Cristin Bishara – Tales from the Underworld

Long before the ancient coins were buried, the Phoenicians lived in the Levantine region, including what is modern-day Lebanon. After Bishara’s father died, she inherited some of his books, including one on the Phoenicians, and the storybegan to take shape.
“My dad was obsessed with the Phoenicians. I read a book he owned, which covered Phoenician mythology and thepantheon of gods, and thought about the coins. I thought, maybe I can put all this together,” Bishara said.“ I knew I wanted to have a magical coin that transported somebody to the Phoenician underworld.”
The book Bishara read was “Peoples of the Past: The Phoenicians,” by Glenn Markoe, one of only a few books on the civilization. Much of the Phoenician culture has been lost to time, which made the research for “Vial of Tears” challenging.

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