The Bum Magnet [Kindle Edition]

K.L. Brady (Author), Dee D'Amico (Author), Cover Illustration by Dee D'Amico (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The Bum Magnet has been acquired by Simon & Schuster. Will be released by Gallery/Pocket on March 29, 2011. The original paperback version is no longer available; however, the mass market paperback is available for pre-order.

2010 Next Generation Indie Book Award Winner!
Third Place Winner - Best Fiction of 2010
First Place Winner - Multicultural Fiction

Real estate agent Charisse Tyson seems to have it all-a great job, a dream car, and a McMansion in high-and-mightyville. Everything in her life is just right...except the Mister. While lamenting the break-up with her most recent "the one" during a holiday meltdown, Charisse realizes she has a type when it comes to men—players, players, and more players. A magazine article motivates her to swear off men and examine the complex roots of her romantic fiascos.

Just five simple steps to transform Charisse's love life to the stuff of legends, right? Life is never that easy.

She commences her Do-It-Yourself therapy and barely cracks open her emotional toolbox when she encounters the monkey wrenches: a sexy new beau, two persistent ex-flames, and an FBI agent with life-altering secrets threatening to turn her world topsy-turvy. A tug of war ensues with Charisse dead center, creating chaos as she attempts to distinguish the Don Juans from the Romeos. As her love life is propelled into unpredictable twists not even she could imagine, will a twenty-seven-year-old secret keep Charisse from finding the right "one"?

Laugh loud and often as Charisse discovers whether her choices reflect something more than a penchant for good looks, great sex, and bad judgment.

"A highly recommended read that should not be missed..." Midwest Book Review - Reviewer's Choice (Jan 2010)

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.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 392 KB
• Publisher: LadyLit Press (September 3, 2009)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B002NX0GDS
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (68 customer reviews)

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.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT book!, September 11, 2009

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, July 9, 2010

By 

T. Bynum "Ms Bynum" (saint petersburg, florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

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, August 12, 2010

By 

SingleEyePhotos - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

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.