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>>Anna: Hi, everyone. I am going to start with a question. Who here has read a Nicholas
Sparks novel or seen a Nicholas Sparks movie and cried their eyes out?
[laughter]
OK, good. That was the human litmus test. I just wanted to make sure that we're not
all a bunch of Androids here. I'm Anna. I'm on the Google Play team. And we are so excited
to be hosting Nicholas Sparks here today for this at Authors event.
[applause]
So, Nicholas Sparks is the great living American romance novelist. He's written 16 novels and
has sold over 80 million copies worldwide. And what's more fascinating is how beautifully
these novels translate to the silver screen.
Everyone's heard of or seen movies such as "The Notebook" or "A Walk to Remember" or
"Message in a Bottle." And his latest is called "The Lucky One" and it stars Zac Efron. So,
everyone, please join me in welcoming Nicholas Sparks to Google.
[applause]
>>Nicholas Sparks: Thank you. Thank you.
>>Anna: I was hoping we could start off by hearing a little bit about "The Lucky One."
>>Nicholas Sparks: Sure. "The Lucky One" is the, it's a story that was really inspired
by the place I live. I live in New Bern, North Carolina. It's a, we're literally surrounded
by military bases. So, active military personnel are part and parcel with way of life there.
So, if you're gonna write a story with characters who are in their 20s or something, you really
have to consider this as being a potential what they do for a living job, so to speak.
So, this is a story, because also, let's go a little further, because they are part and
parcel with the town where I live, beginning in 2003 when they began to be deployed overseas
to Iraq and Afghanistan, you would see them both before they left and then when they came
back.
And every single one of them came back changed, different. Sometimes, it was, and the level
of change really depended upon the experiences they went through. And so, you knew that this
was a very significant event in their life that they were going through. These were very
significant events that profoundly moved them.
So, I got it in my mind this picture of this marine who finds a photograph, right? He finds
it in Iraq, buried in the sand. He picks it up, and then, you have this image that stays
with you. And you say, "OK. He finds this photograph and then I know that when he gets
back, he's profoundly changed." So, you begin to ask yourself, "Why? What if?"
And you begin to spin a story in little ways. And you go through thousands of different
ideas and potential things you can do, but eventually, the decision was that he begins
to regard this photograph as his lucky charm, this talisman, so to speak, that keeps him
alive. So, he goes to deployment one, deployment two, deployment three.
All of his friends end up dying. Everyone in his squad, his battalion ends up dying.
He's the only one left. He's got PTSD to a certain extent. He's got survivor's guilt.
And he's got this photograph. And he feels like he's got to heal somehow, but he doesn't
know how. He sets off in search of the person in this photograph. And little by--.
And then, of course, it's a Nicholas Sparks film and it's a girl in the picture and they
fall in love.
[laughter]
And they have the kissing and the water rain scene, shower. After that, it becomes one
of my movies. But there you go.
[clapping]
>>Anna: I actually saw a screening of it yesterday and it was phenomenal. So, I recommend everyone
go out and see it. Something I've noticed in your movies and novels is that printed
materials are very significant.
>>Nicholas Sparks: Yeah.
>>Anna: Such as like you talked about. In "The Lucky One," you have an old photograph
or the message in a bottle or the missed letters in the notebook. And just in general, your
novels have this really anachronistic quality to them. But nowadays, when we're looking
for romance, we go on OkCupid and we message a hundred people and see who messages us back.
>>Nicholas Sparks: Right.
>>Anna: So, I'm wondering if you think that love and romance can still exist in the age
of the internet. And if so, how?
>>Nicholas Sparks: Of course. It's very interesting. When I write these novels, I do so with the
knowledge, the full knowledge, that technology changes very rapidly. There's no question
about that. And yet, if technology changes fastest, than culture itself changes more
slowly. It takes a while for culture to change on a society level.
And it takes a much, much longer time for people themselves to change. I mean, the emotions
that people go through have not changed very much at all. It's funny, right? I write "The
Notebook," right? If you've seen the movie. How many people here are even like that, right?
They found it dreadfully romantic. Hey, this was set in 1946. You guys were born in what?
1990 or whatever.
[laughter]
I mean, this is your grandparents that we're talking about here, or your great grandparents.
But it feels real. Why does it feel real? Because when you see that person you fall
in love with, it feels the same. And it doesn't matter when that is, whether it's 2012, whether
it's 1946 or anything like that. So, people change slowly.
