Sharon Emmerichs’ historical novel, A Man Marked Not by Fate, takes place within the Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf and explores how stories often mask the truths of history, and it also answers the question, “Who woke that deadly dragon?” in Beowulf's third and final battle. In 994, an unnamed slave, in exile from his master’s house, finds a huge hoard of treasure in a cave. He steals a goblet thinking to give it to his master as a way to allow his return to the clan, and unfortunately wakes the dragon sleeping within the hoard. The dragon, furious at the theft, attacks the village, and Beowulf and his warriors seek out to destroy the beast. Since there are many unknowns concerning the slave in Beowulf, Sharon Emmerichs attempts to answer the questions: Who was the slave? Why was he exiled? Why did he choose the goblet to steal? in her adaptation of the Beowulf story. Dr. Sharon Emmerichs teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Shakespeare, Medieval literature, Renaissance literature, and poetry in the UAA Department of English. She received her B.A. in English literature from the University of Oregon and her M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Missouri.