Character spotlight ~ Marybeth Whalen's Ariel & Justine

Ariel & Justine

Marybeth Whalen's second novel, She Makes It Look Easy is now available.  Meet the two women who make this story sing.


Brief physical description


Ariel: long auburn hair, hazel eyes, a few more curves than she would like thanks to having three children-- the kind of woman who is quite beautiful but doesn't know it, unassuming and self-deprecating, laughs easily


Justine: self-possessed, confident, blonde sleek bob, blue eyes, always groomed to perfection-- pressed, crisp clothes, looks like a page out of the J Crew or Lands End catalog, never thinks she's thin enough


Actor/famous person


Ariel: Christina Hendricks


Justine: Jenny McCarthy


Strengths and weaknesses


Ariel: strengths-- the ability to laugh in most every situation, good or bad, weaknesses-- doesn't trust herself, needs others to validate her


Justine: strengths-- ability to take charge and manage people, weaknesses--can tend towards abusing that ability


Your inspiration for the character


Ariel: myself, my friends who have all boys


Justine: myself, women I've known


Background to the story


There was a period of time when it seemed that I and several of my friends all knew women who seemed to have it all together, but walked away from their perfect lives to pursue a relationship with someone else. This really got me thinking: what would cause a woman like that to do that? And how was it that the people around them didn't suspect a thing until it was too late? I combined this thought process with observations I've made through years of working with women and seeing how quick we are to compare ourselves to others and to put other women on pedestals. Through this, the story of Ariel and Justine was born. Writing the novel helped me to understand.


Thanks for sharing, Marybeth :)

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