Vial of Tears, page 29
If anyone has read this story as many times as I have—which is to say, approximately a million—it’s my literary agent, Minju Chang. I owe her as many thanks—a million, and then some. Her generous insights, thoughtful notes, gentle prodding, and intuitive suggestions along the way made every draft stronger. Thank you for sticking with this story. You told me early on, when I had maybe 15,000 words written, that you thought this story was “special.”
Vial of Tears might literally not exist—it could still be a Word document on my laptop—without my editor at Holiday House, Mora Couch. Thank you for believing in this story and world, seeing its potential when it was still rough, for your unflagging enthusiasm, and your vision, which is both eagle-eyed and expansive. I am so very lucky to have you in my corner. Also at Holiday House, my gratitude to designers Kerry Martin and Chelsea Hunter for their creative expertise. Thank you to Emily Mannon, Sara DiSalvo, and Michelle Montague, enthusiastic promoters in marketing and publicity; Della Farrell in editorial, who helped keep so many moving parts on track; and copy editor Barbara Perris, for her commitment to small but important details. And finally, a heartfelt thank you to Syd Mills, an artist with awe-inspiring and unbounded talent. Even the earliest comp of the cover made me gasp, and the final product… just… wow.
And finally, a shout-out to anyone and everyone who helped entertain, feed, or chauffer my children in order to help me score some extra writing time, including Kathy Igo, Patty Hadgkiss, Judy Bishara, and, of course, my super-husband extraordinaire, Terry Igo. Many thanks to my aunt and uncle Linda and Lloyd Yazbek and my uncle and aunt Chuck and Linda Bishara, for letting me use their beautiful, peaceful Florida condos for writing retreats.
It took a village to make this book.
Cristin Bishara, Vial of Tears
