The Fixer Upper
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Product Description
The delightful New York Times bestselling leader returns with a hilarious novel about one woman’s quest to redo an ancient house . . . and her life.
After her boss in a high-powered Washington public relations firm is caught in a political scandal, fledgling lobbyist Dempsey Jo Killebrew is left nearly broke, unemployed, and homeless. Out of options, she reluctantly accepts her father’s offer to help refurbish Birdsong, the ancient family tree place he recently inherited in Guthrie, Georgia. All it will take, he tells her, is a small paint and some TLC to turn the fading Victorian mansion into a real-estate cash cow.
But, oh, is Dempsey in for a surprise when she arrives in Guthrie. “Bird Droppings” would more aptly clarify the moldering Pepto Bismolpink dump with duct-taped windows and a driveway full of junk. There’s also a murderously grumpy ancient lady, one of Dempsey’s distant relations, who has claimed squatter’s rights and isn’t moving out. Ever.
Furthermore, everyone in Guthrie seems to know Dempsey’s business, from a smooth-talking real-estate agent to a cute lawyer who owns the local newspaper. It wouldn’t be so terrible if it weren’t for the pesky FBI agents who show up on Dempsey’s doorstep, hoping to pry information about her ex-boss from her.
All Dempsey can do is roll up her sleeves and get to work. And before long, what ongoing as a job of necessity somehow becomes a labor of like and, ultimately, a journey that takes her to a place she never expected—back home again.
Amazon.com Review
Book Description
The delightful New York Times bestselling leader returns with a hilarious novel about one woman’s quest to redo an ancient house . . . and her life.
After her boss in a high-powered Washington public relations firm is caught in a political scandal, fledgling lobbyist Dempsey Jo Killebrew is left nearly broke, unemployed, and homeless. Out of options, she reluctantly accepts her father’s offer to help refurbish Birdsong, the ancient family tree place he recently inherited in Guthrie, Georgia. All it will take, he tells her, is a small paint and some TLC to turn the fading Victorian mansion into a real-estate cash cow.
But, oh, is Dempsey in for a surprise when she arrives in Guthrie. “Bird Droppings” would more aptly clarify the moldering Pepto Bismol-pink dump with duct-taped windows and a driveway full of junk. There’s also a murderously grumpy ancient lady, one of Dempsey’s distant relations, who has claimed squatter’s rights and isn’t moving out. Ever.
Furthermore, everyone in Guthrie seems to know Dempsey’s business, from a smooth-talking real-estate agent to a cute lawyer who owns the local newspaper. It wouldn’t be so terrible if it weren’t for the pesky FBI agents who show up on Dempsey’s doorstep, hoping to pry information about her ex-boss from her.
All Dempsey can do is roll up her sleeves and get to work. And before long, what ongoing as a job of necessity somehow becomes a labor of like and, ultimately, a journey that takes her to a place she never expected–back home again.
Mary Kay Andrews’s Top Fives
We caught up with Mary Kay Andrews, the prolific leader of The Fixer Upper, Deep Dish and additional bestselling Southern-fried romances, and learned about a few of her favorite things–from books to musicals to interior decorating tips (a passion of hers which plays a prominent role in her new book).
Top Five Books- Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
- Void Moon by Michael Connelly
- Huge Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani
- Crazy for You by Jennifer Crusie
- Get Shorty by Elmore Leonard
Top Five 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 Silent Man
Top Five Movie Musicals
- Camelot
- Amusing Girl
- South Pacific
- My Honest Lady
- West Side Tale
Top Five 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 American Country Cottages by Mary Emmerling
- An Affair with a House by Bunny Williams
Top Five Renovating Tips
- An ancient house needs ancient doors, hardware and fixtures. Nothing says “new and cheap” quicker than a flimsy hollow-core door and bright gold repro brass hardware. Look for levelheaded 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 establish at flea markets, or check online sources like eBay.
- Vintage light fixtures give a fantastic look–but be sure you factor in the cost of re-wiring them, and finding excellent-looking shades. Nothing gives a lamp that “granny” look quicker than a dingy yellow shade.
- Before you invest in antique cast-iron claw-foot tubs or sinks, make sure they have proper fittings. Measure drains and faucet spreads and make sure you can find new ones that will fit and function properly. Antique toilets are generally a terrible thought–most local codes require low-flow toilets for water conservation.
- Before re-wiring a house, place together a furniture floor plot. 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 spouse wants? Plot now for cable locations.
