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.




Friday, February 7, 2014

Now a Newspaper Requested a Free Book!

Now a newspaper has agreed to receive a free copy of The Vase, which is a good thing, btw. I had posted on Wednesday that of all the newspapers and radio stations that I had contacted, only one radio station agreed to receive a free book, but yesterday a newspaper responded, and they too agreed to receive a free book. Of course, this is in hope that they will give a positive review of the book in their newspaper, (or in the radio station's case, on the air.)

And that's got to be some of the best ways to promote anything. Radio and newspapers. The only thing better, I think would be TV, but that's out of the question. That would take big money, and I don't even have the money to spend on reviewers who want to be paid for their reviews. But that's more of an ethical thing, really. Because even if I did have the money for that, I still wouldn't do it. Being paid to review? Only professional reviewers should be paid, and that's only if they are people like those guys on TV who used to review movies.

Anyway, I'll take a spot on a radio show or an article in a newspaper any day. Here's to hoping the reviews happen, because it's understood that giving a free book doesn't guarantee a review. Nor does it guarantee that if the review happens it will be a good review. A lot of variables are in the mix. Fingers crossed that they all pan out.

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