Holly Michael's Writing Straight

~ Connecting and Inspiring Along Life's Crooked Lines by Author Holly Michael

Holly Michael's Writing Straight

Monthly Archives: March 2012

Journeys: Tamil Nadu and Of Dust and Kings

30 Friday Mar 2012

Posted by Holly Michael in Guest Blogging, India, Inspiration, Journeys: In Writing and Life, Photography

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

Blog, Down Syndrome, Holly Michael, India, Love, Matt Patterson, My Emily, Of Dust and Kings, photography, T.E. Hanna, Tamil Nadu, wisdom, www.writingstraight.com, Yercaud

Today, I journey over to the blog: Of Dust and Kings. TE Hanna, a Master of Divinity student at Asbury Theological Seminary, recently asked this question on his blog Of Dust and Kings: “What pieces of wisdom have you picked up from unlikely sources?” I responded in his comments and he asked me to share more.

And speaking of journeys…

A couple of photos I shot in Yercaud, a hillstation in Tamil Nadu, India. Below: Yes, that’s a road. Yes, we really traveled on it. (with a 4 wheel drive Jeep.)

Now journey over to TE Hanna’s site (one of my favorite blogs) where I share about the lessons of love I learned from an unlikely source.

May all of your journeys be blessed!

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April A to Z Challenge: Person, Place, or Blog

29 Thursday Mar 2012

Posted by Holly Michael in Journeys: In Writing and Life

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

April A to Z Challenge, Blog, Holly Michael, www.writingstraight.com

I’m journeying into a something new for the month of April.

I was encouraged by a blogger friend to join the April A to Z challenge where you blog thematically for 26 days (Monday thru Friday and one Sunday) based on the letter of the alphabet! I was hesitant, but decided to go for it. Could be fun.

Since my blog has been about connections, I’m going to post short blogs about a special person, place (a photograph from my travels), or another blog site that is especially helpful or inspirational. (Person, Place, or Blog)

Let the fun begin on April 1!

You can enter and do the same here

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Good News, Dreams Come True, and Connections

27 Tuesday Mar 2012

Posted by Holly Michael in Books, Crooked Lines, Football, Inspiration, Monday's Connections

≈ 25 Comments

Tags

ABNA, Amazon Breakthrough Novelist Award, Betsy Byrne, Blog, Crooked Lines, Diana Symon, Dreams Come True, Holly Michael, Iona, Jake Byrne, NFL Draft 2012, Nick Byrne, Novel, photography, Scotland, travel, www.writingstraight.com

No Monday Connections this week. No Tuesday Book Review. Wednesday’s sneaking up on me. But I have an excuse and lots of good news to share. (I feel like that happy sheep in the meadow that I photographed on the Island of Iona in Scotland.)

First the excuse for no blogs: The last few days, my husband and I had traveled to the east coast on church business.

Now before I share my flood of good news, since I missed Monday Connections, I’d like to mention Diana Symon’s (Christian Writer, Thinker, Dreamer) blog post today: When Dreams Come True because it connects with this blog post

Here’s what I read on Diana’s blog: May He grant you according to your heart’s desire, and fulfill all your purpose. Psalms 20:4 When I think about how wildly awesome God is, I love Him more. He wants to give me my heart’s desire. He wants to make my dreams come true…

Diana’s inspirational post continues, and I encourage others to hop over there to read the rest. Visit her blog any time you need inspiration. I love her blog. And I love that God is making dreams come true.

A few months earlier, I’d traveled to the west coast for Jake’s Rose Bowl game and discovered this water stain on the sidewalk in front of the room where we stayed. (For more on this story, click here)

I stood before this image and prayed for a long time, asking God to heal sick friends, to bless loved ones who needed blessings, and to bless my husband and our church. I also prayed special intentions for my children’s futures and for my novel. I asked Mother Mary to pray before the Lord, for the same.

Click here for more of the story: NFL Aspirations and Novelist Dreams. 

I thank God for hearing and answering those prayers. Incredible blessings are rolling into our lives now. Jake did well at his Pro Day and is hopeful about the upcoming draft. My youngest son, Nick got offered a football scholarship from Arkansas State and Betsy, my daughter, is making her plans to study abroad in England become a reality. (Nick and Betsy below)

And my novel, Crooked Lines, is now an ABNA (Amazon Breakthrough Novelist Award) quarter-finalist. You can download and read the first three chapters for free here.

