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Biography
Nicholas Charles Sparks (b. December 31, 1965) is an internationally bestselling American author. He writes novels with themes that include Christianity, love, tragedy and fate. He is currently author of twelve published novels and lives in New Bern, North Carolina, with his wife Catherine and their five children. His novels tend to be romantic stories where the main characters usually don’t experience a typical happy ending.
Personal
Sparks was born in Omaha, Nebraska, to Patrick Michal Sparks, a professor, and Emma Marie (née Thoene) Sparks, a homemaker and an optometrist’s assistant. He has one living sibling, brother Michael (Micah) Earl Sparks (1964 – ) and a deceased sister Danielle Sparks (1967-2000).
Because his father was pursuing graduate studies when Nicholas was a young child, Sparks lived in Minnesota, Los Angeles, and Grand Island, Nebraska, all before the age of eight. In 1974 his family eventually settled in Fair Oaks, California and remained there through Sparks’s high school career. He graduated in 1984 as valedictorian from Bella Vista High School and went straight on to college, having received a full track and field scholarship from the University of Notre Dame. As a first year student in 1985, Sparks’s relay team set a still-standing school record for the 4 x 800 meter relay. He majored in Business Finance and graduated with high honors in 1988.
Sparks met his wife Catherine (from New Hampshire) during spring break in 1988. They married in July 1989 and lived in Sacramento. Having been rejected by both publishers and law schools, Sparks chose to try his hand in various careers over the next three years, i.e. real estate appraisal, waiting tables, selling dental products by phone and starting his own manufacturing business. In 1992 Sparks began selling pharmaceuticals and in 1993 was transferred to New Bern, North Carolina, where he wrote his first published novel The Notebook.
Sparks and his wife currently reside in New Bern with their three sons Miles, Ryan, and Landon, and their twin daughters Lexie and Savannah. Sparks recently donated a track to New Bern High School and contributes to local and national charities. He also contributes to the Creative Writing Program (MFA) at the University of Notre Dame by funding/facilitating/providing scholarships, internships and annual fellowships.
