The gift of words is something that many of us dream to have, using them to help others vividly picture the dreams and thoughts that lie within our minds. Some writers are good and others seem to transcend all that have come before them, weaving their words into a tapestry of priceless value. These are the ones with the gift given straight from the Lord, not a product of following some step by step process, but the gift of God with which one can literally change the way others see things.

Nicholas Sparks is one of those types of writers. From his amazing novel, The Notebook, which literally altered novels and movies for our generation, to my personal favorite, A Bend in the Road, he has written the words that have helped to shape the last part of the twentieth century and led us into the twenty-first. He is someone who, despite being one of the most popular authors of our time, understands that God is the reason for his talent and he is a man who is more passionate about his God as he is about his writing. I recently caught up with Nicholas and what I found was someone who could live in the spotlight and stick to his convictions.

His Life

Nicholas Sparks was born in Omaha, Nebraska, but moved several times as a child while his father pursued graduate studies. After high school, Nicholas attended the University of Notre Dame on a full track and field scholarship and during the summer break of 1988, he met the woman who would eventually be his wife. After stints in several careers, Nicholas began selling pharmaceuticals. It was then that Nicholas transferred to New Bern, NC and would eventually write, The Notebook. It was the beginning of a change in his life that would take him to the pinnacle of the literary world.
Nicholas went through confirmation as a Catholic and the Lord began to work in his life at a young age. In that time, God instilled Christian values and Christian morals that would later affect the work that God would call Nicholas to perform during the course of his time here on earth. With the presence of the Holy Spirit in his life, the convictions that he feels can be felt in his writing as he instills various Christian themes in his novels and how he avoids some subjects that others tend to jump on to sell a few extra copies. At the center of Nicholas Sparks’ life is his faith and everything that he does is simply a branch off of that foundation of faith.

Q - When did you know that God had blessed you with the talent for writing?

“I’m still working on that one,� he explains to me as he laughs. “Most of the time, I spend my time looking forward, not looking back. My mind is always on my next novel. I always wonder, “Can I do it?� I sit down at the computer and it’s like “Oh my goodness! How am I going to fool everyone again? I don’t know what I’m doing!� he exclaimed as we both broke into laughter. “That’s probably odd coming from me, but I have my own standards that I want to do; my own dreams. I just realize that the gift’s been given to me and I am simply borrowing it. It’s not mine; I’m simply borrowing it and it can go away at any time. So, that’s a very difficult question for me!�

His Writing

I, myself, dream of one day writing words that impact others, just as Nicholas has done over the past decade, so I wanted to find out more about his career and the decisions that he had made over time and how his faith was important to his career.

Q â€" What’s it like after you have a new book come out?

“The tours can be fairly busy. I’ll have book signings that last 15 hours long; that’s a long time to sit and sign books. There is a lot of media as well. But that is a very short period. I think my whole tour lasts for about 10 days. So, it’s very intense for 10 days and for me, I don’t mind the tour and that busyness. I find it actually much easier than writing the novel. The fact that I’ve completed the novel…I just feel an enormous sense of relief, you might say, that the novel is compete and it was everything that I’d hoped it would be. I don’t really think too much of the tour one way or the other. It is what it is, very busy, and then it’s over.�

Q â€" What effect, if any, has your success in writing had on your faith in God?

“I have been blessed so my faith has been very strong throughout my life. I read the Bible daily and my wife and I have started a Christian school here (in New Bern, NC). It’s ecumenical. I don’t know that it has affected me as a writer or in my career or in a greater sense than it’s influenced any other part of my life.�

Nicholas told me that his faith is who he is as a person and that the success has opened the door for him to do things, such as starting the Christian school in New Bern, that he might not have had the opportunity to do had the Lord not paved the way through his success as a writer.

We also discussed how his faith has influenced his writing. He talked about the Christian characters that he had written in his novels, such as Jaime in the book A Walk to Remember, who was the daughter of a Baptist minister. He also told me “I don’t put profanity in my novels. I don’t write about adultery in my novels. I can’t do it. I just can’t do it.�

Q â€" How did faith help you when you were waiting on that first publishing deal?

“It really didn’t take that long so it’s hard for me to answer that question. We put the book out on Friday and on Monday it sold for a million dollars. So, I didn’t have that long of a wait. It kept me from dying of nerves,� he said with a laugh. “It was very exciting. It’s kind of like watching a good football game, when it comes to the last second and they win the game.�

Q â€" How incredible was that when it sold for a million dollars?

“It was unbelievable. It’s crazy. It’s like wining the lotto,� he said as we shared a laugh. “That’s what it is. You hang up and you’re busy and then you start thinking that maybe you heard them wrong, then you start thinking, “What if they take it back?� (laughs)

His Advice

He had humility, something that many of our stars and standouts today lack. He spoke to me as if we were long lost friends, though we had never met face to face.

Q â€" What advice would you give to other writers?

“Have the courage to do what’s right. By that I mean, have the courage not to go down and dwell in the dark side of humanity.

Q â€" What’s it like knowing that millions of people read your work?

“I’m honored. I’m honored.�

Q â€" Have you ever gone through a time in life where your faith helped you through it?

“Of course, of course. You know, if you read Three Weeks with My Brother, which is my memoir, a large portion of the story is a true story. My brother and I took a trip around the world a couple of years ago. It’s a family memoir. My brother and I had lost my father, my mother, and my sister in a very short period of time. I leaned on my faith then.�

As I asked Nicholas what his favorite Bible passage was, he began to quote Psalm 139:23. He also looked it up in his Bible as we were speaking just to be sure that he had quoted it perfectly word for word. It is a passage that speaks to him as David cried out for God to search him and know his thoughts.

Q â€" Who are some authors that you like to read?

“I read about 150 books a year. I’ve done that since I was twenty-two. So, if you ask me, “Have you ever read Stephen King?� I’d say, “Yes, I’ve read all of them.� “Have you ever read Michael Crichton?� “Yes, I’ve read all of them.� I tend to choose novels based upon my moods. Maybe I’m in the mood for a thriller one day and the next, I may be in a mood for a good biography. I read everybody.�

As we closed our interview time together, we discussed some of his books. At the time, Dear John was ready to hit the shelves. I told him that my favorite was A Bend in the Road, as it kept me guessing from the beginning of the book and offered the twists necessary to keep my attention. We also talked about The Notebook and Nights in Rodanthe.

Nicholas Sparks has been placed into the limelight by God and was given this opportunity by God to influence millions around the world through his books and his screenplays. As I finished writing this article, God showed me that there is no coincidence in life. Today, I stood on the porch where Nicholas’ screenplay The Notebook was partially filmed and as I stood there, I realized that God had put me there for that moment to give me perspective on life. There are no coincidences in life, just as it is no coincidence that Nicholas had the desire to become a writer and then landed a book deal and movie deals for his novel. Those things are all the product of our God who is still at work in this world, every moment of the day.

Nicholas said that the gift was something that he was borrowing and as he said those words, I began to see that this man understood the essence of time. Where we normally take so many things for granted, he knew that his gift of writing could be gone tomorrow, so he had to make the most of it today. Nicholas could have given up before his first book deal, but he knew that God is the giver of dreams and that God allowed him to borrow those talents for a period of time. As he understood those things, he knew that God was in control and Nicholas took a step forward in faith to make the most of the opportunity that God had given him.

Also check out the school he started in New Bern, NC
www.epiphany-nb.org.

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