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.




Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Time to Wrap up Killer of Killers

Over the summer, I had been working on the second edition of Killer of Killers, between editing rounds of The Vase. And since late August, pretty much all of my time has been put into the second edition of KOK. And I can say, it's almost ready. I might have sent it in a couple weeks ago, but I really don't ever want to have to revise this book again. Melange, especially Nancy at Melange has been very nice about it. It's a pain for her, I'm sure, to have to reload this thing, especially after doing it repeatedly when it first got published. But it's more work for me, really, than anyone else, rewriting this thing. But when it comes to making it a better written book, I'm OK with that.

Well, it's not really rewriting anymore. At least not at this point. It was when I rewrote several scenes to adhere to the 3rd person limited POV, but since the first couple times going over it, it's been more of a polishing up. I've learned a lot more about comma usage, and I have fixed a lot of comma placements, and even some instances of verb usage. All in all, it's made for a vast improvement in writing quality in all aspects of writing. POV, literary composition, and prose being the top factors. It's a much improved book. I know I keep saying it's almost ready, but this time, it really is. I should be sending it in by the end of this week.

But after saying that, I'll probably be sending it in next week. Early next week. Monday or Tuesday.

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