Diana Symon’s is right. Read the rest of her post. God is wildly awesome, and I remain humble and grateful for His blessings and that He wants to make all of our dreams come true. I’ll keep you posted! More to come soon!

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Journeys: In Writing and Life

23 Friday Mar 2012

Posted by Holly Michael in Guest Blogging, Journeys: In Writing and Life, Photography

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

Blog, Debi O'Neille, Guest Blogging, Holly Michael, Journey, photography, travel, Wind River Canyon, Writing, Writing Against the Wind, www.writingstraight.com, Wyoming

Today I am guest blogging at http://debioneille.blogspot.com/. I chat with Debi O’Neille about my journeys and learnings in writing, especially ghostwriting,

And speaking of journeys….

A couple of photos I shot on a journey through The Wind River Canyon area during a trip to Casper, Wyoming. May all of your journeys be blessed!

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Book Review: My Emily by Matt Patterson

20 Tuesday Mar 2012

Posted by Holly Michael in Books, Christianity, Inspiration, Weekly Book Review

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Blog, Down Syndrome, Faith, God, Grief, Heaven, Holly Michael, Hope, Jesus Christ, Loss, Love, Matt Patterson, My Emily, Parent, Parenting, Suffering, Truth, www.writingstraigh.com

“My Emily wasn’t born perfect – or so one might think. She was born with Down Syndrome and many would jump to the immediate conclusion that she would have very little hope for a life with any significance. Two years later came the devastating diagnosis of leukemia. What little hope remaining turned to no hope whatsoever – or so one might think.” Matt Patterson, author of My Emily

Holly Michael’s Review of My Emily: The Apostle John, at the end of John 21:25 writes: “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.”

You can almost hear John’s sigh because he realizes his inadequacy as a writer to put down the words that could possibly tell the whole story of Christ, His miracles, and His love for humanity. I feel like John, after reading My Emily, written by Emily’s father, Matt Patterson. Words are inadequate to give this book a review it deserves.

So I say this: Read it. Next to the Bible, it will be one of the most powerful books you will ever read.

After I read My Emily, I imagined a scene in Heaven, before Emily came to earth. It goes like this: God’s new creation, an adorable golden-haired little beauty, stands before her Heavenly Father with the light and love of The Creator reflecting in her almond-shaped blue eyes. She’s one of the special beings He’s created with a heart that has the highest capacity to love, and a heartwarming never-ending smile. I imagine Emily giving her yes, her fiat, to a mission to leave Heaven for just a little while, to be born into a particular family, to touch their hearts and lives and forever change them, as well as leave behind a legacy that will bless humanity.

Then I imagine Emily says, “But how will I reach so many people in such a short time? How will so many come to know about this truth, wisdom, and love that you want me to carry to them?”

Then I imagine God says, “I’ve already sent one ahead of you and blessed him with a special gift for writing. I’ve been preparing him.”

“Who is this one?” Emily asks.

“He is your father on earth and he will love you as I love you.”

At this time, only God and Emily know the whole story. We creatures on earth are jaded, confused, selfish creatures, having lost the innocence of childhood and knowledge of Heaven and of truth and God. We forget once we arrive on this treacherous planet. Life deals us tough blows. We fail to understand God’s mercy and grace. We are no longer tuned into the wisdom of God, as a child like Emily is. That’s why the Bible says you must be like little children to enter into the Kingdom of God. God and Emily know the truth.

And then brave Emily, knowing, like Jesus, she will also suffer pain on earth, comes to a special family: The Pattersons.

This is the story I imagine; the story before the story that Matt Patterson so eloquently shares about his daughter, Emily, diagnosed with Down Syndrome. Though the world may not see her as a blessing, the Pattersons embrace her as a gift from Heaven. The story doesn’t stop there. Matt (a newspaper editor in the Air Force) and his family, two years later, must courageously endure a battle with Emily’s diagnosis of Leukemia, a disease that threatens to steal her from them.

Matt Patterson, in My Emily, says, “He perhaps sent this little, unassuming angel to instruct me and many others about what’s truly important in life.”

I, too, believe that Emily was sent by God to teach us about hope and love. My baby sister, Amy, also diagnosed with Down Syndrome, was loved and she loved back in greater measure. Like Emily, she left our family too soon. But, oh, the lessons she left behind.

