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Sparks, Nicholas
(1965-), American author most noted for his
romance novels. Some of his numerous well-known
books are the subject of movie adaptations including
Message in a Bottle,
released in 1999 starring Kevin Costner, Robin Wright Penn, and Paul Newman; A Walk to Remember, released in 2002
staring Mandy Moore and Shane West; and The
Notebook, released in 2003 starring Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams, Joan
Allen, James Garner, and Gena Rowlands.
Film rights to A Bend in the Road
and Nights in Rodanthe
have been sold as well. The Rescue
is currently being adapted into a television series with Sparks as one of the executive producers.
Nicholas
Charles Sparks, born in Omaha, Nebraska
Dec. 31, 1965, was the
second of three children born to Patrick Michael and Jill Emma Marie (Thoene) Sparks.
During his childhood, he lived in Minnesota,
Los Angeles, and Grand
Island, Nebraska before
settling in Fair Oaks, California
at age eight, where he finished out his high school career, graduating as
valedictorian of his class in 1984. He received a full scholarship to the
University of Notre Dame for track.
Majoring
in Business Finance at Notre Dame, Sparks
broke the school track record on a relay team in 1985, a record that is
currently unbroken, before he was injured. He spent that summer recovering
and wrote his first novel, The Passing,
which was never published. He graduated in 1988 with honors.
In July,1989 he married Catherine, whom he met on spring break
the previous year. Living in Sacramento,
Sparks wrote his second novel, The Royal Murder, also unpublished. He
also held a variety of jobs the next three years, including real estate
appraisal, waiter, and dental product telemarketer. He started an
unsuccessful manufacturing business, eventually selling it to become a
pharmaceutical representative.
In 1990
he and Olympic Gold Medalist Billy Mills wrote Wokini: A Lakota Journey to Happiness and Self-Understanding, which was
published by Feather Publishing, Random House, and Hay House Books. Sales for
this book topped 50,000 copies for its first year released.
In 1991, Spark’s first son Miles
was born followed by Ryan, Landon, Lexie, and Savannah.
Sparks
moved from Sacramento to North
Carolina in 1992. In 1994, at 28, he wrote The Notebook over a six-month period. It was published by Warner
Books in October of 1996 and is currently only the third novel in recent
history to spend over a year as a hardcover best seller. Message in a Bottle
(1998), A Walk to Remember,(1999), The Rescue
(2000), A Bend in the Road ( 2001),
and Night in Rodanthe
(2002), The Guardian (2003) and
The Wedding (2003) followed. All of
these books were domestic and international best-sellers which have been
translated into more than 35 languages.
Sparks
currently lives in North Carolina
with his wife and five children. In addition to running daily and weight
training, Sparks competes in Tae
Kwon Do. Sparks was named
“Sexiest Author” by People Magazine
in 2000.
Words: 498
Bibliography:
“Formal Biography.” Nicholas
Sparks Website. 2002. Nicholas Sparks Enterprises. 22 Feb. 2004.
<http://www.nicholassparks.com/ShortBio.html>.
"Nicholas Sparks." Contemporary Authors Online. 2001.
The Gale Group. Ferrum
College, Stanley
Lib. 22 Feb. 2004.
<http://galenet.galegroup.com>.
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