Hmm. Well, I cry infrequently. Certainly the tragedies of life would make anyone cry. I lost both my parents and my younger sister. Those were very sad events for me. I suppose it’s the real events that do. But every now and then it’s a book or a film. It’s usually a dog’s story. You know, “Old Yeller,” “My Dog Skip.” These things are heartbreaking! [Laughs] It’s just who I am.
Do you consider yourself a sap in real life?
Nah. I do sweet things for my wife, but I’m not a sap. After 22 years, she’s still my best friend.
How did you win her over?
I wrote letters. About 150 of them. We lived in different cities, so I wrote her two letters a day, for about two to three months.
Tragedy is an intrinsic part of your novels. I’m sure these deaths in your family had a lot to do with it?
It did and it didn’t. “The Notebook” had no death at all. It was a story inspired by my wife’s grandparents and this grand romance between them that spanned a lifetime. Once that became so successful, I decided to write another love story, change it up, add different elements to it, and that’s what I’ve been doing ever since.
Your weepy, tear-jerker formula has been extremely lucrative for you. You’re the world’s 11th top-earning author, according to Forbes. Do you think you’ll ever take a gamble and deviate from the genre?
Probably not. But who knows? There may come a time. Maybe in the future I’ll write a different kind of novel. I’m sure I’ll always do what I do, then maybe add to it. But I’ll never replace it.
“The Best Man.” “Saying Good-Bye.” These were failed novels that you never finished. What did you learn from them?
Never start a story until you know what you want it to be. There are five big questions I have to have answered before I can write: How they meet, what’s keeping them apart, what drives the story, how the story ends, and the age of the characters. You also have to know a little bit about the turning points in the novel. You have to know the perspectives whether it’s first person, third person, or limited third. Then you have to capture the voice: Who’s telling the story and how did they sound while telling the story? If I don’t have all that, then I’m not writing. It might fall apart on any one of those things. It’s very frustrating to be well into a novel as it’s falling apart.
Were these two novels the only casualties, so to speak?
Those are the two big ones! I couldn’t figure out the ending. They were a solid two to three months’ work. One was two-thirds done, the other was half done. That’s frustrating because you’ve devoted a lot of time and energy. Then when it’s starting to fall apart you realize that you’re devoting even more time to it, to try to save it.
Have you ever thought of salvaging them?
No. Maybe in 20 or 30 years, but not right now.
How have you secretly included yourself in your novels?
There are usually bits and pieces of me, my wife and my brother. People who know me know where I get my material. Some will read and go “I know where you got that. I know exactly where!”
Is this why your brother jokingly calls you “the male Jackie Collins”?
Yeah, he does, and so do other people! [Laughs] But it’s all good.
What’s the worst thing said about you as a novelist?
Oh gosh. Tons. Some people say I can’t write, some say my stories are terrible. Lots of awful things, but what can you do? It would be wonderful if everyone loved your works but that’s not realistic. It is what it is.
Are you the type of obsessive writer who cocoons himself from the world and shuts everything out until he’s done?
What are you reading at the moment?
“Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World” by Michael Lewis.
Do you read actual books or do you use an e-reader, like a Kindle or iPad?
Both. Right now, I’m reading hard copy.
They say the golden era of books is over. What’s your honest take on e-readers?
It’s convenient. I have to tell you though, I went off on a trip a few weeks ago with my Kindle and I was so excited because I had 10 books in there. But it broke! It broke on day one! It wouldn’t recharge and it eventually went dead. After that I said I’m never not coming with a book again. So I went back to books in protest. [Laughs]
You made your first million at 30. How did you really spend it?
I know it sounds like a staggering amount of money, but you subtract your agent’s commission off the top, and then you take whatever’s left and cut it in half for taxes. So really what you have is much less! What did I do? I bought a used car, a new wedding ring for my wife, and then the rest went into savings. I didn’t know if I would ever be able to write a second book. I was very pragmatic. I don’t think we even took a vacation. I don’t even think I told my boss!
You travel on tour by yourself, with no entourage. That’s very surprising for America’s most successful author.
I don’t need a babysitter. I don’t even have a secretary. If you call my office, I will answer the phone. Everyone’s like, “Really?! Don’t you need an assistant?” But I don’t do anything! I write. I walk my dog. What do I need an assistant for? I have a house manager who’ll do little things for me, but for the most part, it’s just me. It’s all between the ears!
That’s refreshing to hear.
You have five kids. Do you see any of them pursuing a writing career?
Maybe. They’re all bright kids. Not rocket scientists, but they’re all very bright. I just want them to find work that they’re willing to do well. I don’t necessarily love writing. I like the life of a writer, but I don’t like the writing part of it. Writing well is very hard for me, and yet I do it. When I do it, even though it’s not my favorite thing, I do it well. When I do it well, I get to do so many other things: Coach my kid’s soccer team, go on a day off when I want one, take trips with my wife, and wear pajamas to work!
Did you just say that you don’t really like writing?
Nope, not at all! I wrote my first novel at 19, and my second at 22. Writing is easy—writing well is hard, quite frankly. If I were one of those people that just wrote their opinions down, that would be easy. I could crank out a book a month. Writing well is hard especially if you’re dealing with things that concern internal conflict as opposed to external conflict. External conflict is a serial killer, a shark in the water, dinosaurs rampaging the island—you see how it’s easy to keep the pages turning with external conflict. How do you keep the pages turning if, gosh, it’s “Do I love him? Do I not?” It’s a lot harder to keep that kind of intensity, but that’s what you’re competing with in the modern world. How will you make sure that “Will Sally love Joe?” can compete with a shark in the water?
Do you think you’d ever set a novel in the Philippines?
Between my hotel room, the TV studios and the bookstores, I’ve not seen much [in the last two days], but you pick up a lot about a place by the people you meet and everything you see out the window. I can’t say I’ve seen anything in the Philippines that has surprised me. Most of my novels are set in North Carolina, but that doesn’t mean I can’t have a Filipino character.
So who are most interesting people you’ve met in Manila?
Boy [Abunda] was fun. He asked me, “If you were a sexual position, what would you be?” Odd question. I said “strong and silent.” [Laughs]
I’ve been told your Filipino fans have been lining up as early as 2 a.m. for your book signings. What are the interesting things they’ve said to you?
I’ve met people that have had “Notebook”-themed weddings. They pull quotes from the books and build them into their wedding vows. Some have done their wedding photography in “The Notebook” theme. I’ve had people buried with my book.
Were you aware you had a big Asian following? Specifically, a Filipino following?
I have a big Filipino following on Twitter, so yes, I had an inkling. You know, I have an aunt that’s Filipino. She’s pure Filipino and she married my uncle. She taught me how to say “Mabuhay!” among other things.
Your reception in the Philippines has been huge. Did this surprise you?
Absolutely. It’s seldom that I get recognized at an airport, but here, I was!
Speaking of airports, what did you think of Naia? It’s been getting a lot of slack lately, after being voted as “the world’s worst airport” by an international travel website.
I had no trouble getting through. Nobody was on fire. Nobody got mugged in front of me. It’s fine. I’ve been to pretty bad airports. I’ve been to worse. It was fine coming in … but we’ll see how it is when I leave tomorrow. [Laughs]
“The Best of Me,” Nicholas Sparks’ latest novel, is available at National Bookstore, Bestsellers and Powerbooks.