LivingA personal conversation withthe bestselling Dream author

With 17 novels, 6 movie deals and counting, CliffsNotes and teacher guides, it’s clear Nicholas Sparks’ realistic love stories travel way beyond the bookshelf and into theatres and classrooms. It takes a certain gift to be a writer whose stories truly appeal to all ages. Nicholas has that gift. At the height of his career, fans are anxiously awaiting his next novel, perfectly happy knowing they’ll probably need to stock up on tissues. How Nicholas can so beautifully write unforgettable stories that touch readers’ hearts and make them re-evaluate their own lives is due in part to the hardships he’s had in his life, including the tragic death of his parents and sister, and realizing his dream of running in the Olympics was never going to happen. Here Mackin’s Lori Tracy talks with Nicholas about his journey, one that was influenced, amazingly enough, by horror novelist Stephen King.

FROM HORROR TO say all you want about environment and [See “Finally Meeting Stephen King” on HEARTSTRINGS leading by example, but in the end, I’ve page 6]. My dad loved horror movies. I’ve Lori: You’ve been a voracious reader found that people are going to be who seen probably every horror movie known your entire life and now read about 100 they’re going to be. to mankind, from the very worst, C-type, books/year. How have all these years of cheesy movies to the classic ones. It was “informal research” helped you develop L: What types of books interested you your writing skills and style? the most? Nicholas: I was a big reader as a child. N: I liked lots of different genres, but My first novel at age 19 was Both of my parents were big readers. My Stephen King was my major influence. mom would go to the library every week actually a horror novel ... and check out 4-5 books. My dad was blood, guts, zombies and the a university professor, so his office was whole bit. surrounded by books; he read practically 5 hours a day. So I learned to love reading at a very young age. When I ran really wonderful when I read King because out of books, I’d read the encyclopedias. I it’s a journey. It taught me to never lose had read through our set of Encyclopedia sight that you’re trying to tell a story that Britannicas by the age of 10 or so. interests people. My sister though, I think she maybe When I wrote my first novel at age 19, read one book her entire life. So you can it was actually a horror novel, which was Nicholas graduating from Notre Dame a lot of fun. Blood, guts, zombies and the with proud Mom and Dad whole bit! It’s in my attic. 2 me to age 28 when I sat L: So you chose autonomous? down to write another N: I did. I liked the type of job where novel — “.” you see your boss once a month, come I knew going in that I was and go when you wanted. I very much going to finish it. enjoyed it.

