Nicholas Sparks, Novelist

Nicholas Sparks happens to be my favorite author of recent time, at least since his first novel The Notebook was published.

One Sunday in 1996 I was watching C-Span 2 on books and Larry Kirshbaum, Chairman and CEO of Time-Warner Books was speaking about a novel he had paid one million dollars for. I had met Larry previously so he did have my attention but it was the million dollar advance against royalties that really caught my attention! The novel was The Notebook written by Nicholas Sparks. Larry said he knew the book would be successful and it was already on the best seller list.

As soon as the television program was over I drove to my local small bookstore in downtown Sedona and bought the book because I had to see what it was about Nicholas Spark’s book that deserved such a big advance.

I spent the evening reading The Notebook, loving every word of it, and by the time I reached the last two chapters I had a box of tissues beside me. For me, that has become a standard procedure anytime I read a Nicholas Sparks’ novel. I suggest to have a box of tissues ready at least three chapters before the end of his books.

What I like about Sparks’ novels is the simple yet dramatic flow of his writing, and always a mixture of the ups and downs, the love and sadness of loss, and all the reality of life.

Of course, as it turned out, Kirshbaum was correct in believing in the book. It spent over a year on the hardcover best seller list. And the movie followed. Nicholas has now written fourteen novels and four have been made into movies and apparently another one coming before long.

Here is a short interview with Nicholas Sparks about his writing process. Even though I write myself, I am always curious about the process of other writers.

~Linda

For One More Day, Mitch Albom

Last night I read Mitch Albom’s latest book, "For One More Day." Actually, I read the book in two sittings. I began reading Tuesday night after American Idol, and last night picked it up when I realized I had an hour to spare before American Idol came on. I reluctantly set the book aside to watch Idol and then finished reading it after the show.

I very much enjoyed the story. It is a small book of 197 pages, and is a fast read. Mitch Albom’s writing is an easy style and reminds me somewhat of the easy style of my favorite author, Nicholas Sparks. Albom writes a fascinating and unique tale of a broken, middle-aged man, Charley Benetto who is deeply troubled by regrets, self-doubt, alcoholism, broken family relationships, and on the verge of ending his own life. It is a story about childhood, hopes and dreams, self-doubt, family secrets, forgiveness, and the power of love. It enhances the idea that love lives on after death. At the moment of Charley’s greatest despair, he returns to his childhood home and encounters his mother who has been dead for eight years. It is heartwarming, inspirational, and in the exploration of family relationships and a mother’s love, readers are left with much to ponder about the meaning of family and love in the own lives.

I’ve not read Albom’s previous two books, although I did see the movie, "Tuesday’s With Morrie." His second book, "The Five People You Meet in Heaven," has been sitting in my "TO READ" stack, along with Nicholas Sparks’ "Dear John," Dan Brown’s "Angels and Demons," Nora Ephron’s "I Feel Bad About My Neck," Anderson Cooper’s "Dispatches From the Edge," Suze Orman’s "Women and Money," and several others. I may now be motivated to put Albom’s book at the top of my stack!

~ Linda