Katherine Heiny's new novel is Standard Deviation.From her Q&A with Deborah Kalb:
Q: How did you come up with the idea for Standard Deviation, and for your characters Audra and Graham?--Marshal Zeringue
A: A long time ago—seriously, like 20 years ago—a friend of mine went to a wedding where she knew nothing about the bride other than the fact that bride gets very wet during sex.
Much later, I began writing about that wedding, or how I imagined that wedding, and I developed a character who has no filter, who would not only know such a detail but have no problem revealing it. And then I wondered what it would be like to be married to such a person. The rest of the novel grew from that idea.
Q: How was the book’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?
A: The book’s protagonist, Graham, is very scientifically-minded yet he’s married to a woman who is almost totally ruled by impulse and emotion. “Standard Deviation” has always seemed like an oxymoron to me, and it seemed to describe their marriage...[read on]