*By Madison Alworth*
Nicholas Sparks, author of tear-jerker "The Notebook," has a heart for romance and ー perhaps, to the surprise of his fans ー a head for business.
“I think that the best books not only have to have the good writing and a certain level of style ー and in my particular books you have to generate authenticity ー but I also think there’s some elements of business that come into play," Sparks said Monday in an interview on Cheddar.
Before he gained fame as a bestselling author, Sparks majored in Business Finance in college, and his more pragmatic past continues to shape his career.
"For instance, my readers range from, let’s say, 15 - 90, so if I’ve written a book about someone in their thirties, and the previous book was someone in their fifties, I might say to myself, ‘You know, I need to hit that younger age demographic because it’s now time.' So it’s almost a business sense of, here’s my market, and I definitely want to write a book that appeals to them,” he said.
The strategy seems to be working: every single one of Sparks's books has made the New York Times bestseller list, and 14 of them have reached the #1 spot.
Sparks is set to release his first book in two years, "Every Breath," on Tuesday.
“Anyone who’s read the 'Notebook' knows there’s gonna be a love story, it’s very intense," Sparks said of his latest work.
Like classic Sparks fare, the book revolves around a relationship.
"A couple meet at the beach. Well he’s from Africa, he’s a safari guide, he’s coming from Zimbabwe to meet his biological father for the first time, he ends up in North Carolina, meets a young lady, she’s there for a friend’s wedding, sparks fly, and of course like 'the Notebook' it's a two-part story ー so we kind of explore the question of how long can true love really last?"
"It’s a couple where the timing isn’t right at first ー so what happens, and how does that play out in love?”
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/the-next-notebook-nicholas-sparks-new-book).
From the end of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to the beginning of a new zombie apocalypse, here's what's going on in entertainment.
One person was killed and multiple people were sent to local hospitals after a boat capsized Monday during a tour of an underground cavern system built to carry water from the Erie Canal beneath the western New York city of Lockport, officials said.
There was plenty of uncertainty in the run-up to this year’s Tony Awards, which at one point seemed unlikely to happen at all because of the ongoing Hollywood writer’s strike.
Classical music concerts have been popular since the age of Beethoven, Bach, and Mozart, but you've probably never thought about attending one in a cemetery. Our own Chloe Aiello spoke with Andrew Ousley, founder of Death of Classical, to learn more about a concert series held in the catacombs of the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.
You may not know her name, but you've probably seen her face. Madhulika Sharma has graced Vogue India and ELLE Magazine and modeled for popular brands such as Reformation and Skims. Cheddar's own Hena Doba spoke with Sharma to discuss her globe-spanning modeling career, her education in fashion history, and working alongside Kim Kardashian.
The intimate, funny-sad musical “Kimberly Akimbo” nudged aside more splashier rivals on Sunday to win the best new musical crown at the Tony Awards on a night when Broadway flexed its muscle in the face of Hollywood writers’ strike and fully embraced trans-rights with history-making winners.
The ChatGPT chatbot, personified by different avatars on a huge screen above the altar, led the more than 300 people through 40 minutes of prayer, music, sermons and blessings.
New York's Assembly and Senate passed a bill to create a commission that would consider reparations for slavery.
New Orleans' Big Freedia, who many heard on Beyonce's new hit "Break My Soul," talks about upcoming business ventures and music projects, including a new show called Big Freedia Means Business on Fuse TV.
Cheddar's own Chloe Aiello tries out some unusual pickle flavors with Eddie Andre, head of brand at Grillo's Pickles.
