Gutteridge, Rene

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Gutteridge, Rene

PERSONAL: Married; husband's name, Sean (a musician); children: two. Education: Oklahoma City University, received degree (magna cum laude).

ADDRESSES: Home—Oklahoma City, OK. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Tyndale House, 351 Executive Dr., Carol Stream, IL 60188.

CAREER: First United Methodist Church, Oklahoma City, OK, former drama director for five years; instructor at writer's workshops.

AWARDS, HONORS: Excellence in Mass Communication award, Oklahoma City University.

WRITINGS:

Ghost Writer (novel), Bethany House (Minneapolis, MN), 2000.

Troubled Waters (novel), Bethany House (Minneapolis, MN), 2003.

Boo (novel), WaterBrook Press (Colorado Springs, CO), 2003.

The Splitting Storm (novel), Tyndale House (Wheaton, IL), 2004.

Boo Who (novel), WaterBrook Press (Colorado Springs, CO), 2004.

Storm Gathering: Prequel to The Splitting Storm, Tyndale House (Wheaton, IL), 2005.

Also author of more than thirty plays.

WORK IN PROGRESS: A third novel about Nick Kline.

SIDELIGHTS: Rene Gutteridge's debut novel, Ghost Writer, concerns Johnathan Harper, an editor who receives a mysterious manuscript. Whoever wrote it seems to know Jonathan's innermost secrets, and he or she continues to send more chapters in the work to him. The revelations in the manuscript push Harper close to insanity; he begins to think the author of the book might be God. "Gutteridge's debut novel makes her an author to watch," stated Melanie C. Duncan in Library Journal.

Troubled Waters, the author's next book, features Macey Steigel, a Dallas anchorwoman who is on the fast track to success but who has lost her faith in God and has estranged some of those closest to her, including her parents. When Macey's father dies, she returns to her small-town home and is forced to reexamine her life and her values. It is "a competent if familiar tale that evangelical Christian readers will likely enjoy," commented a Publishers Weekly reviewer.

Gutteridge introduced a unique new character in The Splitting Storm. Mick Kline is not only an FBI agent but also a storm-chaser, someone who pursues tornadoes and other violent storms in order to gather data about them. When Mick's brother is murdered, he is determined to find the killer, but his obsession with the case results in his being forced to take a leave of absence. Mick then goes to Texas, where a series of seemingly random murders has occurred, killings that seem to have a connection to Mick's case. According to a Publishers Weekly writer, The Splitting Storm affords readers "fast-paced suspense and some intriguing insight into the world of serial killers," and Gutteridge "strikes a good balance with her faith themes." John Mort commented in Booklist that "Gutteridge uses storm scenes to good effect to suggest the mystery of God," and called the author's characters "believably eccentric." Kline is again featured in Storm Gathering: Prequel to The Splitting Storm.

In Boo and Boo Who Gutteridge spins lighthearted fare about Skary, Indiana, a town full of religious hypocrites who are converted to true faith by an unlikely source. Boo Who is an offbeat tale of what happens when the horror writer who has made the town famous finds God and gives up his trade. The plot is "completely improbable," according to Jeff Zaleski in Publishers Weekly, but nevertheless, the book is "enjoyable" because of the author's "offbeat characterizations and her sense of mischievous delight in the story."

Christian themes appear in all of Gutteridge's work. The author commented on this on her Home Page: "There are many elements of the Christian faith, and my novels explore many of them. Salvation, of course, is the most obvious, and that's explored in Ghost Writer. But I think when we try to "make" our novels Christian, we lose the fine art of story telling. Simply using Jesus' parables as an example, we can see how many different things he showed us through his stories. I tend to tell people my novels are Christian because I'm Christian. I write from a Christian world view and therefore my stories reflect that. But I don't feel the need to make my stories blatantly Christian just so I can feel good about myself. I'm comfortable writing a story that reflects Jesus' heart and life with subtlety, because often times, it's that still, small, subtle voice that is the most powerful in my life."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, October 1, 2004, John Mort, review of The Splitting Storm, p. 300.

Library Journal, September 1, 2000, Melanie C. Duncan, review of Ghost Writer, p. 184.

Publishers Weekly, January 13, 2003, review of Troubled Waters p. 39; May 3, 2004, review of The Splitting Storm, p. 169; July 26, 2004, Jeff Zaleski, review of Boo Who, p. 38.