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, January 6, 2014

Corporate Bookstores vs Privately Owned Bookstores

Tried to get my books into Barnes and Nobles yesterday, but I found out that if your books are POD published, like both of mine are, then B&N won't put them on their shelves. That's because B&N only takes books that aren't paid for yet. As in the publisher sends them books directly, and when a buyer buys them, that's when the publisher gets paid. POD books are only printed after they've been paid for, thus the Print On Demand classification.

So what to do then? Visit privately owned bookstores, of course. I happen to know of some, but the owners don't usually work on Sunday, so I'll try to get a hold of them this week. Hopefully, they won't mind buying a couple or three of each of my published books, and stocking them on their shelves, and then, once they sell them, they order three or four more. And so on.

I believe that the covers alone might stir some interest and prompt some sales. At least for Killer of Killers. And the subject matter of The Vase should spark some interest and prompt some sales, too. I mean a lot of people are interested in Israel and the happenings over there. So I think once the owner is convinced to stock the books, things will get rolling for both books.

But the catch is, will the owners stock them? I'll find out as soon as I talk to my local privately owned bookstore owner. But I can't do that until Tuesday. So Tuesday will be a big day for me, and I'll post on Wednesday just how that went.

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