Like the lessons Amy taught me, the lessons in this little book are deep and meaningful. My Emily is a story about joy and sadness, hope and courage, and above all, about love.

You fall in love with Emily. You weep with Matt and his family through their grief. You get out your highlighter, and highlight nearly every line in the book. And as soon as you finish reading this little book you will want to read it all over again. And you will.

Matt, shares this, near the end of the book: “Now that I have had time to look back, I realize that God was kind to patiently wait for me to see the full blessing of Emily’s life just as He planned it. And while I slandered Him, He led me toward healing.”

So who is this book for?

To begin with, it’s for:

  • Those who have lost a child or loved one.
  • A parent of a Down Syndrome child, or parent of any special needs child.
  • Anyone suffering grief or dealing with a child who is suffering.
  • Those who want to know how to pray in the midst of suffering, and how to draw closer to the Heart of God, through all things.
  • Those who raise their fists toward Heaven and cry, “Why?”

This list is just a beginning. Not only is My Emily for suffering souls, it’s for everyone, especially those who ask questions; the seekers of truth and knowledge of the meaning of life.

This book will change your life. It’s filled with lessons of love, brought by Emily, given by our Creator, our Father in Heaven, who is Love.

*A portion of the proceeds of the book, My Emily, will be donated to the My Emily Foundation which partners with organizations and individuals to assist extraordinary families with special needs children, those who are battling pediatric cancers, as well as parents who are grieving the loss of a little one. You can learn more about The My Emily Foundation and contribute at www.myemily.org.

Click here to purchase My Emily through Amazon.com

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Book Review: My Emily by Matt Patterson

20 Tuesday Mar 2012

Posted by Holly Michael in Books, Christianity, Inspiration, Weekly Book Review

≈ 31 Comments

Tags

Blog, Down Syndrome, Faith, God, Grief, Heaven, Holly Michael, Hope, Jesus Christ, Loss, Love, Matt Patterson, My Emily, Parent, Parenting, Suffering, Truth, www.writingstraigh.com

“My Emily wasn’t born perfect – or so one might think.  She was born with Down Syndrome and many would jump to the immediate conclusion that she would have very little hope for a life with any significance. Two years later came the devastating diagnosis of leukemia. What little hope remaining turned to no hope whatsoever – or so one might think.” Matt Patterson, author of My Emily

Holly Michael’s Review of My Emily: The Apostle John, at the end of John 21:25 writes: “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.”

You can almost hear John’s sigh because he realizes his inadequacy as a writer to put down the words that could possibly tell the whole story of Christ, His miracles, and His love for humanity. I feel like John, after reading My Emily, written by Emily’s father, Matt Patterson. Words are inadequate to give this book a review it deserves.

So I say this: Read it. Next to the Bible, it will be one of the most powerful books you will ever read.

After I read My Emily, I imagined a scene in Heaven, before Emily came to earth. It goes like this: God’s new creation, an adorable golden-haired little beauty, stands before her Heavenly Father with the light and love of The Creator reflecting in her almond-shaped blue eyes. She’s one of the special beings He’s created with a heart that has the highest capacity to love, and a heartwarming never-ending smile. I imagine Emily giving her yes, her fiat, to a mission to leave Heaven for just a little while, to be born into a particular family, to touch their hearts and lives and forever change them, as well as leave behind a legacy that will bless humanity.

Then I imagine Emily says, “But how will I reach so many people in such a short time? How will so many come to know about this truth, wisdom, and love that you want me to carry to them?”

Then I imagine God says, “I’ve already sent one ahead of you and blessed him with a special gift for writing. I’ve been preparing him.”

“Who is this one?” Emily asks.

“He is your father on earth and he will love you as I love you.”

At this time, only God and Emily know the whole story. We creatures on earth are jaded, confused, selfish creatures, having lost the innocence of childhood and knowledge of Heaven and of truth and God. We forget once we arrive on this treacherous planet. Life deals us tough blows. We fail to understand God’s mercy and grace. We are no longer tuned into the wisdom of God, as a child like Emily is. That’s why the Bible says you must be like little children to enter into the Kingdom of God. God and Emily know the truth.

And then brave Emily, knowing, like Jesus, she will also suffer pain on earth, comes to a special family: The Pattersons.

