Tom's Life Bits

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===== Sparks has a new 'Song' =====

//Miley Cyrus will be in it//\\
BY LUCIANA CHAVEZ, Staff writer\\
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Nicholas Sparks was disappointed with the experience of writing his first screenplay, based on one of his own novels, last summer.

No, not with how the screenplay for the upcoming Miley Cyrus film "The Last Song" turned out. Sparks was attempting to write his first screenplay before he'd even written the novel.

"I was a little disappointed that writing the novel [afterward] wasn't easier," Sparks says, laughing. "I was hoping it would be written in my head by the time I was done with the screenplay. It was still just as hard as always. Writing the screenplay was easy."

"The Last Song" is Sparks' 16th book. Fourteen were New York Times bestsellers. "The Last Song" comes out Sept. 8.

Sparks executed another first while working on "The Last Song." For the first time, he wrote a lead character with a specific person in mind.

Last summer, as Sparks began thinking about the book, he got a call from Disney. Cyrus, queen of the magic kingdom herself, was eager to star in a feature film along the lines of "A Walk to Remember." The film based on Sparks' 1999 novel starred Mandy Moore, then a young pop singer just like Cyrus is now. The movie kick-started Moore's acting career.

Sparks met with Disney in August 2008. He was hired to write the screenplay but had to write it first to accommodate Cyrus' schedule.

Sparks visited with the Cyrus family to talk about the story before he began. Cyrus picked the name for her character - Ronnie, short for Veronica. Sparks made sure music was a key element to the story.

"Whether it's a screenplay or novel, my main consideration is the story," Sparks says. "That being said, did I see Miley in the role as I was writing the screenplay or novel? Not too frequently. I was just trying to write the best story I could."

The book's story is set in Wilmington and Disney was going to film "The Last Song" there. But after a disagreement with the state over tax incentives, Disney changed the location of the story and took the shoot to Georgia.

He'll stick with N.C.

Sparks, who has lived in North Carolina exclusively since 1997 and off and on since 1992, uses the state as a setting in all of his books. He says that won't change.

Like John Grisham, Sparks has become a go-to guy for movie producers. By the end of 2010, seven of his books will have been turned into films. Two films come out in 2010, "The Last Song" on Jan. 8 and "Dear John" on Feb. 5. A third, "The Lucky One," will be filmed in late 2010.

Producers pay attention but Sparks says he never thinks about it as he writes. Again, the story comes first. And, despite the ease of writing "The Last Song" screenplay, he isn't chasing a new career.

"I'm busy enough writing novels," Sparks says. "I just wanted to do one or two to see if I can do them."

A hectic year

The last 12 months have been the busiest of Sparks' life. He wrote books and coached the powerhouse track team at New Bern High School. And there were four book tours, two overseas trips and five funerals.

Sparks and his wife, Cathy, were also overseeing the private college preparatory school - The Epiphany School - they helped found in 2006. And they were also raising five kids and two dogs and building a new house.

"It was a busy year," Sparks says. "I'm glad it's over."

Sparks has retired from coaching. His oldest son is a high school senior. The new house is done. Sparks says he is "looking forward to having a mellower year."

Sparks stays on track with his novels by writing 2,000 words every time he sits down to write. He is mulling themes for his next book and working on a book about coaching the 800-meter run, an event he ran, and in which he still holds a relay record at the University of Notre Dame.

Sparks says his ideas come from everywhere. He starts by thinking about what he's done recently and deciding on characters and topics through a process of elimination. Eventually, he can see the bones for the latest book.

He makes it sound easy. Sparks laughs at the idea.

"That's just how I do it," he says. "Do I know where it's coming from sometimes? Heck no."

luciana.chavez@newsobserver .com or 919-829-4864

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