- Be flexible. A fantastic fireplace surround could become a headboard, as could an ancient 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?
Top Five Best Junking Finds
- Pair of barrel-back armchairs–$30 at an estate sale. They were covered in gold imprinted vinyl when I establish ‘em. But with the legs stained ebony, and a gorgeous blue Ralph Lauren fabric reupholstery, they’re perfect by my fireplace.
- 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!
- Vintage landscape oil painting, Tuscany maybe? Or Provence? Who cares! Bought at a “divorce sale”–the ex-spouse sold this gorgeous painting for $50 because it had belonged to his ex-wife. I spent a tiny chance framing it, but it’s the basis for a collection of treasured landscape paintings.
- Wicker settee, Salvation Army find for $25. I’d walked to the store, and had to hoof it back home in a hasten for money and my car.
- Faux alligator train case–establish at a yard sale. When I questioned the seller if she’d do better on the fee, she answered 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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I’m extremely disappointed that the leader has chosen to bash Repulicans and write “ Republicans” throughout her frothy novel. The representation of Republicans as corrupt (like her party of choice isn’t?) was as deliberate as it was (completely) unnecesary. The leader should realize she has (well, perhaps “had” is a better word) a conservative base and should not treat this base so callously. I urge all conservatives to NOT buy this book, or any further books from this leader, and to stand up to the on-slaught of anti-conservative speechifying. I had looked forwards to my fourth book by this leader, and I am now terribly sorry I bought it. I plot to return it to the leader and I urge ALL conservatives – if you made the same mistake I did and bought this junk – to return it to the leader and question her to respect your voice.
Reader’s Rating: 1 / 5
I’ve read a couple of Ms. Andrews books but her lack of research on Washington, DC left me cold in the first few pages. I know this is supposed to be a “light read” but please!!! Do a small bit of fact finding if you’re going to write a book! I doubt any people share an apartment in DC with 2-4 people and pay two thousand dollars each, no matter what quadrant they live in. There would not likely be a bar in Georgetown called the Filibuster — that would be Capitol Hill, or at the very least, downtown. Taxi’s in DC don’t run on meters, the fare is based on zones, so no cabbie would say, “the meter’s running.” And all this before page 25.
Give me a break; have you spent more than a day in the nation’s Capital????
Reader’s Rating: 1 / 5
LOVED this book (and I’m sure there will be more to come with this character) – and what’s not to like about a house called “Birdsong” – but oy! PLEASE don’t share with the reader what composition your character is listening to on her i-pod! I couldn’t judge how very distracting it was! It took me completely away from the tale and I was irritated by it. I read another review of a another book (not by this leader) that the character was doing the same thing and many reviewers complained about it – one adage that she “didn’t bloody care what the character was listening to on his i-pod!” And come on now . . Dempsey ‘moonwalking’ on her porch? More than a small silly . . .
Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5
I don’t really read chick lit, but since I just bought my own 90 year ancient “fixer upper” house I thought this might be a excellent book to take my mind off renovations. I can’t judge people get paid–handsomely, it seems–to write such drivel. Andrews probably researched the renovation sections on the Home Depot do-it-yourself website and has never lifted a hammer or paintbrush in her life. There is one gratuitous sex scene that is very well-written, really. Otherwise, the writing is stupid, contrived, and conventional. It’s mostly about some improbable Washington scandal that involves the FBI nagging the main character. A excellent waste of $28. I nearly threw it in the airport trashcan when the ancient lady Ella Kate sustains a “hairline break” of her hip, but the narrator keeps adage it’s not broken. Duh?
Reader’s Rating: 1 / 5
Dempsey Jo Killebrew finished law school and became a lobbyist in Washington D.C. Her boss, Alex Hodder is linked to a bent politician and “Hoddergate” ensues. Dempsey is fired and set up as a scapegoat, so her father sends her to Georgia to check out a recently inherited house, hoping to “flip” it. When Dempsey arrives in the tiny town of Guthrie, GA, she can barely judge the state the Birdsong home is in. Not only is the house in tatters, but an elderly distant cousin is squatting on site as well. The FBI aren’t far behind Dempsey in her escape to reasonably Guthrie, hoping to enlist her aid in turning the tables and incriminating Hodder. Throw in a handsome realtor/handyman and a handsome lawyer turned tiny town newspaper publisher and you have the makings of a fantastic tale from Andrews.
Reader’s Rating: 3 / 5