Nicholas Charles Sparks is an internationally-bestselling American novel writer and screenwriter. He has 16 released stories, with themes that include cancer, death and love. Six have been adapted to movie, including Message in a Bottle, A Walk to Remember, The Notebook, Nights in Rodanthe, Dear John and The Last Song. Two more are in various stages of development. The Lucky One is expected to be published as a movie in early 2012. Safe Haven is expected to begin filming in 2011.
Nicholas Sparks started life on December 31, 1965, in Omaha, Nebraska, to Patrick Michael Sparks, a professor, and Jill Emma Marie (nee Thoene) Sparks, a homemaker and an optometrist's assistant. He was the middle of three children, with an older brother Michael Earl Micah Sparks (1964 ) and a younger sister, Danielle Dana Sparks (1966 2000), who passed away at the age of 33. Sparks has said that she is the inspiration for the main character in his novel A Walk to Remember.
(Nicholas Sparks photo #2)
Sparks was brought up Roman Catholic and is of German, Czech, English and Irish ancestry. He and his wife are devout Catholics, and are raising their children in the Catholic faith. I was brought up Catholic, baptized, confirmed, Sunday Colledge, went to Notre Dame, go to confession, go to church weekly, the writer says. My oldest son is an altar boy. All my children go to the Catholic colledge. My wife Catherine was brought up Catholic. We were married in the Catholic Church. God is the most important thing in our lives. I suppose that's true of everybody's lives, whether or not they want to believe it.
(Nicholas Sparks photo #3)
His dad was pursuing graduate studies, and the family moved a great deal, so by the time Sparks was 8, he had lived in Watertown, Minnesota, Los Angeles, and Grand Island, Nebraska. In 1974 his family settled in Fair Oaks, California, and remained there through Nicholas's university days. He graduated in 1984 as valedictorian from Bella Vista university, then enrolling at the High school of Notre Dame, having received a full track and field scholarship. In his freshman year, his team set a record for the 4 x 800 relay. Sparks majored in business finance and graduated with honors in 1988. He also met his future wife that year, Cathy Cote from New Hampshire, while they were both on spring break. They married on July 22, 1989 and moved to Sacramento, California.
Nicholas Sparks