So, I write these novels with this. So, can these romantic elements exist in today's day
and age? Of course they can. Why? Because your emotions don't change. I mean, look.
These go back, these don't go back hundreds of years. These go back a thousand years,
two thousand years. You look at something like "Romeo and Juliet," which was written
500 years ago.
These two were passionate teenagers. And they fall in love, but oh no. Just like "The Notebook,"
their families don't get along. This stuff, this works at any time at any age. I put these
other elements in whether it's a letter or a photograph in there, I just like them. I
just like them. I think they add something to the novel itself.
But at the same time, I wrote "At First Sight" and it was a very heavy messages coming in
on email and a mystery that was really a little bit more dependent on modern technology. So,
it really goes to the story itself. Not opposed. Not against. I'll use it when it's efficient.
But in the end, I'm just writing about these unchanging human emotions, like love.
[laughter]
>>Anna: Thank you. So, you yourself are clearly really tech-savvy. You're very active across
a variety of social media channels, such as Google+. And you have a lot of followers and
fans. I'm wondering how this has changed the way you interact with your fan base or if
you've ever drawn any inspiration from any of your social media channels.
>>Nicholas Sparks: As far as, yeah. I am very active. It is something that you have to do.
This is changing the world. This technology is changing the way people interact. It certainly
changes the way that someone like me, as an author, interacts with a fan. I still get
a ton of fan mail. I get, I don't know, 500 letters a week or something like that.
But I get a lot of email. I get a lot of messages on Google+. I get a lot of people posting
comments. And you certainly have to be aware with them. And to me, this is really a, it's
an interesting phenomena in that it is a way to interact with fans, of course, and this
is wonderful, but to what end? What is the real purpose of that?
And I think we're all trying to figure that out. I can certainly say that we're trying
to stay on the cutting edge as much as--. We're not the cutting edge. You guys are.
I understand this. We're kind of riding on your cutting edge and trying to figure out
the best way to use that to everyone's benefit, whether it would be the fan.
What is the best way to benefit the fans for this? And what's the best way to benefit Google?
Or, what's the best way to benefit my own business, whatever that means? So, we're searching
just like everyone else is for the best way and the possibilities to use that. But as
far as drawing inspiration from, let's say, messages that are posted, this is a very dangerous
thing to do. It's a litigious society.
People are really--. I have a pretty standard rule. And that is that I don't take story
ideas from others no matter where they come from. So, I don't read unsolicited manuscripts.
I don't read, "Here's a story that you should write," because you don't wanna write something
and then have someone come back and say, "Oh, I wrote you this letter three years ago and
you stole this story from me."
I just don't wanna go down that road. So, it's just easier to say no, right across the
top.
>>Anna: That makes sense. We, at Google, are really proud of our engineering culture. And
over 50 percent of Google employees are engineers. But sometimes, we're pretty nerdy. And we're
not exactly the most romantic crowd.
[laughter]
And I'm wondering if you have any advice for those of us that want to do something romantic
for a significant other, or are just looking for love in general.
>>Nicholas Sparks: Looking for love. Yeah. Oh, boy. Yeah. Romantic elements, I think,
are, can really be--. There's a couple of things. It really comes down to knowing who
you're with. And you have to know them well enough to know kind of what they want because
if you ask my wife, for instance, sometimes the most romantic thing I can do is leave
with the children so she could be alone.
[laughter]
She thinks I am just the cat's meow for doing something like this, right? So, you have that.
So, it's knowing what the other really wants I guess. And then, as you can be nerds, but
you still gotta know some of these great cliches of life if you're a guy. One of the great
pieces of knowledge you must carry with you throughout your married life is "happy wife,
happy life."
[laughter]
This is very, very, very true. And so, what does that mean? It means hey, you might send
flowers when they don't expect it. And if you're a nerd, you can use the Google calendar
and the alarm will go off on the 12th of every month. And then, you don't even have to think
about it, but your significant other thinks you are the cat's meow.
So, you just have to maybe think about it once a year--time to write the letter, time
to buy the candy, time to buy a flower. Use your technology and who you are to your advantage.
And they'll think you're just, they'll think you're the bomb. You're like Noah Calhoun.
You're, that's it. And then, of course, you do need to learn to kiss romantically in the
rain. It is a requirement for the ultimate romantic element.
[laughter]
Or, for instance, in "The Lucky One," you can use an outdoor shower. But it is a skill
that I would highly encourage everyone to master.