FINDING WHO L: If you could go back and do college Living the Dream YOU’RE MEANT TO BE again, do you think majoring in creative L: You were valedictorian writing would’ve helped you? of your high school class. N: No, I don’t think so. My own How is it that your law opinion is that creativity is this enigma. school applications were Even I don’t understand where I come up rejected? with ideas. I get an idea, and I know if it’s N: I was actually right or wrong. I think part of that for me white listed at a couple is I work both sides of my brain. places. One of them was My hobby is studying economics. I UC-Davis, and I called love charts and numbers and GDP and them and said, “What was percentages. I love to follow commodity it about my application cycles and prices. So I’m always working that you didn’t like?” They that side of my brain. Then I sit down said, “Well, as a business and write and exercise the other side of major, we don’t feel that my brain. you’ve developed the writing skills necessary AN AWAKENING to be successful in law L: Your bio says you did a mid- school.” I still have the twenties life check after watching the final letter from them to this day “Cheers” episode on TV. that explains that! Isn’t that Most people don’t do a life check until Photo Credit: Alice M. Arthur funny? they’re in their 30s and 40s! I get the feeling you were always very ambitious My senior year in college I took a L: That is hilarious! and motivated. True statement? class called American Fiction Since the N: Isn’t it? I even included my second N: It’s such a ridiculous story! After 1950s, and I was introduced to the more novel in the application and told them I’d that episode I literally couldn’t sleep. modern classics — “Catcher in the Rye,” written one novel already, but that didn’t This show started when I was a high “Slaughterhouse 5,” “Catch 22” and cut any weight. At the time it wasn’t school sophomore. I loved track and field “Bullet Park.” I found I really enjoyed funny. But I moved on, and I guess when and wanted to win a gold medal. It was these modern classics much more than I look at how everything’s turned out, the first and last thing I thought about the older ones I’d read in high school and it’s good. I don’t know who I would’ve each day, and it gave my life meaning. I could relate to the characters more. That been if I became a lawyer. I don’t know remember talking with my coach about class really piqued my interest for the if I would’ve tried writing a novel again, these TV episodes during high school. second time in becoming a writer. or if I did, maybe it would’ve been a legal Twelve years go by and the show is thriller, like a John Grisham novel. going off the air. I looked at everything I L: So you loved horror novels (even It was a great experience in my life did and realized there weren’t any dreams wrote one), graduated with a Business — I waited tables, appraised real estate, that I was chasing. I was living day to day. Finance degree, and then applied to law bought and sold rental properties, sold I didn’t feel like my life had meaning. So school. Now you’re writing love stories. dental products by phone, tried to start “Cheers” was on 12 years, and I thought What happened? my own business but failed, then failed about how many 12-year periods you N: Once I graduated from college, again in a second business. The learning get in your life — 6, 7, or 8 probably. I I didn’t know what I was going to that happened then was really critical to didn’t want to go through another 12-year do. I thought corporate law might be understanding who I was. I didn’t know period having dreams in the beginning, interesting. That didn’t work out, so if I wanted to work for a big company but not chasing any dreams during those I wrote a novel. I was 22; it was never or little one, in an office or be more years. published. I never even sent it off to autonomous. But it wasn’t like I could just go off and anybody. Going through the process of After that I turned 26 and got a job climb Mt. Everest. I had a wife, two writing those two novels (19 and 22) led selling pharmaceuticals. (continued) 3 kids and a mortgage to pay. “I know, I’ll co-wrote this book with Billy Mills.” With one of the criteria in my specific genre try writing again!” This time I’m going to that being said, “The Notebook” had to is originality. You might say, “Aren’t all give myself three shots to write a novel. If