This is the story I imagine; the story before the story that Matt Patterson so eloquently shares about his daughter, Emily, diagnosed with Down Syndrome. Though the world may not see her as a blessing, the Pattersons embrace her as a gift from Heaven. The story doesn’t stop there. Matt (a newspaper editor in the Air Force) and his family, two years later, must courageously endure a battle with Emily’s diagnosis of Leukemia, a disease that threatens to steal her from them.

Matt Patterson, in My Emily, says, “He perhaps sent this little, unassuming angel to instruct me and many others about what’s truly important in life.”

I, too, believe that Emily was sent by God to teach us about hope and love. My baby sister, Amy, also diagnosed with Down Syndrome, was loved and she loved back in greater measure. Like Emily, she left our family too soon. But, oh, the lessons she left behind.

Like the lessons Amy taught me, the lessons in this little book are deep and meaningful. My Emily is a story about joy and sadness,  hope and courage, and above all, about love.

You fall in love with Emily. You weep with Matt and his family through their grief. You get out your highlighter, and highlight nearly every line in the book. And as soon as you finish reading this little book you will want to read it all over again. And you will.

Matt, shares this, near the end of the book: “Now that I have had time to look back, I realize that God was kind to patiently wait for me to see the full blessing of Emily’s life just as He planned it. And while I slandered Him, He led me toward healing.”

So who is this book for?

To begin with, it’s for:

  • Those who have lost a child or loved one.
  • A parent of a Down Syndrome child, or parent of any special needs child.
  • Anyone suffering grief or dealing with a child who is suffering.
  • Those who want to know how to pray in the midst of suffering, and how to draw closer to the Heart of God, through all things.
  • Those who raise their fists toward Heaven and cry, “Why?”

This list is just a beginning. Not only is My Emily for suffering souls, it’s for everyone, especially those who ask questions; the seekers of truth and knowledge of the meaning of life.

This book will change your life. It’s filled with lessons of love, brought by Emily, given by our Creator, our Father in Heaven, who is Love.

*A portion of the proceeds of the book, My Emily, will be donated to the My Emily Foundation which partners with organizations and individuals to assist extraordinary families with special needs children, those who are battling pediatric cancers, as well as parents who are grieving the loss of a little one. You can learn more about The My Emily Foundation and contribute at www.myemily.org.

Click here to purchase My Emily through Amazon.com

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Journeys: In Writing and Life

19 Monday Mar 2012

Posted by Holly Michael in India, Inspiration, Journeys: In Writing and Life, Travel

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

fiction, Gangtok, Holly Michael, India, Iona, journalism, Journey, Rachelle Ayala, Scotland, Sikkum, Writing, www.writingstraight.com

Today, I am guest blogging at http://rachelleayala.blogspot.com/2012/03/holly-michael-on-journalism-and-fiction.html

I chat with Rachelle Ayala about my journey from quitting writing to journalism to fiction.

Speaking of journeys…..I shot the photo below, looking out the window of a taxi on a road in Gangtok, India. Another thrilling journey!

And I shot this photo on a peaceful journey when my husband and I traveled to Iona, Scotland.

May all your journeys be blessed!

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Battling with a Porn Star

15 Thursday Mar 2012

Posted by Holly Michael in Best Web Sites for Writers, Christianity, India, Inspiration, Social Media Information

≈ 64 Comments

Tags

Battle, Blog, Holly Michael, Jeff Goins, Michael the Archangel, www.writingstraight.com Kristen Lamb

Battling with a Porn Star

After reading Kristen Lamb’s blog, Why Pen Names Suck and Can Make us Crazy, I decided to stick with my real name as an author and blogger.

Holly Michael. I like my name. My husband is an Anglican Bishop from South India. So glad his Surname is Michael. What if it was Sringavasgaravanswamy or Sowmiyanarayananan? Couldn’t fit those names on a novel, not even sideways on an over-sized coffee table book.

Michael is a good name. And it reflects the ancient Christian roots in my husband’s family. Michael is a warrior angel. I like my name.

But so does Holly Michael, the porn star.

Yep, I share my name with a porn star. I discovered this when I bragged about my new blog to a writer friend. He plugged my name into Google search on his iPhone, then blushed.

“You’re not a porn star, are you?”

