Sparks is a father of five who exercises for 90 minutes a day, trains his beloved working dog and coaches the local track team. Once Sparks has a story in mind, he writes 2,000 words a day, three or four days a week, from 9:30 to 3:30, with lots of breaks and time for lunch.
Having read his novels—some of them told from a female perspective—fans can’t believe he’s not a woman. “It makes me feel good that I’m capturing a female’s voice and thoughts fairly accurately,” he says.

But there’s a logic to Sparks’ system, too. In each book he tries to differ slightly the demographics of the characters, their circumstances and the note on which the story will end. In Nights in Rodanthe, he sets up a love story between two recently separated baby boomers trapped in a romantic seaside B&B during a hurricane
His next one better: Cyrus’ adult career could be riding on it. But don’t worry, Disney. “I got it perfect in my head,” he says. “It’s just a matter of putting it down on paper.”
_Ellen McCarthy