stand on its own. Once she read it she had novels original?” Well no, they’re not, and they don’t get published and they’re no to like it. you like them because they’re not. good, that’s okay. I’ll know I tried. I also [Note: Only a few days after Nicholas You’re going to read a thriller because wanted to be an Olympian, but not all submitted “The Notebook” to Warner a) you want to be thrilled but b) you dreams come true! Books, they offered him $1 million for know in the end the bad guy is going The family was in bed by 9 p.m. at the rights. At the time he was making to get caught. At the end of a romance night, so I wrote from 9-midnight and $40,000/year. “I jumped up and down so novel, you know the characters are going maybe one weekend day. Six months later long I got a cramp in my calf.”] to get together. A lot of authors keep I had “The Notebook” written. their structure the same, maybe recurring L: You’re so young (45) to have both characters, point of view. That’s why parents and one sibling gone. How have people may reach for that book. all these family tragedies affected your It’s just the opposite in my genre. life views and relationship with your You read it because you want to be last remaining family member — your surprised; you don’t know what to expect. brother, Micah? People who’ve read my books know that N: I wrote a book about that — “Three sometimes the characters get together, Weeks With My Brother.” It’s a memoir sometimes they don’t. Sometimes of sorts, a story about family. Whenever it’s happy, sometimes it’s bittersweet, you lose someone close to you … they sometimes it’s tragic. Sometimes it’s were all young. I think it really emphasizes teenagers, sometimes it’s an 80-year-old the fact that if you have a dream you do it man, sometimes it’s people in their 50s. Nicholas (right) and brother Micah during their now. You never know when it’s going to Sometimes it’s first person, sometimes it’s “around the world” excursion. After the trip, they end. You just do what you can do to reach third person. Sometimes I cover two time co-wrote “Three Weeks With My Brother.” your goals. As far as writing goes, I think periods, sometimes it’s very linear. it’s given me a good sense of tragedy and FAMILY TIES sadness. L: Tell me about your first published Whenever you lose someone book, “Wokini,” co-written with Billy CREATING NEW STORIES THAT close to you ... it really Mills, and how that helped you get “The PEOPLE WILL LOVE Notebook” noticed and published. L: Seventeen novels under your belt emphasizes the fact that if you N: Billy is an Olympic Gold Medalist and movie deals constantly in the works. have a dream you do it now. in track and field, and the only American There has to be a lot of pressure now to ever win a gold medal in the 10,000M when you write, the expectation that every run. As a former track and field nut, I novel has to be successful. Is that tough? So in my genre the requirement worshipped Billy Mills. He actually lived N: There’s nothing harder than writing is originality of virtually all of those in my town, and I ended up dating his to reach a large number of people. To elements. As you write a lot of novels, daughter for about 4 years! When my write something that appeals to ages it gets harder and harder to be original! wife and I take our children to California 11-95 and around the world, it’s very There’s only so many surprise endings. now to visit family, we stay at Billy Mills’ tough. I want to write novels that are house. Because my parents are deceased, not only enjoyable in the present, but L: It’s interesting that you say you need they’re the closest thing to parents that I will be remembered for a long time. But to know the end of the novel before you have. begin writing. Not all writers are like My ex-girlfriend, Lisa, calls that. Do you ever just sit down and start me “the ex-boyfriend that writing without a purpose? never went away” because I N: I cannot write unless I know the still show up there! ending. These are novels that really When I was 28 and trying try to evoke genuine emotion without to get “The Notebook” being manipulative, and they need to be published, one of the things dramatic without being melodramatic. the agent wanted to know was Unless you know exactly where you’re previous writing experience. going, you can’t do that. If I know it’s I could say “Hey, look, I going to be sad in the end, I don’t want to

