Nicholas Sparks

Nicholas Charles Sparks (born December 31, 1965) is an American writer and novelist. He has published eighteen novels and two non-fiction books. Several of his novels have become international bestsellers, and eleven of his romantic-drama novels have been adapted to film with multimillion-dollar box office grosses.

Early life

Sparks was born on December 31, 1965, in Omaha, Nebraska, to Patrick Michael Sparks, a professor of business, and Jill Emma Marie Sparks (née Thoene), a homemaker and an optometrist's assistant. He was the middle of three children, with an older brother, Michael Earl "Micah" Sparks (1964–present), and a younger sister, Danielle "Dana" Sparks (1966–2000), who died at the age of 33 from a brain tumor. Sparks has said that she is the inspiration for the main character in his novel A Walk to Remember.

He was raised Roman Catholic, and is of German, Czech, English, and Irish ancestry. He and his ex-wife are Catholics and are raising their children in the Catholic faith.

A Walk to Remember

A Walk to Remember is a 2002 American coming-of-age romantic drama film directed by Adam Shankman and written by Karen Janszen, based on Nicholas Sparks' 1999 novel of the same name. The film stars Shane West, Mandy Moore, Peter Coyote, and Daryl Hannah, and was produced by Denise Di Novi and Hunt Lowry for Warner Bros.

Plot

Popular and rebellious teenager Landon Carter is threatened with expulsion from school after he and his friends leave evidence of underage drinking on the school grounds and seriously injure another student as the result of a prank gone wrong. The head of the school gives Landon the choice of being expelled or atoning for his actions by tutoring fellow students and participating in the school play. During these functions, Landon notices Jamie Sullivan, a girl he has known since kindergarten and who has attended many of the same classes as him, and is also the local minister's daughter. Since he's one of the in-crowd, he has seldom paid any attention to Jamie, who wears modest dresses and owns only one sweater. Jamie is labeled an outsider and a geek. She makes no attempt to wear make-up or otherwise improve her looks or attract attention to herself.

Walk to Remember

Walk to Remember is Marie Curie’s series of 10k fundraising walks. They take place in the evening, between July and September each year, and are held in a variety of location across the UK. Locations include parks, country houses and National Trust sites.

Participants fundraise before and after the event, raising money to help Marie Curie provide free care and support for people living with a terminal illness and their families. It is also an in memory event, where walkers remember loved ones.

History

Walk to Remember was first launched as Walk Ten in 2010. That year 12 walks were held, with 3,312 walkers taking part. Over £300,000 was raised.

The following year, 2011, Walk Ten grew to include 17 locations. For 2012, 25 events were held, doubling the money raised in 2010, and attracting 11,114 walkers, almost four times the amount from the opening year.

For 2015, Walk Ten became Walk to Remember. The name change was in response to an increasing number of walkers choosing to remember a loved one as they took part. 17 events will be held in 2015, and the aim is to attract 13,000 walkers (more than 2014 and the highest amount in one year to date) and raise over £1.1 million.

A Walk

"A Walk" is a song written by Greg Graffin from the punk rock group Bad Religion. It was the first single from their 1996 album The Gray Race. It was the album's only single to chart in the United States.

Chart positions

References

Nicholas

Nicholas or Nikolas or Nicolas or Nickolas is a male given name, derived from the Greek name Νικόλαος (Nikolaos), a compound of νίκη nikē 'victory' and λαός; laos 'people', that is, victory of the people. The name became popular through Saint Nicholas, Bishop of Myra in Lycia, the inspiration for Santa Claus. The customary English version of spelling "Nicholas", using an "h", first came into use in the 12th century and has been firmly established since the Reformation, though "Nicolas" is occasionally used.

In the United States, Nicholas – and its variations – was the 17th most popular male name given to babies in 2006. Roughly 0.7151% of the baby boys born that year, or 15,414, were given that name. It is decreasing in popularity, from a high in 1997, when 27,248 males in the United States were given the name Nicholas. That year was the most popular year for Nicholas since 1880, when U.S. records were kept for given names.

The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the name and its derivatives are especially popular in maritime regions, as St. Nicholas is considered the protector saint of seafarers.