Will Nicholas write his own love story?

MANILA, Philippines - International best-selling author Nicholas Sparks is in the country for the first time to promote his brand-new novel The Best of Me. His three-day Manila visit, which wraps up today, is his only stop in Asia. Watch full video

The Best of Me tells the story of two people who were madly in love in high school. They went on separate ways and then crossed paths again two decades after during the funeral of their teacher, only to realize that, while their lives have changed so much, their feelings for each other did not.

“It’s about the ‘what-ifs’ in life. It’s a story of reunions, but it’s also a story of the choices we make, and the consequences,” said Sparks in a presscon hosted by National Bookstore last Thursday at C3 Events Place in Greenhills, San Juan City. 

The Best of Me is the 17th published novel of Sparks and is perched atop Publishers Weekly’s best-sellers list for the second week now. His books have earned $80M in worldwide sales, tugging the hearts of readers across the globe with themes of tragedy, death, family, faith and most importantly, love.

According to Xandra Ramos-Padilla, National Bookstore’s merchandising director for books, the author is National Bookstore’s biggest-selling foreign author.

To date, six of his novels had also been adapted for the big screen, namely, Message in a Bottle, A Walk to Remember, The Notebook, Nights in Rodanthe, Dear John and The Last Song.

Sparks also confirmed during the presscon that Warner Brothers already bought the film rights to The Best of Me, while two more of his novels are in different stages of film development. The Lucky One, starring Zac Efron, is slated for release in early 2012, while Safe Haven is expected to commence filming within the year.

Asked if he will ever produce a novel out of his own love story, he said may be he would, sharing that he met and fell in love with his wife one spring break in college. “I met her on a Monday, and the next day, I told her ‘You and I are gonna get married one day.’ She laughed at me. But here we are, still married 22 years after.”

“But if I write that, nobody will believe me. But that’s exactly what happened. It’s probably a short story,” the 45-year-old father of five added with a laugh.

Other questions raised during the presscon included which among the film adaptations is a favorite. He said that he can’t specify one, but he has always thought that The Notebook, topbilled by Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams, will be a classic. The Notebook was his very first bestseller, written when he was 28 years old and based on the love story of his wife’s grandparents. Prior to The Notebook, he had written two novels but of a different genre; they were never published.

Asked why he continues to pen romance-themed novels and doesn’t explore other genres, he simply said that this is his strength and so, “If ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” 

Sparks also shared that several of his characters were based on real people, and one of the most poignant and unforgettable to readers and to himself was Jamie Sullivan of A Walk To Remember. He said that many of the character’s attributes were based on his sister, who died of cancer.

He also dished out tips to unblock writer’s block. Even with his very prolific career, he, too, has experienced moments when he is faced with a seemingly formidable blank page. When this occurs, he believes that he has made a wrong turn somewhere in the writing process.

What he does to overcome the stumbling block is to mentally work backwards: He returns to the pages and scenes wherein the words were flowing, and from there, would direct the story to another way.

In the end, Sparks said that his goal as a writer is not to write for himself and serve his “ego,” but to always keep in mind what his readers will truly relish reading.