Interview

Jane Heller speaks about Female Intelligence.

As I write in the Acknowledgments of Female Intelligence, the novel was inspired by an incident that occurred in Jupiter, Florida, not far from where I live. My husband and I were leaving the local movie theatre when I spotted -- and then overheard -- another couple on their way toward the exit. The woman said to her husband, "Harry, what did you think of the movie?" He grunted. She said, "I asked you, what did you think of the movie?" He shrugged. She said, "Why can't you talk to me?" He said, "About what?"

I found their interaction both amusing and frustrating. Why? Because after all the Mars/Venus books, after all the magazine articles, after all the "Oprah" segments, women are still trying desperately to get the men in their lives to communicate with them, express their feelings, share. I thought, maybe women are just better at communication -- smarter, more intuitive, more intelligent -- and maybe I can have a good time writing a novel on the subject.

Before I knew it, I had typed up the outline of a story about a heroine who coaches men in the language of Womenspeak, enabling them to become more connected to the women in their lives. She's no ...