Home
>
Writing
>
Writing Made Them Rich #5: Peter Mayle

Writing Made Them Rich #5: Peter Mayle

Peter Mayle was born in England in 1939.

His fascination with France began at the age ofseventeen when, as the 'lowliest trainee' in Shell, hewas instructed to accompany his boss - a Mr. Jenkins -on a trip to Paris, and discovered that there was moreto life than fish-and-chips. Jenkins, needless to say,was a caricature of the Englishman abroad("personally, I never eat anything I can'tpronounce").

In his twenties he went to New York and becameadvertising copywriter for David Ogilvy. He laterreturned to England to a comfortable life inadvertising, with a salary higher than the PrimeMinister's.

At age 35, after 'one committee meeting too many', heleft his career as an advertising executive and movedwith his wife and children to Devon in the south ofEngland to write children's books.

In 1974 one of his books - 'Where Did I Come From' -became a best-seller, but because of an unfavorabledeal with the publisher, the book didn't make himwealthy.

In his late 40's Peter Mayle moved with his third wifeto Provence in the south of France, where theyrenovated an old farmhouse.

Their experiences became the subject for 'A Year inProvence' which was an instant success and spent threeyears on the New York Times best-seller list. It wastranslated into twenty languages and turned into a BBCseries.

'A Year in Provence' was followed by 'ToujoursProvence' and 'Encore Provence'.

But his new-found fame came at a cost. Hordes oftourists and reporters descended on Provence lookingfor the writer and his house.

Not realizing the book would become a best-seller,Peter Mayle had given an accurate description of thelocation of his house in the opening pages of 'A YearIn Provence'.

Plagued with unwanted visitors, and suddenly unpopularwith the locals, Peter Mayle fled with his wife to Long Island.

Four years later, when the hue and cry had died down,he returned to France and bought a large house nearAvignon.

Peter Mayle's success with the Provence books spawneda new genre in travel writing - books by Englishmenwho leave the cold wet island, set up house insunnier climes and then write about the curious habitsof the locals. There's even a phrase for it: "Doing aPeter Mayle".

You can get your copy of 'A Year in Provence' at:
http://www.ezine-writer.com/mayle.html

------------------------------------------------ ------------
Michael Southon has been writing for the Internet for over 3
years. He has shown hundreds of webmasters how to use this
simple technique to build a successful online business. Click
here to find out more: http://ezine-writer.com/
------------------------------------------------------------

express cleaning service Arlington Heights ..

In The News:

Researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University designed a 21-foot dome that combines aquaculture and hydroponics to create a self-sustaining urban food system.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

ChatGPT data breach exposes personal info of users through partner Mixpanel. OpenAI confirms names, emails compromised in security incident.

Android rolls out Emergency Live Video for 911 calls, letting dispatchers see real-time scenes during emergencies. Great for holiday travel safety.

Malicious Chrome and Edge extensions collected browsing history, keystrokes and personal data from millions of users before Google and Microsoft removed them.

Google's new Call Reason feature lets Android users mark calls as urgent before dialing, displaying an urgent label to recipients using Phone by Google app.

Medical history made as surgeons successfully restore sight to legally blind patient using world's first 3D printed corneal implant grown from human cells.

Data brokers aggressively collect your holiday shopping data to fuel scams and targeted ads. Learn how to delete your digital profile before 2025 starts.

Scammers are sending fake MetaMask wallet verification emails using official branding to steal crypto information through phishing links and fraudulent domains.

Learn what background permissions, push notifications, security updates, auto-join networks and app refresh mean to better manage your phone's privacy settings.

Criminals test stolen data by applying for deposit accounts in victims' names to prepare bigger attacks. Learn why banks won't share fraud details.

New study of 10,500+ kids reveals early smartphone ownership linked to depression, obesity, and poor sleep by age 12. Earlier phones mean higher risks.

A phone phishing attack compromised Harvard's alumni and donor database, marking the second security incident at the university in recent months.

AutoFlight's zero-carbon floating vertiport uses solar power to charge eVTOL aircraft while supporting emergency response, tourism, and marine energy maintenance.

A new phone return scam targets recent buyers with fake carrier calls. Learn how criminals steal devices and steps to protect yourself from this fraud.

New Anthropic research reveals how AI reward hacking leads to dangerous behaviors, including models giving harmful advice like drinking bleach to users seeking help.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Holiday email scams, including non-delivery fraud and gift card schemes, spike in November and December, costing victims hundreds of millions, the FBI says.

Holiday visits offer the perfect opportunity to help older parents with technology updates, scam protection and basic troubleshooting skills for safer digital experiences.

Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.

Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.

Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.

Xpeng's humanoid robot moves so realistically that crowds believed it was fake, marking a major advancement in robotics technology ahead of 2026 commercial launch.

Researchers discover phishing scam using invisible characters to evade email security, with protection tips including password managers and two-factor authentication.

iPhone and Android users can reduce battery drain and data usage by restricting Background App Refresh to Wi-Fi connections instead of mobile networks.