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, November 25, 2015

Second Chance and Da Vinci's Demons.

Thanksgiving holidays are cool because as a teacher I have the whole week off. Used today to revise half of Second Chance. It had been sitting for a while, since it's a finished manuscript, well, not finished regarding revisions, but it's finished as far as being written start to end.

So I used most of the day to read through the first half, and of course in doing that, you revise at the same time. It didn't need a whole lot of revising, really. But you always improve the prose as you read through it, and that's almost a never ending thing. I'll be happy to finish it by tomorrow, and that means the current read through.

It's a story for anyone who knows anything about football. I'm afraid that narrows the audience somewhat, but if you consider the number of football fans in the country, you would think it's not a problem. It might be considered a story more for boys, but there are strong female characters in there, particularly the girlfriend of the main character.

Second Chance is a what might have been type of football story. And I'm thinking it might be something a lot of former football players might be able to relate to. That is if they missed their senior season of high school football due to an injury.

On another note, the new season of Da Vinci's Demons is pretty cool. I've watched all the episodes except the final episode, which I'm learning is the final episode of the entire series, not just season three. The Turks are the heavies, and that's fitting. I mean the Turks have been just as evil as any evil empire out there, and that includes the Nazis, Imperial Japan, and even the Mongols.

Don't agree? Just ask any Armenian. That will end the argument. History is full of brutality, and the Turks surely have their place in that history. So in the show, the Turks have invaded Italy. I'm not even sure that ever happened, but in the series finale, we should see how Leonardo Da Vinci is able to repulse them. Should be fun. I'll probably watch it tomorrow night. I'll post my thoughts then. Bye for now.
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