Nicholas Sparks (author)

This article is about the author. For other persons named Nicholas Sparks, see Nicholas Sparks (politician).

Nicholas Charles Sparks (born December 31 1965) is an internationally bestselling American author. He writes novels with themes that include Christianity, love, tragedy and fate. He has 13 published novels and lives in New Bern, North Carolina, with his wife Cathy and their five children.

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Personal

Nicholas Sparks was born on New Year's Eve in Omaha, Nebraska to Patrick Michal Sparks, a professor, and Jill Emma Marie (née Thoene) Sparks, a homemaker and an optometrist’s assistant. He has one living sibling, brother Michael Earl "Micah" Sparks (1964 - ) and a deceased sister Danielle "Dana" Sparks (1967-2000). Sparks was raised as a Roman Catholic.^[1] and is of German, Czech, English, and Irish ancestry.^[2]

Because his father was pursuing graduate studies when Nicholas was a young child, he lived in Minnesota, Los Angeles, and Grand Island, Nebraska, all before the age of eight. In 1974 his family eventually settled in Fair Oaks, California and remained there through Nicholas's high school career. He graduated in 1984 as valedictorian from Bella Vista High School and went straight on to college, having received a full track and field scholarship from the University of Notre Dame. As a first year student in 1985, Nicholas's relay team set a still-standing school record for the 4 x 800 meter relay. He majored in Business Finance and graduated with high honors in 1988.

Nicholas met his wife Cathy Cole (from New Hampshire) during spring break in 1988. They married in July 1989 and lived in Sacramento, California. Having been rejected by both publishers and law schools, Nicholas chose to try his hand in various careers over the next three years, i.e. real estate appraisal, waiting tables, selling dental products by phone and starting his own manufacturing business. In 1992, Sparks began selling pharmaceuticals and in 1993 he was transferred to New Bern, North Carolina, where he wrote his first published novel The Notebook.^[3]

Nicholas and his wife currently reside in New Bern with their three sons Miles Andrew, Ryan Cote, and Landon, and their twin daughters Lexie Danielle and Savannah Marin. Nicholas recently donated a track to New Bern High School and contributes to local and national charities. He contributes to the Creative Writing Program (MFA) at the University of Notre Dame by funding scholarships, internships and annual fellowships.

Writing

In 1985 Nicholas penned his first novel The Passing while home for the summer between freshman and sophomore years at Notre Dame. It was never published. In 1989 he wrote his second, also unpublished, novel The Royal Murders. In 1994, over a period of six months, Nicholas penned what was to be his first published novel, The Notebook. He was discovered by literary agent Theresa Park, who picked The Notebook out of her agency's slush pile, liked it, and offered to represent him. In October of 1995, Park secured a $ 1 million advance for The Notebook from Time Warner Book Group. The novel was published in October 1996 and made the New York Times best seller list on its first week.

After his first publishing success, he wrote a string of international bestsellers (See "List of Published Works"), all of which were translated into over thirty-five languages. Three of his novels have been made into feature-length films: Message in a Bottle (1999), A Walk to Remember (2002), and The Notebook (2004). As of March 2006, each movie has grossed a total lifetime amount of:

• Message In A Bottle, over $118 million^[4]
• A Walk To Remember, over $47 million^[5]
• The Notebook, over $115 million^[6]

Nicholas said during an October 2005 book signing in Greenville, SC, that the next movie to be based on one of his books would be Nights in Rodanthe. The film is currently in production with Richard Gere and Diane Lane playing the male and female leads. James Franco will also star in the movie, which is being directed by George C. Wolfe.

These successes make the novels one of the most profitable franchises in Hollywood. Nicholas has also written a currently unsold screenplay for The Guardian. According to NicholasSparks.com screenplays for "True Believer" and "At First Sight" have been sold, as well.^[7]

List of Published Works

• The Notebook (October 1996) ISBN 0-446-52080-2
• Message in a Bottle (April 1998) ISBN 0-446-52356-9
• A Walk to Remember (October 1999) ISBN 0-446-52553-7
• The Rescue (September 2000) ISBN 0-446-52550-
• A Bend in the Road (September 2001) ISBN 0-446-52778-5
• Nights in Rodanthe (September 2002) ISBN 0-446-53133-2
• The Guardian (April 2003) ISBN 0-446-52779-3
• The Wedding (September 2003) ISBN 0-446-53245-2
• Three Weeks with my Brother (April 2004) ISBN 0-446-53244-4
• True Believer (April 2005) ISBN 0-446-53243-6
• At First Sight (October 2005) ISBN 0-446-53242-8
• Dear John (October 2006) ISBN 0-446-52805-6
• The Choice (September 2007)

Notes

1. ^  Biography for Nicholas Sparks. IMDb. Retrieved on December 2, 2005.

References

1. ^ http://www.catholic-doc.org/miscellany/1999/1199sparks.HTM
2. ^ http://www.nicholassparks.com/ShortBio.html
3. ^ Biography for Nicholas Sparks. Book Browse. Retrieved on March 26, 2006.
4. ^ Message In A Bottle. Box Office Mojo.
5. ^ A Walk To Remember. Box Office Mojo.
6. ^ The Notebook. Box Office Mojo.
7. ^ Frequently Asked Questions about At First Sight. The Official Nicholas Sparks Web Site: The Novels.