4 HOT OFF THE PRESS! Nicholas’ new novel, “,” will be published in September 2010.

“This is a very original love story, set in North Carolina,” said Nicholas. “At the same time, if you like what I do you’ll like this story. There is a really strong love story element, small town, with characters you’ll relate to and like.”

Synopsis: When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small North Carolina town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past. Beautiful yet self-effacing, Katie seems determined to avoid forming personal ties until a series of events draws her into two reluctant relationships: one with Alex, a widowed store owner with a kind heart and two young children; and another with her plainspoken single neighbor, Jo. Despite her reservations, Katie slowly begins to let down her guard, putting down roots in the close-knit community and becoming increasingly attached to Alex and his family. But even as Katie begins to fall in love, she struggles with the dark secret that still haunts and terrifies her . . . a past that set her on a fearful, shattering journey across the country, to the sheltered oasis of Southport. With Jo’s empathic and stubborn support, Katie eventually realizes that she must choose between a life of transient safety and one of riskier rewards . . . and that in the darkest hour, love is the only true safe haven. Purchase “Safe Haven” on Mackin.com today! start beating them down in the beginning development, makes sure it’s not too slow, N: No. It takes me a long time to come of the book. You want to be fair to them. makes suggestions about how to rewrite up with a new story idea. I sift through I know the end of the novel and the things or change descriptions. thousands of ideas to find a good one. beginning before I start writing. Then we’re ready for the editor. My editor is probably the first person who sees L: Do you have any superstitions when L: What is your editing process? my book in its entirety. She gets the book you write? N: The most important thing to know cover to cover, and that allows her to see N: I have to have a big cup of ice water. about this process is there’s no right or if there’s any problems with pacing, any And I have to have the television going, wrong. I will write a couple thousand holes, anything that doesn’t feel right, as a but it has to be DVDs of TV shows I’ve words at a time, so maybe over a week at novel, as a whole. seen 10 times before — for instance, about 8,000-10,000 words, I’ll go back Then I do my word search. I don’t “Seinfeld.” I’ve seen every episode several and edit that very substantially. Then at know if any other authors do this, but I times. So when I sit down to write I pop various times during the writing of the know my weaknesses as a writer. Let’s say in one of those DVDs. I’m not necessarily novel I’ll sit down and edit larger chunks, I wrote, “He paused for a moment.” I’ll watching, but it’s background noise. maybe a few chapters at a time. Then I’ll type “paused” in word search and it might make more changes and more changes. By say there are 294 “pauses” in my 200- NICHOLAS IN THE CLASSROOM the time I’m finished with the novel, I’ve 300 page book. I’ll go through and delete L: The CliffsNotes and Teachers’ probably gone through every line 8-10 some of them. The word search is just my Guides for “The Notebook” and “A Walk times. own little polish so to speak. to Remember” came out last fall. Is the From there I send chunks of the classroom a new market for you? book to my agent. She goes through the L: Does your family offer up new book N: Because of teacher and student book with a fine tooth comb and makes ideas to you? demand, I started working with John suggestions about where I need more Wiley & Sons for CliffsNotes versions of two of my novels. It sounded like an interesting project on many levels. It’s rare for CliffsNotes to be offered on novels by “currently living authors,” (I think only 5 living authors have CliffsNotes regarding their novels), but it’s important since the author can answer any questions regarding the novel. (continued) 5 One of the best ways to develop or “.” So if you Nicholas co-founded the Epiphany School, lifelong learners is to develop students’ pair that with something like Shakespeare in his hometown of New Bern, NC. love of reading and a confidence in — this is how they did it 400 years ago. reading. It doesn’t have to be novels. Essentially, you’re talking about a love If you only give them books they story. hate, they’re going to regard reading as miserable, and you’re doing no one GIVING CHILDREN A GLOBAL a favor, not the student or society in PERSPECTIVE general. It’s easier for students to relate to L: Tell me about the private Christian novels in which they can see themselves in school you and your wife helped establish this role. in New Bern, NC. I can tell you many of the emotions N: Well, for a while in my town there Jane Austen wrote about are in parallel was a real big push to get a Catholic high to the emotions people feel today. People school. We didn’t have many educational don’t change that much. Other than options here besides public schools. It just that, it’s a foreign world to them. They never worked, but that didn’t mean there can’t really understand the environment. wasn’t a need for a school with a strong Today kids are thinking about texting and college prep education. computers. They have sports and proms. So my wife and I helped establish None of this is in “Emma.” the Epiphany School. It’s important to It’s college prep and has a really strong I certainly think there’s a role for understand we don’t teach doctrine there. global program built into the curriculum. classics in the curriculum, but it It’s not associated with any particular For instance, if you’re a sophomore at our should be bundled with things that the religion. You don’t even have to be school, in your European History class students can relate to. If you take what I Christian to go there or