>>Anna: What about as a woman? Are there certain things that we can do to be romantic for our
men?
>>Nicholas Sparks: It's, it comes down to the relationship itself. And to me, when I
create female characters, it's very funny because I generally create all these female
characters--whichever novel you read or whichever film you see--these females I create have
certain characteristics.
And they're the ones I find most attractive and what are they? Intelligence, passion,
sense of humor. But more than anything, it is that I don't want a wishy-washy woman.
I don't want her to be defined by me. I want her to be her what ever that means. For my
wife, who doesn't work, she loves children. She was born to be a mom and she's exceptionally
good at this.
But if there's a guy that defines her in her life, I guess I'm number four, right? 'Cause
I have three sons. I like this, though. I like this. I want them to be who they are.
So, I guess the main point I'm trying to make from that is be who you are. Don't be defined
solely by your relationship. Be who you are, whether it's work or family or other friendships.
Be who you are and then find the guy who appreciates this quality in you. And then, of course,
if he's doing nice things for you, you do nice things for him. We can get back to the
kissing in the rain thing. But, there we go.
>>Anna: Do you have an example of something really romantic you've done for your wife?
>>Nicholas Sparks: Oh, my goodness. Yeah. I've got all sorts of things. Sure.
[laughter]
I mean, you try to do nice things. I wrote her a love letter on Valentine's Day. How's
that? And it was a really good letter.
[laughter]
I scribbled this thing out in like, ten minutes. No. I wrote it on my computer first. I edited
it. Got every word right. And then, I hand wrote it out. See, that's the way you do it,
right? It's using technology with the delete key to your advantage and then going back
to the old days.
>>Anna: Wow. It's pretty romantic. I read on your website that you worked a variety
of odd jobs before your novel got picked up by an agent. And it all seemed pretty lucky.
I'm wondering if your life, if your life would have been different had there been the existence
of eBooks or the self-publishing revolution, when you first started writing?
>>Nicholas Sparks: eBook and self-publishing, that is something certainly that we're confronting
today and it is a change. I do believe that my own personal belief is that there is something
intrinsic in human nature that makes people desire to hear a good story.
And whatever medium that comes out in, whether it's a play or a film or a story, an oral
story, just sitting around the camp fire, someone telling a story or reading a story,
I just think there's something intrinsic in human nature that desires such a thing. If
only, maybe it's because it gives us an opportunity to escape our lives for a short period of
time, we can live within other characters.
We can have super powers, like Spiderman or whatever, if that's your cup of tea. It gives
us this opportunity to really escape into another world for a short period of time.
So, I don't know that any of the modern technology changes--again, it goes back to that human
nature, this slow-changing emotion.
I don't know that it's really going to change the mediums in which it's delivered will change.
And I certainly think that, as an author, you have to be aware of these things. And
you have to be aware of them and you have to be ready for the changes and that's why
I'm here. Hey, we're trying. Look, I wrote my first novel on a typewriter.
For you young people, that's an ancient mechanical device they used to actually roll paper in
and write. And so now, it's computers. Now, it's this. A few years ago, there was no Google.
And so, here I am. Now, I'm heavily Googled. So, you have to be aware of all these changes.
And, but in the end, from my perspective, I just have to tell a good story and then
be aware and take advantage of the best medium to deliver that story.
And it changes. And look, we try our best to keep up with these things. And we're here,
really. Look, I came in with like 15 or I don't know, ten people. These people who came
with me today, they're not here for me. They hear me all the time. They're here for you
guys. They're like, "I wanna go to Google."
[laughter]
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You. Yeah, yeah, yeah." And I know that's the ***, but they're here
to learn how we can do things better. I swear, I mean, if I wasn't at Google, none of them
would be here.
[laughter]
They're laughing. Yes. This is true. I understand this because they are here to learn how we
can do this better because we're doing our best to stay on top of these changing trends.
But in the end, my job is still just to tell the best story that I can. And then, have
it delivered to the most people that I can.
>>Anna: Thank you. So, we're gonna take a few audience questions now. So, audience members,
if you have anything to ask Mr. Sparks, there's a microphone up there. And you can line up
there. And also, I'll be reading a few questions that your fans posted on your Google+ page.
>>Nicholas Sparks: Great.
>>Anna: So, Jessica Nueng Faung asks, "Because your work is so prevalent in the media world,
do you feel like you are shaping the way we view love? Do you think your view on love
matches that of the books you write, or is it merely a fantasy?"
