The Fixer Upper: A Novel

The Fixer Upper: A Novel

by Mary Kay Andrews
The Fixer Upper: A Novel

The Fixer Upper: A Novel

by Mary Kay Andrews

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Overview

“Entirely satisfying, an expert balance of warmth and compassion, terrific supporting characters, a little steamy sex and just enough suspense to keep you from guessing how it will all go down.” — Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A hilarious novel about one woman’s quest to redo an old house . . . and her life, as only New York Times bestseller Mary Kay Andrews can tell it.

After her boss in a high-powered Washington public relations firm is caught in a political scandal, fledgling lobbyist Dempsey Jo Killebrew is left unemployed and broke. Out of options, she reluctantly accepts her father’s offer to help refurbish Birdsong, the old family place he recently inherited in Guthrie, Georgia. All it will take, he tells her, is a little paint and some TLC to turn the fading Victorian mansion into a real-estate cash cow.

But when she arrives, Dempsey realizes that “Bird Droppings” would more aptly describe the moldering Pepto Bismol–pink dump with duct-taped windows and a driveway full of junk. There’s also a murderously grumpy old lady, one of Dempsey’s distant relations, who has claimed squatter’s rights and isn’t moving out. Ever.

Everyone in Guthrie seems to know Dempsey’s business, from a smooth-talking real-estate agent to a cute lawyer who owns the local paper. As if that's not bad enough, pesky FBI agents keep showing up on her doorstep, looking for information about her ex-boss.

All Dempsey can do is roll up her sleeves and get to work. Before long, what started as a job of necessity somehow becomes a labor of love and, ultimately, a journey that takes her to a place she never expected—back home.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780061888243
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication date: 06/23/2009
Sold by: HARPERCOLLINS
Format: eBook
Pages: 448
Sales rank: 61,299
File size: 1 MB

About the Author

About The Author

Mary Kay Andrews is the New York Times bestselling author of 30 novels and The Beach House Cookbook. A former reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, she lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

Hometown:

Atlanta, Georgia

Date of Birth:

July 27, 1954

Place of Birth:

Tampa, Florida

Education:

B.A. in newspaper journalism, University of Georgia, 1976

Interviews

Mary Kay's Favorites

Books

REBECCA by Daphne du Maurier
VOID MOON by Michael Connelly
BIG STONE GAP, by Adriana Trigiani
CRAZY FOR YOU by Jennifer Crusie
GET SHORTY by Elmore Leonard


Movies/DVDs
SABRINA (the original with Audrey Hepburn)
CHARADE (again the original with Audrey Hepburn)
WHEN HARRY MET SALLY
AUNTIE MAME (not the gawdawful musical)
THE QUIET MAN


Movie Musicals
CAMELOT
FUNNY GIRL
SOUTH PACIFIC
MY FAIR LADY
WEST SIDE STORY


Decorating Books
SHABBY CHIC by Rachel Ashwell
A HOUSE IN THE SOUTH by Frances Schultz and Paula Wallace
MARY EMMERLING'S BEACH COTTAGES by Mary Emmerling
MARY EMMERLING'S COUNTRY COTTAGE by Mary Emmerling
AN AFFAIR WITH A HOUSE by Bunny Williams


Top Five Renovating Tips
1. An old house needs old doors, hardware and fixtures. Nothing says "new and cheap" faster than a flimsy hollow-core door and bright gold repro brass hardware. Look for solid wood doors and wood frame windows at salvage yards and antique markets. And don't forget to check the "building materials" category on Craigslist. I got all the doors for my beach house off Craigslist-for $5 apiece. Vintage hardware can frequently be found at flea markets, or check online sources like eBay.

2. Vintage light fixtures give a great look-but be sure you factor in the cost of re-wiring them, and finding good-looking shades. Nothing gives a lamp that "granny" look faster than a dingy yellow shade.

3. Before you invest in antique cast-iron claw-foot tubs or sinks, make sure they have proper fittings. Measure drains and faucetspreads and make sure you can find new ones that will fit and function properly. Antique toilets are generally a bad idea-most local codes require low-flow toilets for water conservation.

4. Before re-wiring a house, put together a furniture floor plan. You don't want a heat register under the living room sofa, but you will want outlets on either side of the bed for reading lamps, and for any area that might be used as an office you'll want plenty of grounded plugs. And how about that flat-screen television your husband wants? Plan now for cable locations.

5. Be flexible. A great fireplace surround could become a headboard, as could an old paneled door-turned sideways. And that leaded glass window that had to be removed in the remodel? Why not fit it with mirrors and a hinge and make it into a bathroom medicine cabinet?



My Five Best Junking Finds:

1. Pair of barrel-back armchairs--$30 at an estate sale. They were covered in gold embossed vinyl when I found 'em. But with the legs stained ebony, and a gorgeous blue Ralph Lauren fabric reupholstery, they're perfect by my fireplace.

2. Set of eight antique Wedgewood black and cream transferware plates--$30 at an estate sale. The seller's mother used some of them for cat dishes, others as an ashtray!

3. Vintage landscape oil painting, Tuscany maybe? Or Provence? Who cares! Bought at a "divorce sale"-the ex-husband sold this beautiful painting for $50 because it had belonged to his ex-wife. I spent a small fortune framing it, but it's the basis for a collection of treasured landscape paintings.

4. Wicker settee, Salvation Army find for $25. I'd walked to the store, and had to hoof it back home in a hurry for money and my car.

5. Faux alligator train case-found at a yard sale. When I asked the seller if she'd do better on the price, she replied that she'd give it to me for free-if I could figure out how to open it. Since it had a combination lock like the one on my high school graduation luggage, I twirled the dial to 0-0-0-because I never figured out how to change mine-and sure enough, the lock popped open. Score!

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