teach there. But you’ll learn about the Holocaust. You’ll do — I really just write tragic love stories. we are Christian in the service aspects learn about Anne Frank. But unlike other Shakespeare did that, too. But I think of the school, in the goal of making our schools, we actually load the students on most kids can relate to “The Notebook” students good people. a plane and fly them to Amsterdam to see Anne Frank’s house and to Krakow to see the Jewish quarter. I think it just makes that experience more real to you, it Finally Meeting Stephen King brings it home. It also teaches the students independence. They have to go through “When I toured for ‘The Notebook,’ one of my stops was Bangor, Maine customs, order lunches in a foreign (home of Stephen King). So I decide to go to his house and present my novel language, meet new people. and thank him for being an inspiration. I find the address and his house. When all is said and done, many He had a little chain across his driveway; basically, it students have visited 20 countries on means don’t go up to his front door. But I thought, ‘I’m 6 continents. Then you have a student gonna do it anyway.’ I get to his door and a little plaque who is very interesting to colleges. It’s a says, ‘Mr. and Mrs. King don’t accept unannounced student that’ll be first in line to take that visitors.’ semester abroad. I said, ‘Well, does that mean me? I’m an author and I just want to give him a gift. I don’t want anything from him.’ I debated and debated. L: So do 100% of the graduates go to Then I look up, and there’s this security camera in the college? corner. I just left my book by his door and walked away. N: So far, yes. ~ Then a few years ago Stephen King wrote a novel called ‘Lisey’s Story.’ Of ON THE HOMEFRONT course there are some supernatural Stephen King elements to it, but it’s also a L: How do you balance work and love story. Normally Stephen is such a popular author that they don’t do preview family life (5 kids) when you’re busy copies. However, they decided to do it for ‘Lisey’s Story.’ writing or on a book tour? He wanted to have a couple of endorsements by other authors, and he asked N: It’s fairly normal. I don’t view myself Michael Chabon and ME. There I am, my name is on the cover with Stephen in my daily life as a famous novelist. Nor King and a Pulitzer Prize winner. do my wife or kids. They do know I’m a All I’m thinking is, ‘Boy one of these things just doesn’t belong.’ writer. This is my job, this is what I do — So I did finally get to meet him.” but I don’t feel famous most of the time. NOTE: Nicholas is currently working on a horror screenplay. L: Do you think having your books your shoe to holding your fork the right turn into movies was a big push for your way. We found out back in 1996, and popularity? while there were some programs, we really Better Luck N: Without question. That’s really believed in ABA (Applied Behavioral the big thing. It’s been a very busy year. Analysis) therapy. At the time there was I had two films come out back to back no one in our area that was trained to Next Time [“” and “”], and do that. The therapy had to be intensive “I’ve had two situations where I was about halfway through the novel and so basically my name was in commercials and consistent. So I had to go ahead and ended up throwing it out. for 3 months straight. I’ve had 6 movies, figure it out. “,” that was the and “” begins filming My son goes to Epiphany School now. worst editorial letter I ever received. this fall. So when you start getting up to He just traveled to Czechoslovakia. He My editor is a wonderful, wonderful that, more people watch movies than read gets good grades, but it was a lot of work person. I asked her what she thought books. in the beginning. of the novel, and she said, “Oh I think it was terrific. I think there’s a lot of L: Do any of your children have an L: Your oldest child just graduated from really wonderful things in there, but of interest in writing? Are any of them high school. What are his plans? course it needs a little bit of tweak- voracious readers? N: He’s heading off to Florida State and ing.” N: They have an interest in reading got a track and field scholarship. I think I said, “Well what kind of tweak- and writing on a school-wide level. We he’ll study business of some sort with a ing?” She responded, “Well I don’t really like the main male character, encourage a lot of writing and hired a minor in Economics. Lots of different and I don’t really like teacher to do the home schooling for my schools of thought on economics. I of the second male char- three youngest children. You never know course have my opinion on which are the acter, and I think you if they’re going to do what I do. They best, and colleges typically teach different can really improve know it’s hard; I complain about it all the ones. So he’ll be coming home and I’ll be the main female time. saying, “You remember everything you character. I think the learned? Forget all that.” structure doesn’t L: One of your sons was originally work, the pacing is diagnosed with autism, then later you L: Do you see yourself writing your all wrong, and you discovered he had an auditory processing entire life, or do you have different plans have to rewrite disorder. What was it like going through and goals for the future? the last 40% of that with your family? N: I’ve never been one to predict the the novel from scratch.” N: It was around 2-4 hrs a day of future. My current plan is to continue “Anything you do really like?” I therapy. I was working on speech and writing, and I’m sure I’ll do so until I asked. She said, “Oh yeah, I really like communication. My wife was working can’t come up with a story worth telling. the dog!” on life skills — everything from tying

Go to Mackin.com to order Nicholas Sparks’ novels, CliffsNotes and teacher guides.

For more information on Nicholas, visit his website at www.nicholassparks.com.

Nicholas signing “The Lucky One” on the streets of New York. 7