>>Nicholas Sparks: I don't know that I'm shaping love at all because I think that when I fell
in love with my wife, it's the same way any of you who fall in love felt when you fell
in love. Again, it goes through these slow changing things. So, I don't think I'm shaping
it. I'm perhaps reflecting it because what I do try to do is to--.
It's less--. I don't try to manipulate you into anything, whether it's in the film or
whether it's in the novel. I do my best to genuinely evoke the feeling. "And what is
the difference?" you might ask. If you reach a point in the novel where he finally says
to she, he says, "I love you," the proper response from the reader is, "Well, duh. I
knew that eight pages ago. What took you so long? Why did you hold it in?"
That's what you want. But if they say "I love you," and you're like, "Really? Right now?
They just met." That would be manipulation, whereas I really try to genuinely evoke. So,
I don't think I'm reflecting it, nor do I really think I'm making it into something
unrealistic, either. I met my wife on a Monday on Spring Break in Florida.
OK. And if you have any ideas in your head about what Spring Break and Florida is like
and you've never been there, it's exactly what you're imagining it to be.
[laughter]
Met her on Monday. Told her we'd get married on Tuesday. Now we've been married 23 years.
We've had five children. Here we are. She, oh, by the way. She laughed at me at this
moment. She thought it was a pick-up line or something. But it is what it is. So, I
do think that these, that certainly long-lasting love is real.
I think that when you fall in love, the emotions you see on screen or in the novel, I think
they're pretty much what all of you have experienced or will experience.
>>Female #1: So, Nicholas. My name is Winnie.
>>Nicholas Sparks: Hello, Winnie.
>>Female #1: How did you feel when you watched the movie, "The Notebook?"
>>Nicholas Sparks: Oh. How did I feel? It's interesting. The first time you do it, the
first time was "Message in a Bottle." My point is, it changes. The first time you do it,
they take you up to the Warner Brothers set. They bring you into this big theater on the
set and you're the only one in there.
And you turn around and say, "Hey, yeah. Go ahead and start the movie now." And you sit
there and your eyes are all boggled. And the whole thing is so absolutely surreal, you
barely remember the movie. You're like, "I picked that name, Garrett Blake. I know where
Moorehead City is." It's all these things that were from your novel.
You're like, "Wow. Wow." You're like this little kid. Now, you're to the point where
you walk out and you're like, "Well, I think the chemistry was very strong, but we really
need to work on this musical score in the third act."
[laughter]
"Some of the editorial drifts. Did you notice how the clouds were there in that one scene
and then they were gone the next? We're really gonna have to talk to the editor about that."
So, that's where we are now because we've done it so many times. So, you're asking right
about the middle. And it was right in the middle.
You're not struck by the surrealism, but you're not in tune to all of the nuances of film.
So, you're probably most apt to sit back and say, "Well, I thought they did a really nice
job." I mean, that's it. Did I expect, after seeing that film, that it would like, air
on cable a hundred times a year ten years later or whatever, every year?
No. I mean, I thought it was good. But they have these really, really corny lines in there.
Like, "Say you're a bird." "If you're a bird, I'm a bird." People love this line because
it was the way it was delivered. And this is meaningful to people. And I understand
that now. But, for instance, if I'm sitting there in the theater watching that the first
time, I don't get it at that time. I don't. OK?
>>Female #2: Actually, Winnie set up my question pretty well. It's pretty inescapable that
your books turn into movies. So, I'm wondering when you write, do you start thinking about
it as a movie and do you set up scenes in ways that would translate well on screen nowadays?
>>Nicholas Sparks: That is a great question. And it's difficult to answer. The answer is
yes and no. Yes and no. I am aware that there is a very high potential that it'll be a film.
But there's no guarantee. There's no guarantee. And if there's no guarantee, in the end, I
have to write the best novel that I can.
So essentially what happens is it just makes the bar that much higher that you have to
jump over because what you're trying to do is to write a story that works on any number
of levels and you want it to be original and interesting and yet feel like it can happen
to anyone. But if you're dealing with a concept like originality, the bar is higher now because
it just can't be original for a novel.
It's also gotta be original for film. So, for instance, I could never write a novel
that resembled "Sweet Home Alabama." I could never write a novel, a love story set on the
Titanic. This sounds obvious, but see, these were never novels. They would be original
as novels. But I can't do them, because I have to be aware that they might make this
into a film and you want some of these images to be real.
