Critics and readers can’t get enough of K. L. Brady’s satisfying debut novel! THE BUM MAGNET A “Top Read” for Book Clubs, including RAWSistaz™ and OOSA Featured in 10 Magazine A Reviewer’s Choice by Midwest Book Review “Men can cause many problems in the lives of women, but swearing off them is quite the task. . . . The Bum Magnet is a story [in which] many women will find something to relate to, making for a highly recommended read that should not be missed.” —Midwest Book Review “It is a pleasure to recommend The Bum Magnet, as it focuses on Charisse Tyson, an African-American heroine . . . and size-14 sex symbol.” —10 Magazine “K. L. Brady has penned a clever, witty, insightful, and downright hilarious novel. . . . This debut author is one to watch.” —RAWSistaz™ “The message of this book is something everyone can benefit from. . . . A well-crafted story.” —APOOO Book Club “K. L. Brady gives you reality checks in laugh-out-loud scenarios. . . . Kudos!” —SistahFriend Book Club “Ladies, ladies, ladies . . . don’t walk, RUN to get your copy of this book! The Bum Magnet . . . happily blends surprise, humor, and wit into 294 pages of wonderful. . . . This book is FABULOUS.” —Uptown Girl’s Harlem Book Club “A hilarious, tell-it-like-it-is story. . . . This novel screams perfection.” —AAMBC Book Reviews “K. L. Brady’s journey of one woman’s dating woes and self-discovery was entertaining and real . . . funny and uplifting. Charisse’s sarcasm is a perfect smoke screen for her inner struggles and insecurities.” —OOSA Online Book Club “Highly enjoyable, entertaining . . . hilarious and insightful. . . . K. L. Brady paints a vivid, heartfelt—and rather amusing—picture of the ups and downs of everyday romantic pur suits. . . . Witty, pointed, and real, The Bum Magnet keeps you rapt until the very end.” —Apex Reviews “Entertaining, engaging, insightful, fast-paced, witty, and relatable. . . . K. L. Brady’s imagination is through the roof. She is surely here to stay and I look forward to her next novel.” —Folake Taylor, M.D., author of The Only Way Is Up She's a savvy, successful real estate agent with a quick wit, a low tolerance for BS, a gorgeous plus-size body, and a thirst for top shelf vodka. Despite her dream house, luxury car, and appetite for life's best--like fine dining and hot men--she seems to have her own special talent for attracting players. Why do all of her ex-lovers belong in the Losers Hall of Fame? There was Lamar, the hazel-eyed Adonis who sowed more wild oats than Quaker . . . Sean, an expert at juggling relationships . . . Marcus, whose lips wandered as often as his eyes . . . and others, too. But just as Rissey swears off sex and vows to dump her emotional baggage, she meets house-hunting client Dwayne Gibson. There's no way she can resist his seductive smile and rock-hard body. . . Will Dwayne turn out to be the biggest bum of them all? Or will this time be different?
The Bum Magnet
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle.
Learn more
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
K. L. Brady is a D.C. native but spent a number of her formative years in the Ohio Valley. She’s an alumnus of the University of the District of Columbia and University of Maryland University College, earning a B.A. in Economics and M.B.A., respectively. She works as an analyst for a major government contracting firm and is an active real estate agent with Exit Realty by day—and writes by night (often into the wee hours of the morning). She lives just outside of D.C. in Cheltenham, Maryland, with her son and lives to eat chocolate, shop, read, and write. Her upcoming adult novel, THE BUM MAGNET, will be published by Simon & Schuster's Pocket Books in March 2011. THE BUM MAGNET was the winner of the 2010 Next Generation Indie Book Awards for Multicultural Fiction, as well as the Third Place Grand Prize Winner for Best Fiction of 2010.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
1 Self-therapy for Dummies
Her words played in my head like a scratched LP. “Charisse, a good man is like Santa Claus. Believing in him feels real good until you find out he doesn’t really exist.” Although I ignored most of my mother’s attempts at wisdom, this little gem stuck with me... like gum on my shoe. No wonder I was nearing the big four-oh and home alone on yet another New Year’s Eve. No bubbly to pop, no confetti to throw, no love to kiss at midnight’s stroke; only me, my remote control, and six goldfish—one in need of a trip to the porcelain god.
Why was I home alone on New Year’s Eve again? Because of Marcus damn Matthews—“the one.” You know “the one,” right? The one who cheated. The one who lied. The one who broke my damn heart. The one who kept calling my house begging me to take his conniving ass back. That “one.” I had finally settled in for the night and tried to forget that I’d flushed three years of my life down the toilet of wasted time and squandered heart when my doorbell rang.
He’s baaaaack!
“What do you want, Marcus?” I asked, exasperated by his unwillingness to accept that our relationship was over.
