Thursday, October 22, 2009


PETA MATHIAS DELVES DEEP INTO THE MYSTERIOUS WORLD OF MEN IN A HIGHLY PERSONAL AND FREQUENTLY HILARIOUS PILGRIMAGE THAT WILL RESONATE WITH WOMEN EVERYWHERE.

To celebrate the release of Just in Time to be Too Late, Peta Mathias will be speaking at public events in
Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Nelson. 2-5 November. Full details on http://www.penguin.co.nz/

In her bestselling guide to womanhood, Can We Help it if We’re Fabulous, the irrepressible Peta Mathias shared with us her thoughts on being a woman. Now in Just in Time to be Too Late, she turns her attention to what it means to be a man in the 21st century.

How did an outspoken, fiery female chef and kiwi personality come to writing a book about the
male species? Peta Mathias states:
“It’s easy to write a book celebrating women if you’re a woman because you have intimate, readily accessible knowledge of your subject. My friends and I were the subject. When my publisher suggested I write a book on men, I laughed. It would be work. Moreover, how hazardous would it be to look into the heart of the male species? Although I have an adorable father, a deceased husband, a brother-in-law, three brothers and five nephews, I don’t pretend to really know men. I just treat them as I would a charming foreigner who speaks an obscure Mongolian dialect – I nod my head in faux comprehension and, in some situations, hope they don’t notice that I only speak high Kazakh. Not only did I not listen, I never asked. I had no idea what men wanted, how they really felt (difficult to hear someone when they’re not talking), or how they saw me as I stalked off into the sunset, voluntarily or not…
I interviewed men for this book because, well, I can’t make EVERYTHING up. I wanted to ask some real men why most of their species haven’t yet worked out that the way to get a woman to do anything they want is by submitting to us. These guys also helped me get away from writing about sport before I lost consciousness and interviewing them was a great excuse to have meals with interesting, intelligent men.”


PETA MATHIAS is a respected and prolific chef, author, broadcaster and television presenter. She also somehow finds time each year to run very popular gastronomic experiences in Morocco, the South of France and India, intended for travellers who love to eat and cook. Peta has written nine books about food and travel and presented the popular television food and travel show, ‘Taste New Zealand’ for twelve years. Her first book venturing into self-help and relationships, Can We Help it if We’re Fabulous (Penguin, 2008), was an instant bestseller. http://www.petamathias.com/

No comments: