Fields, Jeff

Jeff Fields was born in Uvalda, Ga., in 1938. His parents moved from Elberton, Ga., to LaGrange, N.C. At age 14, Fields ran away from home. He worked his way through high school and college, supporting himself as an ironworker. His college career spanned eight years, attending classes one year, then working the next few. He first attended South Georgia College, then the University of Georgia. After a two-year hiatus, he finished his final two years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, graduating in 1964. Initially, Fields studied drama, but soon turned to a major in television. In his senior year, however, Fields studied with novelist Betty Smith and became interested in writing.

After graduation, Fields worked for a year at a radio station in Anniston, Ala., after which he moved to Greenville, S.C., where he worked in radio and television for four years. Fields then took a position as producer-host for television station WJXT-TV, in Jacksonville, Fla., hosting the programs 30 Below, Cracker Barrel, and Jeff and Pat and Sunday Night .

In 1967, while in Greenville, Fields sold his first short story to McCall's magazine. His initial success sparked him to begin writing a novel. After five years of writing at night and on the weekends, Fields felt he had a final draft, and submitted it to his agent, who returned it asking for major revisions. Frustrated, Fields changed agents, made minor revisions, and, seven months later, A Cry of Angels (1974) was published. In 1975, after signing a contract with Universal Studios to write a screenplay from the novel, Fields quit his job as producer-host to concentrate on writing. Distrusting Hollywood's treatment of his book, Fields opted not to renew the movie rights. He then began writing a second novel, which has not been published. As of 1998, Fields lives in Chamblee, Ga.