29 November, 2012

#Spotlight on “Michal’s Window” by Rachelle Ayala: Michal’s Love for David: Obsessive or Hopeful?


Now Presenting:
*** SPECIAL FEATURE - November'12 ***
"RIVETING... a heartwrenching romance deftly evoking challenges between the sexes in Bible times."
- Terry Long, Author of The Notorious Proposal


It's not easy being a woman, least of all princess of Israel. Married as a prize, abandoned as a wife, Michal fights to claim her rightful spot next to King David, the man she loves with all her heart.

Separated by war, concubines, and kingdom politics, Michal embarks on a journey of adventure and heartache where she is befriended by a goddess-worshipping priestess and tempted by a Philistine prince.

From reading scrolls high atop the palace walls to seduction with a henna-painted body, Michal is not your ordinary Bible heroine. Join her in Michal's Window and let her delight you with her courage, devotion, and outrageous passion in her relentless drive to win back her husband.

Michal’s Love: Obsessive or Hopeful?

Obsessive Love Disorder is characterized by instantaneous and overwhelming attraction, extreme attachment and insatiable desire for the object of affection. If rejected by the target, a person with Obsessive Love Disorder becomes fixated in an all consuming compulsion to win back the target’s affection.

There is no question Michal loves David, the man who would supplant her father as King of Israel. The Bible mentions her love for David twice. At first, her father was pleased because he could use her as a snare to trap David. After Michal marries David, her father began to fear her love for his enemy. He tries to have David killed, but Michal protects David and allows him to escape from her window.

Michal is left behind and forced to marry another man. But she cannot forget David. Unable to abide patiently in Israel and await David’s return, Michal sets off for the land of Philistia to search for David. When she finds him with two wives, she tries to persuade him to leave them and let her stay. She is forced to go back to Israel, but refuses to give up on David. During her exile, she even writes to David’s second wife with the hope David would send for her.

Her goal to be the only woman in David’s life in a time of polygamy may seem rational to modern women today. But in her day, a woman was not supposed to show emotion or preferences. In fact, the Bible never mentions any other woman besides Michal who loved a man. Instead, men are said to love women, such as Jacob loved Rachel.

So why did Michal keep trying to win David back? Was she obsessed or hopeful? The answer lies in whether David loved her or not. If his only reason for marrying her was because she was the daughter of a king, then her one-sided love was indeed obsessive. The premise for Michal’s Window lies in the fact that David did love Michal. How could he not? She was the beautiful princess. She loved him unreservedly and she proved her loyalty to him against her own father.

In Proverbs 5:18, David writes to his son, Solomon, “Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.” He admonishes his son to stay away from the strange woman, and to always be satisfied with the wife of his youth. In 2nd Samuel 3:5, he names a woman, Eglah, with the title “David’s wife.” This title is not used by any other woman except for Michal. The infamous Bathsheba is always referred to as the wife of Uriah the Hittite. Eglah is Michal’s nickname, meaning little heifer, a term of endearment. And finally, David, a man after God’s heart would agree with Malachi 2:15, an admonishment not to deal treacherously with the wife of his youth, the covenant wife.

Therefore Michal’s devotion had a basis in a healthy love relationship. The fact that she was separated by war, concubines, and political situations did not dampen her love. She held onto her hope that she and David would be reunited in a true loving relationship. And despite doubt, guilt, and mistakes on both of their part, she believed that true love would prevail.

Michal’s Window is an epic story of the ultimate triumph of love.


As a shepherd to as a king – David is well known worldwide as part of religion and as a part of history. King Saul’s daughter Michal was David’s first wife. However, Michal helped David to escape her father’s wrath through her window. After years of separation and yearning they are reunited. But Michal now had to compete with David’s other wives for his time and affection. It is safe to say that as a significant figure in both History and Religion, David’s life is well known – as is David & Michal’s story. So, I will not spend much time in telling you the storyline.

Based in the backdrop of a time when women were treated as property, this is a love story like no other. Michal, a strong woman, who loves, lives and takes risks for her beloved and David, a brave man who turns his own fate to become a king. This is the story of Michal’s life - the moment she falls for David, when she helps him escape, the days & nights she spent waiting for him, her reunion and her disappointment – the author has described everything very vividly. When together – there was a distance between them, a distance driven in by David when he took one wife after the other. She had known and loved King David from the time when he was a mere shepherd. She had seen how time and power had changed him and he knew that she understood him better than anyone else.

This is an amazing story of love, yearning and jealousy. Michal is such a strong character – a perfect protagonist in my mind. In those times, it wasn’t easy for Michal to do the things or make the decisions that she did for King David. As for King David, I have to say that he was a typical man – not just a man of those times but simply a man. Even these days we get to see people like him all the time – with the mentality that since they were born ‘men’ they can get away with anything and double standards are absolutely normal as long as they suit them.

The author has done an amazing job with this one. Her description of situations is quite vivid which helped me as a reader to follow the storyline in the right time frame. Plus her character development is simply AWESOME. From Michal to David to Saul – she has developed her characters really well.

I am in no way an expert on history or religion, but after reading this book I have researched it extensively on the internet. I have read articles, discussions and numerous debates on both David and Michal. Hence, I would like to mention this that no reader should pick this book up with conservative mindset or preconceived notions. This is – end of the day a work of fiction that tells the story from Michal’s – a woman’s point of view. Also a note of warning  – the book has sexual content and some violence.



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Giveaway
Now for the Giveaway... There's going to be 3 winners this month. Yeah you heard me right - 3!! 

First Winner: Will get the Complete eBook Collection... Yes all 12 of them!
Second Winner:  Will get to choose any 6 eBooks out of the 12 listed 
Third Winner: Will get to choose any 3 eBooks out of the 12 listed 


Check out what's up for grabs:
Always & Forever
Only In Her Dreams
Twenty Weeks
Falling For Sarah
Wedlocked
Deep As Bone
Kat Fight
At Road's End
Secrets From The Dust
My Emily
The Notorious Proposal
Scent of Triumph: A Novel

















The Winners have been selected and contacted. They are:
Lauren
Nasyrah
Trisha

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