Nicholas Sparks, author of the best-selling novel, "The Notebook," writes about the power of love. Not just the swept-away, honeymoon kind of love but the stand-by-me, long-playing variety.

"'The Notebook,' is a story about everlasting love," declared Sparks recently in a phone interview from his home in New Bern, North Carolina. The 38-year-old Catholic father-of-five, who has authored nine internationally best selling books with 50 million copies sold worldwide, is excited about the film adaptation of "The Notebook," which opens in theaters June 25. Movie versions of two of Sparks' books, "A Walk To Remember" and "Message in a Bottle" were released in 2002 and 1999, respectively.

The film version of "The Notebook" stars an impressive cast including Joan Allen, James Garner, Gena Rowlands, Sam Shepard and up-and-coming actors Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams. Sparks is proud of the way the film captured the essence of the love story inspired by his wife's grandparents, who had a love that "remained strong" in spite of separation, illness and finally, dementia.

Debut novel
Sparks wrote "The Notebook" at age 28 over a six-month period, from June of 1994 to January of 1995. He had previously been rejected several times by publishers for earlier novels, but was inspired to give writing "another shot," working as a pharmaceutical salesman by day to support his wife and two young sons and writing in the evenings from nine until midnight.

The same month he finished writing "The Notebook," Sparks got transferred to Greenville, South Carolina where he continued to sell pharmaceuticals. He managed to get a book agent for "The Notebook," and it was offered to publishers in October of 1995. At the time, Sparks was earning about $40,000 a year. Warner Books bought the rights to "The Notebook" for $1 million.

The first thing that Sparks bought was a new wedding ring for his wife, Cathy. "I remember getting down on my knees and telling her that our life just might be changing forever, and that I didn't know what the future would bring," recalled Sparks in his website autobiography. "Then I asked her to marry me again."

Film rights to "The Notebook" were sold to New Line Cinema and the novel was made into a Main Selection of the Literary Guild and eventually translated into 35 languages. Life was sweet. But, a real-life drama was about to unfold for Sparks and his family.

Personal challenges
Within two months of selling "The Notebook," Sparks was told that his second son, Ryan, was autistic in January of 1996. In September of that same year, his father was killed in an automobile accident at the age of 54. His mother had previously died in a horseback riding accident in 1989 at age 47.

Sparks began intensely working with his son, four hours a day for three-and-a-half years to teach him to talk, one word at a time. His wife worked on teaching Ryan "life-skills" such as tying shoes. Together, they helped their son learn speech and social skills so that he was able to enter school where today he maintains an 'A' average.

"You just keep going. Nobody has it easy," said Sparks. In 2000, he was devastated when his younger sister, Danielle, died of cancer. She was the inspiration for "Jamie," the lead character in "A Walk To Remember."

"My sister, brother and I were brought up to watch out for each other at a very young age," said Sparks. "The character of Jamie was my sister. She was a kind, religious, noble young lady. All of my characters tend to be religious."

"Faith has played a very important role in my life in every way," said Sparks, who attends St. Paul Church in his hometown. "We enjoy our small town way of life where there's a strong sense of faith and community."