MEET LOTTIE

Lottie Lipscomb Guttry grew up in the small town of Kilgore, Texas, the site of the famous East Texas Oil Field. She attended Sweet Briar College, received a bachelor of music degree from the University of Texas at Austin, a master of arts from Stephen F. Austin University, and a doctorate from Texas A&M University at Commerce. She taught literature and composition at Kilgore College, the University of Texas at Tyler, and the University of Phoenix. She owned and directed Sylvan Learning Center in Longview. During her studies at Stephen F. Austin State University, a professor assigned her class to find and write a family legend. A cousin introduced Lottie to Sarah and Alexander Browning and their story—the basis for her historical novel Alligator Creek. Other publications include a musical, Boom, based on the history of the East Texas Oil Field; a play for children, The Enchanted Swan; a critical article published in the Walt Whitman Review; two devotionals published in The Upper Room; and numerous feature articles for The Longview News-Journal.

Lottie and her husband John, a retired dentist, live in Longview, Texas, near Kilgore, where they both grew up. She participates in the music program at her church, serves on several community boards, plays duplicate bridge, and travels. She has three grown children, eight grandchildren, and two great-granddaughters.