“Um…no.”

He showed me his finding, then I blushed.

My blog is: www.writingstraight.com. Not sure if the other Holly Michael is living “straight,” but I am writing straight. See this post to understand why I named my blog Holly Michael’s Writing Straight. (And for a super-dooper awesome website to help with naming your blog or any helpful information about blogging, check out Jeff Goins award-winning web-site). 

And as a new blogger, trying to create a great site, it looks like I have to compete with a porn star for rankings on Google. I hope, as a Christian writer, Michael the Archangel will be in my corner. Hey, maybe a porn addict surfing the web will find Holly Michael, the Christian Author, and get saved. Yeah, I like that.

Oh well. I’m banking on Romans 8:28 working in my favor. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

The real battles in our lives belong to God and I’ve learned that the best we can do in any situation is pray and hand everything over to Him. So with that and a prayer to God, I say, “rally the troops, St. Michael the Archangel, protect our name!”

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Great Book & Five Author Q’s: Michal’s Window by Rachelle Ayala

13 Tuesday Mar 2012

Posted by Holly Michael in Books

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

Bathsheba, Bible, Biblical Fiction, Blog, Family Saga, Historical Romance, Holly Michael, King David, King Saul, Literary Fiction, Michal, Michal's Window, Rachelle Ayala, Samuel, www.writingstraight.com

TITLE: MICHAL’S WINDOW

AUTHOR: Rachelle Ayala

GENRE: Historical Romance, Family Saga, Literary Fiction

 

She lost it all in one agonizing moment…

Princess Michal is used to getting everything she wants, and she has her heart set on the young hero David. But their passionate love affair is destroyed by her father’s murderous rage. Will David’s departing promises be enough?

David the King is no longer the charming harpist she gave her heart to. The most powerful man in Israel, he falls into the arms of the beautiful Bathsheba.

Temptation comes in the form of a dashing Philistine warrior. Michal vows to be the only woman in David’s heart, but does she know her own?

A novel of betrayal, forbidden love, and redemption, Michal’s Window, is Rachelle Ayala’s imaginative retelling of King David’s story through the eyes of the woman who loved him first.

(Left: Rachelle Ayala)

Holly Michael’s Thoughts on Michal’s Window: Sitting on my deck, with a warm spring breeze chasing crinkly winter leaves across the yard, and birds chirping from new nests, I got time-warped into an ancient world where a vivacious princess falls in love watching a shepherd boy strum his harp for her father, a king plagued by demons.

In Michal’s Window, Rachel Ayala delivers an eye-widening, you-can’t-pry-my-Kindle-from-my-hands, novel. From my deck, to stirring a pot over the kitchen stove, to under-the-covers with a book light, I got lost in Michal and David’s world.

And for those who snub Biblical fiction as, “boring, preachy stuff,” I snicker, even snort unabashedly. You readers are missing out on something way cooler than vampires. Vampire novels are your grandma’s reading material. Sissy stuff. Yeah, yeah. Vampires suck blood. Big deal. David slays two-hundred Philistine warriors and collects their foreskins for Michal’s dowry. What princess wouldn’t go gaga over a man willing to do that, especially when her father, King Saul, only asked for one hundred foreskins?

As fast as fluff from an angora sweater clings onto black wool pants, I became attached to the historic and Biblical, Michal and David, and to the other captivating characters in Michal’s Window.

Michal, the heroine, marries David and becomes trapped in a family feud. If born a boy, Michal could have been heir to the throne, but as a girl she’s a political pawn in a position of determining the future of Israel. Before the young couple can settle into married life, jealous King Saul wants his new son-in-law dead. Michal risks her father’s wrath by helping David escape out a window to ensure his survival and God’s plan for him to become king.

1 Samuel 18:20 says that Michal loved David, the only place in the Bible where a woman’s love for a man is recorded. Ayala delves deeper into this love story in well-written, steamy scenes and nail-biting situations where love is proved, rejected, taken back, but never really lost.

King Saul attempts to block David’s claim to the throne by giving Michal to Phalti, another man. With a price on her head, Michal escapes to search out David, but is later forced to return to her kind caretaker. With politics, ambition, and the throne involved, beautiful Michal, the target of more than one man’s desire, wonders if David still loves her through the long separations, desperate times, and his marriages to other women.

