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 🙂
Relz Reviewz Extras
Review of The Mailbox
Visit Marybeth’s blog
Buy Marybeth’s books at Amazon or Koorong
July 7, 2011 at 12:28 am
What a stunning cover. It is beautiful. Sounds like an interesting book. Look forward to reading it.