“I want you. I need you, Charisse,” he pleaded, his eyes resembling those of a hungry puppy dog begging for his next Scooby snack. I guess he didn’t see the sign on my forehead: “No Dawgs Allowed!”
“No, what you need to do is go find that bitch I caught you with and ring her damn doorbell. Love don’t live here anymore.”
He let out a sigh of annoyance and aggravation, as if I was the one ringing his doorbell unannounced and uninvited. “Why are you doing this, baby? You know how sorry I am.”
“Yes, Marcus, I know how sorry you are... and that’s precisely why I’m doing this. Now, you can leave voluntarily, or I can call five-oh. In my neighborhood, you know they’ll be here before you can back out of the driveway.”
“All right, Charisse. I’ll leave for now. But this isn’t settled, not by a long shot,” he declared as I slammed the door in his face.
Damn! How could I let this happen again? I am suffering from a chronic case of Wrong Men-itis and it has to stop! I thought. Shaking my head in confusion, I walked back to the family room, which hadn’t been cleaned since the onset of my depression.
Now, how am I going to entertain myself until I pass out in a drunken stupor?
I turned on the stereo, determined to avoid any sappy love songs to send me deeper into my emotional upheaval, so R&B out, Pop out, Country way out.
Nowadays you couldn’t even trust Rock. Finally, the Disco station, XM-83. What a relief. “Night Fever” by the Bee Gees played, a perfectly non-suicide-inducing song.
Thought a gripping magazine article might help take my mind off my troubles, so I grabbed a few from the coffee table. My preferred subscription was Z: The Zaina Magazine, published by talk-show hostess Zaina Humphrey. Between hosting mind-numbing “hope you didn’t come for the cookies” open houses; helping delusional “my home will sell for ten thousand above market price, even with the lime-green carpet and Barney-inspired purple paint” sellers; and showing homes to unrealistic “will the seller spring for a Sub-Zero in this trailer?” home buyers, my days were consumed. I kept her show on TiVo for occasions when I needed my fix, though.
Forty locked its jaws on me like a pit bull, so my interests broadened far beyond the “Six Ways to Have an Orgasm While Balancing Your Checkbook” articles. I craved pithy, spirit-lifting, soul-feeding, personal-growth-inducing, psychotherapeutic edutainment in less than sixty minutes or for less than five bucks an issue. Zaina delivered. She taught me how to improve my relationship with myself and the people forced to tolerate me.
After perusing a couple of editions and glancing at a few nuggets here and there, I decided I would return my attention to the disappointing plasma if I didn’t stop to read anything in detail. Near the last pages, I glimpsed an article that piqued my interest: “Stop Attracting Toxic Men: Five Steps to Unpacking Your Emotional Baggage.” I studied it with a level of focus I hadn’t been able to muster in weeks.
Do you find it difficult to share your feelings with your boyfriend even when he invites you to confide in him?
No. No difficulty. It’s none of their business.
Do you test his loyalty and find excuses to remain distant or break up with him?
Eeeeh, that’s a bad thing?
Do you stereotype men and assume if one cheats and lies they all do?
Hmph, well if the shoe fits...
Do you avoid taking blame for your mistakes?
So not true. I only blamed them because it was entirely their fault.
Do you have a lingering ghost from your past history that you’ve tried to forget but never put to rest?
Hmmm, maybe I’d better keep reading.
If any of the behaviors above sound familiar, you’ve got emotional baggage. Follow these steps to unpack your baggage for good.
Entertaining the prospect of dumping my bags and losing my bum magnetism filled me with excitement. But my stomach sank in fear of what might need to come out of the closet in the process. That’s a bridge I’m not quite prepared to cross.
© 2011 K. L. Brady --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Visit my webpage at http://www.authorklbrady.com
K. L. Brady is a D.C. native and grew up in Prince George's County, Maryland, the setting of her debut novel. When she hit her "tween" years, her mother packed the family and moved to Bellaire, Ohio, where she eventually graduated from Bellaire High School. She attended the University of Akron for a few semesters, where she pledged Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., before moving back to the D.C. area.
She discovered a love for reading and writing at the age of three, by her mother's accounts. Through the years, she has maintained diaries and journals, but the journals she wrote as an adult provided the inspiration for The Bum Magnet.
"Journaling allowed me to keep my writing a secret from the world. I'd write things and crack myself up, but I just never conceived of actually pursuing writing as anything other than an emotional outlet--that is, until I turned forty. With the real estate slump (my second love), and a high dose of Oprah's Best Life series, I realized I was suppressing a major part of who I was. I wanted to share my voice, experiences, and wacky sense of humor. The convergence of all those things was the kick the pants I needed to get off my duff and write my novel. Although most of the novel is a figment of my imagination and stretched truths, the main character's life does mirror my own in some respects...unfortunately."
