Prof. Lanny Fields '63 Authors Emperor!: A Romance of Ancient China

October 16, 2007

October 16, 2007, Greencastle, Ind. - For Lanny Fields, professor emeritus of history at California State University-San Bernardino and 1963 graduate of DePauw University, writing his first novel was "a most fascinating experience intellectually." Fields and his new book, Emperor!: A Romance of Ancient China, are featured in California's Redland Daily Facts. As Fields wrote, David James Heiss reports, "Characters took over the story. They took unexpected turns in their conversations. They did things Fields didn't expect them to do."

The article quotes the professor, "'I was doing a study and went back to this period, though it wasn't my period of interest,' he said, referring to the era of emperor Ying Jeng, the former hero king who helped unite China's warring factions into an empire that spanned 2,000 years. 'But as I began writing, it spawned more questions, which in turn spawned even more questions.'"

Dr. Fields, who earned his M.A. from the University of Hawaii (Manoa) and his Ph.D. from Indiana University, has published reference books in the past. His first novel required "Revisions, revisions and more revisions. Each time you think it's done, but there's more polishing and sometimes drudgery. There were times when I wanted to give it up, but I had something to say, so I was persistent. I believed in it, too. The creative process was just wonderful."

Fields taught at Cal State for 20 years and was the 2003 recipient of the university’s Golden Apple award, which honors outstanding teaching. He previously served as a professor at State University of New York, Albany, "where he was the 1978 recipient of that college's Chancellor's Award for teaching excellence," the story points out.

Access the complete text at the newspaper's Web site. Learn more about Emperor! and order the book at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com.

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