Nicholas Sparks is the author of such hugely successful best-sellers as The Notebook, Message in a Bottle and Nights in Rodanthe - all of which have been turned into popular films. Sparks contributes to a variety of local and national charities and is a major contributor to the Creative Writing Program at the University of Notre Dame, where he provides scholarships, internships and a fellowship annually. His most recent books are The Lucky One, a New York Times No. 1 best-seller, and his newest, The Last Song (2009). Sparks lives in North Carolina.