released in August, I should be kicking my promotional efforts into high gear. Except for one thing: being a debut novelist is kind of new to me. Yeah, imagine that. But I've had a couple other times I came close to being a debut novelist as any readers of this blog already know.

It's why the blog is named THE VASE, after all. That was supposed to have been my debut novel. But why it's not has already been chronicled. It's KILLER OF KILLERS which is going to be my debut novel, now. And as I've said before, it's fitting, since that's the first book I wrote anyway. THE VASE, being the second novel I wrote SHOULD be the second book I get published.

And it's all very exciting to me. It didn't really matter all that much which one got published first. KILLER OF KILLERS is MY favorite book. It's the story I would like to read. It will be the story anyone who likes action and martial arts stories will want to read because it has plenty of action and plenty of martial arts in it.

But it also has love, romance, and a kind of science fiction element involved. You know, the wonder drug. It cures all disease, and even stops the aging process! So I guess you can call that a science fiction element. I mean, there's no aliens in it, and no space ships, or time travel. It's a contemporary story. And it is very much tied to reality in terms of the human condition, meaning human desire, weakness, and emotional bonds.

And that might be the ultimate draw. Love, hate, revenge, redemption. It's all there. Just like in THE VASE. Although that one is a completely different story. But still a contemporary one. And a very human one. Can't wait to talk about that one. But heck, it's promoted everyday just in the header of this blog.

In fact, I've considered changing the blog's name to the KILLER OF KILLERS blog. But I've decided to just keep it THE VASE. It's weird, now, calling my blog THE VASE when it's KOK getting published first. That wasn't the deal. But it's how it worked out. That's life for you. Filled with surprises, twists, and unexpected turns. Hey, just like a novel!
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