So, essentially what has happened is it raises the bar for those things. It makes it, your
story has to be that much better. And so, it takes longer to conceive. But once you
conceive the novel and you say, "OK. It'll be original if it gets picked up for film,
it'll also be original there." Then, the process reverts to what it always was.
And that was you just try to write the best novel that you can. Again, because there's
no guarantee. How's that?
>>Anna: Great. So, Cathy Ellias asks, "What was it like working with the amazing, unbelievably
hot, Zac Efron?"
[laughter]
>>Nicholas Sparks: Well. I like Zac. I mean, I wasn't, when you're involved in a level
where I am, you look for different things. What was I looking for when I worked with
Zac? I really wanted someone who cared passionately about the role. And he was really willing
to put the work in necessary.
And I wanted someone who would work with the director and just be the consummate professional
and really put in a strong performance. So, you're looking for that on a professional
level. And then, on a personal level, look. I bring my little girls. I have daughters.
I have five children. But my daughters, they saw "High School Musical."
They wanted to see Zac Efron. So they're like, "Daddy. Can we go to the set?" You're like,
"Yes. Let's go." And so, you bring them. So, what would you want if they're your daughters?
What would you want Zac to do? Be nice to them. That's really what you want. You want
them to bend down, say hi, talk to them, take a picture with them.
Just be nice. OK. He was. And he's really genuinely a--. Zac doesn't--. He's a really
nice guy. He doesn't have a mean bone in his body. So, on a professional level, you get
everything you wanted. And then, on a personal level, you get what you expect or what you
hope for. So, for me, the hot part didn't really play into it as much, I guess is what
I'm trying to say. But these other things, it was great.
>>Anna: Unbelievably amazing.
>>Nicholas Sparks: OK. Yeah. Well, he was. Actually, his performance was unbelievably
amazing. When you see him, he does not look like young Zac. He looks like he's on his
way to being a real leading man in the future. He plays a young man. And he's 24. And we
wanted him because he's the same age as the marines that live in my town. If you're not
an officer, you're 18 to 25. So, he was perfect.
>>Anna: Thank you.
>>Female #3: I have a quick question for you. Obviously, you've written quite a number of
books. Which one is your favorite?
>>Nicholas Sparks: Ooh. Which one is my favorite? A couple ways to answer that. I think the
one that was my favorite was "Three Weeks With My Brother." That's a memoir. And I liked
that story. It was a story about a trip that my brother and I took around the world. And
this trip took three weeks, hence the highly original title "Three Weeks With My Brother."
And you what this is about though? It tells a story of--. You'll learn a little bit about
me in all this stuff. But really, it's a story about brotherhood. And it's about family because
my brother and I, we went, we lost, we had a very challenging period for a while. I lost
my mother and my father and my younger sister in a relatively short period of time, so that
the only ones left in our family were my brother and I.
We were the only ones left. But how do you get beyond the death of your family? How do
you do that? You gotta have someone there. And for me, it was my brother. So, it's a
story about brotherhood, but it's a story about the power of family. It's a story about
healing. It'll make you laugh. It'll make you cry.
And you learn a little bit about the world. So, to me, that is the book I recommend. Hey,
you've never read me? Try this one. I can't you'll like exactly the novels that, every
novel. Everyone has different opinions on novels and what kind they like to read. But
this is a memoir of sorts. And it's really a memoir that I think will make you closer
to your own family.
And that, I think, is, or hopefully will inspire you to be as close to your family as you possibly
can be.
>>Anna: So, you may have just answered this question, but Dustioni Pinkham asks, "If you
could live your life out as any one of the characters from your book, which one would
you choose to be?"
>>Nicholas Sparks: I don't know. That's a tough question.
[pause]
I could be any of the guys.
[laughter]
Do you know why? Because when I create these female characters, they're all the woman that
I married in a way. That's why. And I mean that. Oh, that’s such a cheap answer.
[laughter]
I hear you. I can hear the wheels spinning, engineers and all. Put some oil in the wheels.
They're squeaking. No, really, that's true because when I create these female characters,
they're all a little bit, they're like my wife. They're intelligent, passionate, sense
of humor. They're loyal.
They love deeply. They've got all these great qualities. And the guys, literally in all
these novels, have to prove themselves worthy of having a girl like this. I've done it over
and over and it's what I find most attractive. So, it doesn't matter whether you're Landon
or whether you're Logan or whether you're Noah or whether you're John.
In the end, do you know what you're getting? You're getting the girl. And she's a good
girl. So, there you go.
>>Anna: Thanks.
