What fun! I received a copy of Scoop as a gift for working in the American Christian Fiction Writers bookstore during the 2006 conference in Dallas. I took the book with me to a late night chat that the Rene Gutteridge was giving on Saturday night. I had missed her during the book signing session earlier that afternoon, and I wanted to meet her.
Rene Gutteridge was a curiosity to me. I had read her novel, Ghost Writer, several years ago and liked it. It is different. It intrigued me. The main character was male. I thought Rene was male because she writes such a strong male character. I realized my mistake on Thursday, September 21, when I walked by her talking with a couple of conference attendees and saw her name tag. So when I was offered a couple of free books for volunteering in the bookstore, and I saw Scoop in the pile, I took it.
After the late night chat, I approached Rene with Scoop in order to get her autograph. She surprised me when she wanted to know how I had gotten hold of a copy - the book's publication date wasn't until the middle of October, a month away. The publishing company wouldn't even send copies of Scoop for her to sell in the bookstore, though she had pleaded with them. Apparently they had sent at least one copy in a shipment of books they were donating to the conference, and I was lucky enough to get it.
I took Scoop along with me on vacation the next week. I am now a die-hard Rene Gutteridge fan! What a sense of humor her writing has. I've bought and read books with labels on them claiming that my money would be returned if I didn't find them hilarious. I didn't find them as funny as the publisher claimed, but I never returned the books for my money back. I'm working too hard to get published to snub another writer that way. Those books were good - just not as funny as claimed.
But Scoop is a different story. From the obituaries prior to chapter one (Yes, I said obituaries.) forward through the end, I laughed and laughed and laughed some more. I just had to read parts of it aloud to my friend while we were at the cabin in North Carolina as we sat on the porch in our rocking chairs, reading. She laughed too. I was afraid that I would wake her up with my laughing from half way across the cabin that night as I cackled at the story I was in the middle of. We both had our doors closed and a closet and the bathroom separated the bedrooms, but I laughed so hard I was afraid she would tell me to be quiet.
Rene's characters are so real I'd like to meet them. Ray Duffey, news reporter, could be your next door neighbor. Hayden Hazard might be your sister. Roarke Keegan will bring tears to your eyes as you suffer with him through his trials. Your sympathies will go out to Gilda Braun, aging news anchor, as she nears the end of her broadcast career.
Scoop takes you into the world of broadcast news during an all-important sweeps week. For a small broadcast station in competition with a couple of larger ones in town, coming up with a scoop to bring in viewers is vital. So the hunt is on for a high-profile breaking news story.
Hugo Talley, Channel 7 news producer, is determined to make his station come out on top this year. So he orders his news reporters to be on the lookout. He knows, if they work hard enough, they will find him a good story. But a series of disasters within his news staff threatens to bury his goal and even lose his job for him. Can he save the week and bring Channel 7 out on top anyway? Or will Hayden Hazard, his new assistant, destroy the station with her goody-two-shoes act instead of helping him solve the problems? What does she mean, anyway, bringing prayer into the work place?
If you love romantic comedy, you'll rush out and get a copy of Rene Gutteridge's Scoop as soon as you can. And then, I'll bet you'll be like me and search for anything more by Rene that you can find.
kmparis
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