Mary-Jane Houlton Books In Order

Publication Order of In Search of a Simple Life Books

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Mary-Jane Houlton is a published author known for her authentic travel writing books.

Mary-Jane says that she loves writing. She recounts that there are few things that are able to match the satisfaction that she has gotten from playing with words, arranging them again and again until they are able to feel just right.

She says that she has ‘dabbled’ in writing for most of her life. She may have left it on the side for a few years, but found that she was always drawn back to it. She says that she has written three novels that have never been published, a process ridden with angst that has had more lows than they did highs and are now in a bottom drawer.

In those times, she studied to get her diploma at the London School of Journalism. It was then that Mary-Jane first discovered travel writing, first through writing articles that were published in magazines and then by writing her own books. It is in these books that the author at last was able to pinpoint the place that she belongs. She is now lucky enough to be able to say that writing is how she earns her living, and she says it never feels like work.

Back in 2017, she made the decision along with her husband Michael to sell their house. They decided that it was time to start a traveling way of life. Mary-Jane describes it as a ‘leap of faith’, but also notes that since making that decision they have never regretted taking the leap.

The couple ended up moving to France and purchased a boat that they called Olivia Rose. Since those times, they have spent their summer months staying afloat and the months during the winter using house sitting as an affordable way to explore Europe. She says that if the couple needs to stop or slow down for some time, they go to their small off-grid cabin located close to the Pyrenees.

Just Passing Through: A Nomadic Life Afloat in France is a 2023 travel writing book that is part of the A Simple Life series by Mary-Jane Houlton. This book follows the author and her romantic partner and the first three years that they spent living on their boat Olivia Rose.

There is something that was romantic to Mary-Jane about the concept of living and traveling all over on a boat, and in the end she could not resist it. So in 2017 she sold her house, used some of the proceeds to buy a boat, named it Olivia Rose, and went off with her husband Michael as well as their two dogs to test if reality could end up living up to their dream.

The couple went all over France and discovered that the world can often feel and look different when viewed from the water. Partially a memoir and partially a travelogue, this book goes into not only the people and landscape of France, but also goes into what it can mean to live your life in not only a smaller space with not that many possessions but also far from the people you know and always moving on.

For readers who are a fan of travel adventures and travel writing, this is the perfect book! It will take you along on the journey along with Mary-Jane Houlton so you experience what she experiences. For those who have always wanted to live their life on a boat, there’s also a ton of information included as well as advice to help you out so that you can pursue that as your dream just like the author did.

The Constant Traveller: When the Journey Is All That Matters is a 2021 book by Mary-Jane Houlton. It’s all about the couple living off-grid in France in a wooden cabin and was an Amazon best-seller.

As the first book got into, these books showcase the nomadic life that Mary-Jane lives along with her husband. The pair own a small off the grid cabin in France that gives them a base to live out of. However, for the majority of the year the pair can be found constantly on the go, operating out of their boat in the summer and during the winter using house sitting as their way to look into new areas during the winter.

The pair come back to their boat the Olivia Rose in March of 2020. Moored up in France, the two were excited to go to another summer season and make their way through the canals and rivers of Europe. But in a twist they did not see coming, the two discovered that they were confined to their boat for three months when lockdown occurred, on their own and living in what soon began to feel like a ghost port.

This book is all about the joy of what a traveling life can be as the married couple get back their freedom once more after the horrible years of the pandemic. Travel writing done with a trademark sense of humor, Mary-Jane goes into their experiences, from cruising through Paris to house-sitting in Spain and France to boat-sitting in Belgium or doing their best to stay away from farm dogs who appear to love cyclists in the rural parts of France.

Readers will feel like they are along for the ride on this travel adventure that brings landscapes and strangers to life! If you are constantly trying to figure out what comes next, this travel memoir gives a detailed insight into what it is like to leave a settled existence behind and go on to a new life that is very different. Read it for yourself and go along on the adventure of a lifetime courtesy of Mary-Jane Houlton.