Nicholas Sparks, an American author, writes love stories. His novel, The Pages of Our Lives, was named book of the year in 1997. Nicholas Sparks' novels have been translated into over thirty-five languages. He didn't always dream of becoming a writer. Nicholas Sparks grew up in many different places as a child in a poor but educationally wealthy family and is now a successful romance writer. Raised in a family focused on education, Nicholas Sparks eventually graduated at the top of his class. He was born on December 31, 1965 in Nebraska. His parents were Patrick Sparks, who was a college professor, and his mother was Jill Sparks, who was a housewife. He was the second child of three children, an older brother and a younger sister. As a child he moved around a lot. He lived in Minnesota; then Los Angeles, California; and Grand Island, Nebraska; then finally at the age of eight he settled in Fair Oaks, California. His family moved while his father finished his graduate work. He hadn't realized how poor his family was until he had an honest look at things, but that didn't bother him because he'd had a wonderful childhood and wouldn't want to change anything. When he went to college in Indiana, he attended Notre Dame and was offered a full scholarship. While running on the track team his freshman year, he set a school record that still stands today, unfortunately the season did not end well for Nicholas, with an Achilles tendon injury. (biography.com) During his free time and recovery, his mother encouraged him to write a book to make the most of his time. He wrote a book in seven weeks called A Work of Horror, although it was never published it opened his eyes to what he liked to do, write. ...... middle of sheet ......http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/bic1/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?displayGroupName=Reference&disableHighlighting=false&prodId=BIC1&action=e&windowstate=normal&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CH1000129994&mode =view&userGroupName=lap52ncs&jsid=7bea1bf9f88de2c1394c89c14a0d2a89>3. "Nicholas Sparks." Newsmaker. vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Gale biography in context. Network. 8 January 2012.4. “ABout Nicholas Sparks” 2002-2011 Willow Holdings, Inc. January 8, 20125. “What Critics Say About Nicholas Sparks” Creighton University