After Saul dies, David reclaims Michal as his wife and queen. Happy ending? Hardly. Ayala sprinkles her own heart-wrenching details in the Biblical scene where a grief-stricken Phalti weeps as Michal is taken away.

“Sister Wives meets The Kardashians,” could not match the drama at the castle when Michal returns as queen. She must deal with jealous wives, her worries about being used as a pawn to reunite Israel, and her desire to be loved wholeheartedly.

So how does Michal cope? How does she deal with watching her husband, the King, dance half-naked, whirling in ecstasy, in front of the Ark of The Covenant as the procession makes its way toward the palace? And what about the Biblical Bathsheba, the sultry bather, whom King David’s roaming eyes rest upon?

Michal is brave, strong, intelligent, persistent and in a most human way, sometimes weak, as she slips into doing the unthinkable, yet we love her and charming David (a man after the heart of God) through it all.

The Bible gives us some information about these characters and their lives, and Rachelle Ayala fills in the details with her imagination in a delightful, engaging, and totally thrilling read from the beginning through to a satisfying ending.

Move over vampires. Using deep point of view, beautiful prose, and vivid ancient settings Ayala brings on the excitement and makes this Biblical tale come to life in a present-day, real life, oh-I-can-so-relate, way. Great Book!

Five Author Questions to Rachelle Ayala

Holly Q1. What were some of the challenges in writing Michal’s Window?

Rachelle A1. Truth is found only in the Bible, never in fiction. However if I only rehashed the story as found in 1st and 2nd Samuel, my story would have been dry and factual, filling in some dialogue and action between the Bible verses, and perhaps providing a bit of historical interest. The challenge is to present a cast of characters with deep emotions, conflicting motivations, and also show the human side of a man named David, a man lionized and admired worldwide, yet keep him true to his faith and his deep abiding love for God.

Holly Q2. Why did you include additional storylines not found in the Bible?

Rachelle A2. Michal’s Window is fiction and not intended to change events as they happened. I wove additional characters and elements around the Biblical events to add richness and diversity. The land of Israel 3000 years ago was not a homogeneous land occupied only by Israelites. Many nations of people lived in Canaan, an area smaller than the Los Angeles area. These people fought, mingled, did business and made love. David’s most loyal palace guards were Philistines: Pelethites and Cherethites. He also included Ammonites and Hittites among his elite warriors. A favorite character is a priestess of the goddess Asherah who befriends Michal during her separation from David. Another one is a Philistine warrior who becomes Michal’s friend and David’s loyal servant. With large stretches in Michal’s life not mentioned in the Scripture, I could let my imagination run wild on what a passionate, exuberant woman like Michal would have done, or would have liked to have done.

Holly Q3. How did you deal with sex in a Biblical story?

Rachelle A3. Sex is a part of human life and an important way for people to bond. Early on, I decided to self publish so I could tell the entire story in a way to make the 21st century reader empathize and identify with my characters. I sacrificed historical accuracy. Michal was a lot more aggressive and flirtacious than a girl in her time and place would have been. I also chose to portray some of the sensuality, although not explicitly, to provide the backdrop for their deep emotional attachment. My Bathsheba seduction scene was perhaps a bit risque, but it danced around temptation until both parties succumbed.

Holly Q4: Is there a message in your book?

Rachelle A4. Yes, that God’s love is everlasting and there is nothing you can do to lose it. Michal portrays the nation of Israel. As such she does things in the story that parallel Israel’s history from Abraham’s calling to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ when he gathers Israel to Himself.

Holly Q5. Any advice you have for other writers starting out?

Rachelle A5. Write your passion and don’t look over your shoulder. Study the craft: plot, structure, grammar and point of view. Seek feedback, but own your writing and do not let others dictate. Write from your heart and be convinced of your story. Have it professionally edited. And most importantly, enjoy what you’re doing and have fun!

Rachelle Ayala is currently working on a romantic suspense involving software engineers, bad driving, and backslidden Christians named ‘Broken Build’.

