Nicholas Sparks. The name brings back teenage memories of watching ‘The Notebook’ or ‘A Walk to Remember,’ getting caught up in the dramatic romance of two people who just may have found the love of their life.
We talked to Sparks in advance of his talk Tuesday evening at the Neel Performing Arts Center on the State College of Florida campus. Here’s the best of what we learned (and some details not in the article):
1.Why does he write about love? Because it’s “universal.”
Love is “something everybody feels in their life and something that people can relate to. I don’t know that I say, ‘Hey, I write about love’ as much as I really try to walk the reader through all of the emotions of life.'”
2. He just wants to make people feel something.
Sparks said he writes for “the challenge and joy of telling a story that will resonate with people.” The used tissues stacked up next to my bed-side after watching ‘The Notebook’ can certainly attest to that.
3. Which of the movies made from his books is his favorite?
You might have guessed it from the gif: it’s ‘A Walk to Remember.’ Sparks said it’s not necessarily his favorite, but it’s the one that’s “been on the most in his house.”
4. Sparks’ best fan story: a sort of real life Noah and Allie
A woman showed up at one of Sparks’ book signings and told him ‘The Notebook’ was her husband’s favorite book. She then asked tentatively: could I bury my husband with passages from your book? She told Sparks it was her husband’s favorite. He found out later that her husband had passed away only two days before, and she was heading to the wake from the signing.