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, August 30, 2012
Who are the Readers?
But who are the other readers? I don't want people to buy the book just because they know me. Ideally, people who like to read will buy the book because it sounds like an interesting book. I would think anyone who ever enjoyed the many martial arts movies would be interested in Killer of Killers, because it really is a martial arts type of book.
But not just martial arts. It's an action-packed story. And it has a great hero in the greatest martial artist on the planet. Male readers like a strong male character. I know I always have. And Trent Smith is just that. I would put him up there with some of the greatest characters around. James Bond, Captain Kirk, and yes, even Conan.
And there's more. The women who have told me they liked it, (my first literary agent, and the editors at Melange,) liked the romance in it. There is a strong and competent female character in there. She's a police detective named Samantha Jones. And Trent Smith, my main character falls in love with her.
I can't go into it any more than that, really, because I don't want to put out any spoilers. My point is, it's not all action, fighting, killing, and blood. There are tender moments in there. Moments that can touch a reader's heart. And lessons. If you've seen some of the better martial arts stories, you've heard the philosophical elements that envelop the martial arts minds of the great masters.
Killer of Killers has all of that. If you read it, you'll see what I mean.
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