A guide to living not so large

Some secrets include chocolate, leek soup and champagne

When French native Mireille Guiliano decided to spill her secrets, she had no idea they'd land her on Oprah and the New York Times best-seller list.

She didn't write a Hollywood exposé, propose a get-rich-quick scheme or implicate athletes in a steroid scandal.

To her, it was just common sense.

But French Women Don't Get Fat: The Secret of Eating for Pleasure (Knopf, $22) has exceeded her wildest expectations, she said during a book tour that brought her to Houston last week.

The book has been published in 22 countries. Promoting it in the United States alone has turned into a second full-time job for Guiliano, CEO of Clicquot Inc., a wine marketing company representing not only Champagne Veuve Clicquot but also several other wineries in France as well as Australia and New Zealand. She's had requests for phone interviews pouring in from New Zealand, Germany, South Africa.

"It's amazing. Obviously, I touched a chord," she said.