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.
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Second Chance Submitted to KRP
It is inevitable for a novel length manuscript to have errors, even if you've reread it three times, which I had done. And the pesky typos have a way of hiding no matter how many times you read through it.
I found errors concerning a couple names, and those errors would have been glaring had I not caught them. And of course, I did locate and correct a few typos, in addition to improving some prose. So, yeah, it was a good opportunity to make the book better, and I did it in two days. Fortunately, I'm on Winter Break this week. So I started last night, after receiving the email, and finished this morning.
At 86,495 words, Second Chance is my shortest novel. Interestingly, my other KRP novel, John Dunn - Heart of a Zulu, at 123,000 words, is my longest. So KRP has both my shortest and my longest books. Interesting.
I emailed Dana again just a few minutes ago, inquiring about an editor. I'm pretty confident in the quality of writing, and the lack of errors/typos,. but, again, you never know. An editor really is necessary, because an author, being so close to his/her manuscript, just can't be sure he/she fixed everything that needs to be fixed. An extra pair of eyes is required, and sometimes it's better to have a second editor to catch the things the first editor missed.
In the meantime, Second Chance is scheduled to be released this summer, which is just in time for the football season. I'm hoping with football back, readers will be interested in reading a football story. And this football story hasn't been told. It came in a dream to me. That's why I was able to write it within a few months.
This photo is what I'll ask for as a cover. But the team in my story has dark green jerseys, not blue, and the number of the player is twenty-four, not thirty-one.
Can't wait until August. I'll keep you posted.
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