**The winner, poster to my last blog on Biblical Fiction, was Gail Johnson. Please email me to claim: “Michal’s Window” and a $5.00 Amazon Giftcard, courtesy of Rachelle Ayala

Rachelle Ayala’s Blog 

Michal’s Window by Rachelle Ayala

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The Genre That Has It All

09 Friday Mar 2012

Posted by Holly Michael in Books

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

Bible, Biblical Fiction, Blog, Holly Michael, Michal's Window, Rachelle Ayala, Scripture, Writingstraight.com

What’s stopping the entire reading population of the world—those of all religions, denominations, believers and unbelievers alike—from getting baptized into the waters of Biblical Fiction? After all, you don’t have to be a young adult to enjoy YA novels. And just because you read vampires novels, doesn’t mean you must believe in vampires or be one.

Biblical Fiction, a sub-genre to Historical Fiction, is a growing genre in today’s book market. But unlike vampire novels, the content (at least the Biblical content) is accepted as fact, given the knowledge of the history of the Middle East and the backing of archaeological finds.

And what’s not to like about fiction based on an all-time bestseller, written by forty different writers, over a period of 1,500 years?

Where else, but through the pages of Biblical Fiction, can readers walk in the sandals of those of 1000 B.C.?

The Bible contains history, poetry, prophecy, philosophy, adventure, travel, theology, and romance. Captivating themes for any writer. Biblical Fiction entices readers with its exotic settings, intriguing characters, and fascinating plot lines lifted from the pages of Scripture. Readers enter into ancient worlds of kings and castles, priests and prostitutes, wars and warriors, and oh so much more. No wonder writers, weary of wandering in the wilderness of varied genres, step into the promised land of Biblical Fiction.

Rachelle Ayala, author of MICHAL’S WINDOW began writing Biblical Fiction after becoming interested in Michal, the covenant wife of King David.

“I’ve always felt sorry for Michal,” Ayala said. “When I first heard of her in a sermon, she was portrayed as a lying hero worshipper that David was lucky to escape from. Other pastors used her for an object lesson on unsubmissive wives. Indeed, one pastor said Michal was not barren, only David wanted nothing to do with her. I realized Michal not only saved David’s life, but had a hand at preserving the line towards Christ. Yet she suffered personally for her heroism, betraying her father, King Saul, only to lose David to the wilderness and other women.”

Ayala says the Bible doesn’t give us many glimpses into Michal’s life. “When we next see her, she had been remarried to another man, one who apparently loved her dearly,” Ayala said. “The image of Phalti, her second husband, following her weeping when David sends for her, grabbed my heart and never let go.”

Ayala said, “While studying the Bible along with Matthew Henry’s commentary, three words, ‘Eglah David’s wife’ popped from the page. Was this a secret message from David that Michal was indeed beloved? That he really did care about her, but was prohibited from expressing it because of her disgrace in 2nd Samuel Chapter 6?”

With large stretches in Michal’s life not mentioned in Scripture, Ayala said she let her imagination run wild on what an exuberant woman like Michal would have done, or would have liked to have done.

“I was free to imagine friendships and adventures as long as I got her back in time for the few verses she appeared in,” Ayala said.

Ayala admits that writing Biblical fiction comes with challenges and criticisms. How far can a writer deviate where Scripture is silent? Readers, passionate about the Bible, may disagree with the author’s interpretation of a well-known and beloved story.

In MICHAL’S WINDOW, Ayala decided to present plausible storylines to fill in the gaps of Scripture, but says she kept as close to the Bible story as possible. She invented subplots and imaginary characters to increase tension and keep the reader engaged.

Ayala says David was her most challenging character. “He is a man lionized and admired worldwide, yet with human flaws. I wondered if I should write David, the Bible character or David, the man.”

After praying about it, Ayala said she fashioned a passionate David who was deeply conflicted, exhibiting both heroism and human weaknesses, while keeping him true to his faith and abiding love for God.

So before anyone (reader or writer) dismisses Biblical Fiction as novels portraying saintly characters meant only for the libraries of zealous Christians, think again. Today’s Biblical Fiction, not your grandmother’s Biblical Fiction, is for every reader.

*In Part II of this blog topic, I’ll offer a full review of Rachelle Ayala’s, MICHAL’S WINDOW along with five questions for the author. Come back or follow this blog to get next week’s full scoop on Michal’s Window, Ayala’s intriguing work of Biblical Fiction.

**Leave a comment for a chance to win “Michal’s Window” and a $5.00 Amazon Giftcard, courtesy of Rachelle Ayala

Rachelle Ayala’s Blog 

Michal’s Window by Rachelle Ayala

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