As a teen in British boarding schools, Paul Watkins time traveled by writing stories set in the past. Now, the acclaimed novelist, toting duffel bags filled with wartime relics, encourages prep school kids to travel along. The author of eight novels and two memoirs, Watkins began his literary career at 23, with "Night Over Day Over Night," a novel about a young German soldier fighting in the Battle of the Bulge, which earned him a Booker Prize nomination in England. His latest work of fiction, "Thunder God: A Viking Quest," is set in 10th century Norway. Watkins' vivid rendering of history is one reason why Hollywood has shown interest in many of his books. What few in the filmmaking and publishing industries know, however, is that Watkins is also a veteran educator. This is his 15th year at Peddie, where, as writer in residence, he has discovered that his passion for telling stories and taking readers places they have never been fuels his teaching, as well. He has also learned that any good educator can become "indecently proficient" if he or she is not careful. So, enabled by the flexibility his post at Peddie provides, he has varied not only his methodology but also the subjects he has taught there--everything from fiction writing to World War I. But Watkins is hardly the sole beneficiary of this arrangement. His students see in him someone who clung tightly to--and never let go of--the kinds of youthful aspirations too often dismissed as unrealistic. "He really has an ability to empathize with his high school students," says Gwyneth Connell, a Peddie alumna who now teaches history herself. "He knows how important this stuff is to them."