>>Female #4: "Three Weeks With My Brother" was one of my favorite books. And so, I was
wondering if you were going to write something different like that again and if you enjoyed
writing that.
>>Nicholas Sparks: Yeah. That was "Three Weeks With My Brother." I have been debating. I
have--it's in my contract--I can write another non-fiction book. And so, my choice--. So,
I'm debating it. If I was to do it and go that route, I would do something like, it's
called "Ten Days With My Son." It would be a book about fatherhood.
Because my son and I, we had this, he was a track runner and I was his coach. It's a
very interesting relationship if you coach your son. And especially if you are as immensely
talented as my son was. My son holds the junior world record in track and field. He's very
immensely talented. And yet, he didn't much care about running.
And so, it was a very interesting relationship. And he's such a nice young man. And so, I
would write something about that--the lessons you learn in trying to be the best father
you can be. And I'm not claiming I was. I was just saying there's a lot of things you
learn on the way. Parenting is hard. Parenting is hard.
Marriage is hard. These relationships are challenging. And all you can do is try to
do your best.
>>Anna: So, September Grace asks, "What is the number one piece of advice you would give
to an unknown writer? I would love this chance because I admire your ability. I dream of
writing for a living."
>>Nicholas Sparks: The number one piece of advice you can have and I have given this
advice over and over and over. And I don't know how many people ever follow it. I mean,
that's the thing about advice. They don't want advice. They want it to be handed to
them. But really, if you wanna do anything well, you have to learn from people who do
it well. This is just, this is the best way to do it.
So, you have to read a lot. You have to read. If you wanna be a writer, you have to read.
You have to read across a variety of genres. If you wanna write like me, you can't only
read me because my ability to write like me comes from the fact that I've read a lot of
suspense novels because some of my novels have suspense in them.
I've read a lot of horror novels because some of my novels can get scary. I've read a lot
of novels about just family matters 'cause I deal with father/daughter stories, or mother/son
stories. So, you have to read across a variety of things. And then, you have to read with
an eye toward what authors do well and then how they do it well.
Like, if you are reading a novel and you say to yourself, "Wow, I really like this character."
Well, take a moment to figure out why, if you wanna be a writer. Why? Why do I like
this character? Was it her voice or his voice? How many pages did that take? Was it primarily
narrative or dialogue or did something happen and it was some event that she did that really
made me like her?
How long did it take me for like her? Did I like her ten pages ago or did it come on
suddenly? Why did it come on suddenly? Was there a build-up to this? So, if you really
read with an eye toward learning what works and what doesn't work, well, little by little,
you'll accumulate the knowledge you need to write these kinds of scenes in novel.
If you learn how to make a great character you like, well, now you know how to do it.
So, that's what you have to do. You have to read with that and then, of course, you have
to start putting it down on paper.
>>Anna: So, who and what do you read?
>>Nicholas Sparks: I read everything. I read about 120 books a year. I read all the time.
It's probably 40 percent non-fiction. And non-fiction is history, economics, and biographies.
But if they're biographies, they're not celebrities or politicians. So, any other biography. You
have to be dead before I'll read about you, essentially.
And as far as the other 60 percent, it's a lot of commercial fiction. That's what I write.
You can learn from this. It's, I've read the classics. I read if I'm going to a foreign
country to tour, I'll read something from one of their well-known authors. I'll read
selected literary fiction. Anything. If it's good, I'll read it.
There you go. And in the end, that's really what I want. I want it to be good for what
it's supposed to be. If it's gonna be literary fiction, I want it to be good literary fiction
or I don't like it. If it's a horror novel, well, you better scare me or I don't like
it.
>>Anna: Thank you. All right. I have one final question. It's from Mary Smith. "My question
is, how do you get inside the heads of women so well? You often write from a woman's perspective
and it is always so accurate."
>>Nicholas Sparks: Yes. You see, the secret is I'm from Venus.
[laughter]
I don't know. I had a great mom. I married well. My agent is a female. My editor is a
female. And in the end, I just try to create real people. And I think that if you're male
or female, when you're sad, it feels the same, but your reaction to that might be a little
bit different because I don't know.
I don't know. I just do. Maybe it's just 'cause I really like women. I like women. I try to
understand them. But we'll see. I just, you try and put in how they would relate to what
you do I guess.
>>Anna: All right. Thank you so much for joining us today. It was a pleasure.
>>Nicholas Sparks: Thanks. Thank you.
[applause]