A single mom, Brady lives just outside of D.C. in Cheltenham, Maryland, with her son, William. She's an editor for a government contracting firm and an active real estate agent with Exit Realty. Brady is also an alumnus of the University of the District of Columbia and University of Maryland University College, earning a B.A. in Economics and M.B.A., respectively.
K. L. Brady is a D.C. native and grew up in Prince George's County, Maryland, the setting of her debut novel. When she hit her "tween" years, her mother packed the family and moved to Bellaire, Ohio, where she eventually graduated from Bellaire High School. She attended the University of Akron for a few semesters, where she pledged Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., before moving back to the D.C. area.
She discovered a love for reading and writing at the age of three, by her mother's accounts. Through the years, she has maintained diaries and journals, but the journals she wrote as an adult provided the inspiration for The Bum Magnet.
"Journaling allowed me to keep my writing a secret from the world. I'd write things and crack myself up, but I just never conceived of actually pursuing writing as anything other than an emotional outlet--that is, until I turned forty. With the real estate slump (my second love), and a high dose of Oprah's Best Life series, I realized I was suppressing a major part of who I was. I wanted to share my voice, experiences, and wacky sense of humor. The convergence of all those things was the kick the pants I needed to get off my duff and write my novel. Although most of the novel is a figment of my imagination and stretched truths, the main character's life does mirror my own in some respects...unfortunately."
A single mom, Brady lives just outside of D.C. in Cheltenham, Maryland, with her son, William. She's an editor for a government contracting firm and an active real estate agent with Exit Realty. Brady is also an alumnus of the University of the District of Columbia and University of Maryland University College, earning a B.A. in Economics and M.B.A., respectively.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
GREAT book!,
By Christy Leigh Stewart "Good Mourning Sunshine" (California) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Bum Magnet (Paperback)
By the description of this book I had a good feeling that it would be a bit smarter and more entertaining than most chick-lit, but I still couldn't shake the chick-lit stigma I was putting on it. Upon actually reading the book I found I was right and very wrong. The book wasn't just smart and entertaining, but it also surpassed the genre of chick-lit.The main character is nothing like me; our ages are distant, our economic status is distant (she's a professional and I'm...not), she is jaded when it comes to love and I am still young enough to be socially acceptably naive about it. That's the short list and still I could relate so much to Charisse. As a woman, in her wants and needs and dedication to her loved ones, and as a person in the same respects. The character was so well defined and three dimensional that even though I had NOTHING in common with her, I could constantly put myself in her place, making the book more interactive than just passive. What I loved most about the evolution and character of Charisse's life, and the men in it, were that you were shown the good and the bad in the same stark and truthful light. Charisse wasn't perfect, the men she dated weren't perfect, and even those who you felt so disgusted by at times had their good sides. You still could understand how Charisse would and could form relationships with them. Without spoiling anything, I'll simply say the man she finally ended up with was GREAT. Again, realistic but still a great leading man. One I don't walk away from the story thinking `it wouldn't actually last'. It was perfect. It was sweet. It was sigh worthy. On a final (and IMPORTANT) note, the tone of the book was overall upbeat in what seemed like a dismal life from time to time. This made the humor easy and flawless. There were a lot of times that I laughed out loud and that last scene will remain one of my favorites for a long time.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
chick lit, but not bad,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Bum Magnet (Kindle Edition)
I enjoyed the book somewhat. the "heroine" of the book was too stupid at times for me to get into the story as much as I wanted, I had a few laugh out loud moments and the girlfriend back and forth banter was interesting, all and all it was to "chick litish", but I would recommend it for a quick enjoyable read
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not bad,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Bum Magnet (Kindle Edition)
I enjoyed the free Kindle sample of this book, so I bought the whole book. I read it, and enjoyed it, but I was a bit disconcerted by the language and the main character's single-mindedness about sex and men. This book was written by a black author, and all characters are black - I am white - and the language and alternate culture shown in the book took me a bit by surprise. If you don't like raw language (no swearing, just 'street' language) you might want to pass on this.On the positive side, this was an excellent portrayal of a successful 40-ish woman with emotional baggage that was keeping her from being all she could be. She fell into toxic relationship after toxic relationship, blaming the guys for being 'bums' without understanding how her own baggage made her pick men that were only going to reinforce her existing gender stereotypes. The book is the story of her coming to terms with her past and her baggage (and dumping a lot of it), and meeting 'Mr. Right' in the process. Just about any woman, of any background, would be able to relate to her, though I agree with another reviewer who said that she was frustrating at times.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Inside This Book
(learn more)
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192250339_.gif){kind=small}
Listmania!
So You'd Like to...
|
|
