by Nora James

Summer’s just around the corner and we all know what that means: strapless dresses, bikinis the size of a handkerchief, and thigh-revealing shorts. Beauty comes in all sizes, but if the thought of exposing a little flesh gives you nightmares and you’d love to drop a few kilos before strutting your stuff on the beach, then why not have the time of your life in the process?

Forget about filling up on steamed vegetables and salads, exercising ten times a week, and drinking twenty litres of water. Have you noticed how slim French women are? Heard of the French paradox? Here are the tried and true techniques women in Paris have relied on for centuries:

1. Paris is the favourite haunt of dark, delicious men in stylish clothing. Follow them up and down the Champs Elysées and all around the Louvre, and walk off those calories. Before you know it you’ll be slipping into that dress you bought one size too small.
2. Give yourself permission to develop a crush on the most handsome man you meet, whether it’s the pâtissier whose cakes are a work of art, the tour guide whose accent sends shivers down your spine, or the mysterious stranger who points you in the direction of the Eiffel Tower. While you’re salivating over him, you won’t be tempted to raid the fridge. In fact, you won’t even remember what food is.
3. Should you come across an enticing Frenchman who is available when you are too, why not take it to the next level? There’s nothing like an affair to keep you looking fabulous. Kissing can burn off 100 calories an hour or more, so imagine what twenty-four hours of non-stop love-making could do for your thighs!
4. If your lover asks you to stay over, let him do the cooking. While you watch his shapely buttocks as he leans forward to finely chop potatoes and leeks, you’ll find that your mind will focus on delights other than culinary. Use your feminine charm and offer him a cuddle while the dish is simmering – he won’t take much persuading to take it one step further and you’ll burn off dinner even before you eat it.
5. If you must break up, do it in Paris. Nothing will put you off your food quite like ending your affair in the most romantic city in the world. You won’t just shed tears, you’ll effortlessly lose all those unwanted kilos in no time and be the envy of your less fortunate friends.

But if you can’t make it to France just yet, don’t despair. Grab a copy of Paris By Heart by Nora James. It’s guaranteed to entertain with a delicious French chef, a personal tour of Paris and zero calories to boot. Now that’s a guilt-free pleasure.

Bon appétit!

She came to Paris to forget about men, but the city of love has different plans for her…

Elise Reid wasted years on a bad relationship, dreaming when she could have been doing. Now she’s making up for lost time — taking all of her savings and heading straight for Paris and the Cordon d’Or cooking school, the first step in her café dreams.

No dream is without its roadblocks, and Elise’s come in the form of a dark, delicious, decidedly rude Frenchman who works in the café below her studio apartment. Forced to tutor Paul in exchange for reduced rent, Elise finds herself laughing, teasing and sharing her dreams.

But there’s more to this story than mixing together two people and adding a dash of spice. Elise has been hurt before, and Paul has problems of his own. There are 14 000 kilometres between Australia and Paris, but that may be nothing compared to the emotional distance two people have to cross…losing their baggage along the way.