We have a special treat today with an interview with Rachelle Ayala, author of Michal's Window. I had the honor of being her editor for this fantastic novel. Even though it's set in Biblical times, it's not preachy, and it showcases a fascinating character: Michal, David's first wife. And someone is going to go walk away with a copy too.
Tell us a little about yourself and what your writing process is like.
I’m
a computer geek by nature, so it’s somewhat surprising that I’ve written a
full-length novel. But I find the skill-sets similar. Writing software involves
design and planning, as well as seat of the pants coding. Some programmers whip
up tons of untested code and then debug it into viability. This is the
NaNoMoWri, write the first draft in a month and take ten months to revise, gunslinger
approach. Others are methodical and write beautiful and tedious design
documents, review it to the wazoo and polish it lovingly through endless design
meetings before writing a single line of code. I suppose you can call these the
plodders, er plotters.
I’m
pretty much the code and test and iterate type. I have a good idea what the
program has to do. I don’t do much design, not even something you can scribble
on the back of an envelope. I have no use for a white board. Now that I’m
retired, I don’t care if my ex-boss reads this. Instead, I place basic guide
points in the code. Input, data structure, partial results, output. I figure
out how to get the data into the program, transform it through the required
steps (while testing) and format the final output.
As
a writer, I do the same thing. I have my major plot points figured out in my
head. I know what the story problem is (requirements). I have an idea of a
hook, and point of no-return, and maybe an inkling of the dark moment and the
character transformations that are needed to get to the climax. I usually have
my ending figured out. And then I just write.
I
unit test at CritiqueCircle.com
and use beta readers for system testing.
In two sentences, describe your novel Michal’s
Window.
Michal's Window is a story of
one woman's journey through love and heartache to self-realization. As one
reviewer said, "So, once I let the modern feminist inside of me relax, I
realized how timely her story is, because, sadly, many of the things she has to
deal with are things that women still face today."
What about Michal inspired you to tell your version of her Biblical story?
Michal
was a courageous and often misunderstood person. She was one of the few women
in the Bible to assert herself by putting her love into action. She stood up to
her murderous father to save David’s life and later on, stood up to King David
himself when he danced through the streets of Jerusalem in his underclothing.
Since
pastors and commentators vilify Michal frequently, I wanted to tell her side of
the story.
What research did you do to write Michal’s
Window?
I
relied mostly on the Bible, but also read a few reference books on life in
Ancient Israel. A very useful guide was a travelogue by J. W. McGarvey Lands of the Bible (1881). It showed the
plant and animal life, terrain and climate of the Bible lands. I found most of
the biographies written about King David to be useless and sensational. They
either tried to paint him as an evil person or sanctify him as a hero who could
do no wrong. David and Michal were very real people who made mistakes like
anyone else. I tried to bring out their humanity while keeping in mind the
heroic actions and extraordinary things they did.
Why did you decide to self-publish Michal’s
Window?
I
realized early on that my book would not fit traditional publisher guidelines.
It is not strictly a romance because both characters had other lovers. David
was a polygamist and shockingly, Michal was married to another man while David
was in exile. It is not strictly historical because I invented an entire
storyline involving Philistines and added another love interest for Michal. It
is not Christian fiction because it includes grittier scenes than generally
acceptable. Yet the scenes are too tame for Historical Romance. If I wanted to
categorize Michal’s Window, I would
say it is Biblical Women’s Fiction with Romantic themes.
What else are you working on?
I’m
working on a romantic suspense involving fast cars, fast code and fast women. Broken Build is a story set around the
fast paced culture of a Silicon Valley startup complicated by code theft,
extortion and murder.
I
also have a psychological thriller in the back of my mind, but I refuse to
allow myself to write a word of it until Broken
Build has gone to my wonderful editor.
And perhaps the hardest question: if you could recommend one book, what would
that book be and why?
This
is the easiest question of all. The Holy Bible, King James Version. There’s no
other book like it! Read it! B-I-B-L-E (Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth)
Rachelle Ayala was a software engineer until she discovered storytelling
works better in fiction than real code. She has always lived in a
multi-cultural environment, and the tapestry in her books reflect that
diversity. Rachelle lives in California with her husband. She has three
children and has taught violin and made mountain dulcimers.
Links:
Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/rachelleayala
Twitter: http://twitter.com/AyalaRachelle
FaceBook Page: http://www.facebook.com/RachelleAyalaWriter
Mailing List: http://eepurl.com/lR5kv
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/ayalarachelle/
Michal’s Window is available on Amazon, Barnes &
Noble, Google Play, and Smashwords.
Now I have a special giveaway for you. One lucky commenter is going to win an e-copy of Michal's Window. All you have to do is comment on this post to be entered to win. Simple as that, and I'll announce the winner during Wednesday's Writing Update on June 20th. Thank you for visiting with us today, Rachelle, and I look forward to reading Broken Build!
