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, July 24, 2014

Back to John Dunn

If you've never heard of John Dunn, the white chief in Zululand, I don't blame you. Probably a lot of people in Zululand, which is now part of South Africa, never heard of him. He lived a hundred and fifty years ago. But what was interesting about him was the fact that he spoke fluent Zulu, and lived with the Zulus for most of his life. He had Zulu wives, his children were half Zulu, and he took part in two Zulu wars.

But even more interesting, I think was the fact that he became best friends with the Zulu king, Cetshwayo. And even though he was forced to fight on the side of the British during the Anglo-Zulu War, he might have saved Cetshwayo's life after the British captured him. There have been accounts that the British were going to hang Cetshwayo, but John Dunn intervened, and the British exiled him instead.

There's tons more to the story, and many more details involving Cetshwayo and the war, but that would take a novel to explain. And that's just why I wrote the novel, John Dunn, Heart of a Zulu. Well, even the novel wasn't able to explain it all. But it did make for a very interesting and entertaining story. I'm still revising it right now. I'll keep you posted.

Meanwhile, my beta reader is still reading Killer Eyes. He pointed out a couple minor things I could make better and I will. Stay tuned. But go ahead and buy your copy of Killer of Killers in the meantime. Just click on the image to the right of this post. And buy a copy of The Vase, too, while you're at it. Thanks.

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