Frequently Asked Questions About
The Guardian
With
ANSWERS BY NICHOLAS SPARKS
Yes, it is. Swansboro is located between Jacksonville, North Carolina and Bogue Banks, an island near Morehead City. Swansboro, like many of the towns in eastern North Carolina, is small and picturesque, though some changes to the town were made in order to better accommodate the story.
Was the story inspired by actual events in your life, as your other novels were?
No, the story behind The Guardian was a figment of my imagination. I've never known anyone like Richard, nor has any member of my family. Thank goodness.
Singer played a variety of roles in the novel; companionship, the love owners have for their pets and vice versa, loyalty, bravery, and even how a person can love in spite of irritating habits. Yet, because I write tragedies, there has to be a tragic event in my novels. This too, was Singer's role to play, and even from the beginning of the novel, I knew exactly what would happen to him. Quality dramatic fiction has to make the reader feel a variety of emotions – love, joy, happiness, anger, betrayal, jealousy and yes, sadness and loss.
This isn't to say that I don't like dogs. I love them – currently, I own three. I've also had dogs die in the past, so I know how much it can hurt to lose a pet. So do most people, and I suppose that's the reason most people were so moved when they learned what had happened to Singer. I, too, was sad when I wrote the scene, even though I knew it was inevitable.
Also, it's important to realize that in American literature, as opposed to movies and television, the dog almost always dies. Old Yeller, Where the Red Fern Grows, and My Dog Skip are but three examples, and I wanted to keep with tradition, simply because it helped to make the book memorable.
Mike was a fun character to write, and to be frank, I liked writing about someone who wasn't completely comfortable with the opposite sex. I think Mike is a lot closer to reality than most of the major characters people come across in novels. Most seem too good, too confident to be real. Mike, on the other hand, was entirely believable, and I wanted to create a character that seemed like many people of the people I know.
How hard was it to create a "dark" character like Richard?
Creating frightening attributes in a character isn't challenging; the challenge lies in trying to make such a character original. There have been so many “dark” characters on television, in movies, and in other novels that it seems almost impossible to come up with something original, unless it's incredibly far removed from reality. A person such as Hannibal Lecter falls into that category.
But I wanted a frightening character that was both original and believable. To do this, I created an obsessive character (not too original, I'll admit), but that I made him obsessive almost immediately (original). Most stories that deal with obsession are centered around longer relationships – this story did just the opposite. This immediate obsession, to me, is very frightening – imagine going on one or two dates with a person, only to have them believe you can never leave them. It would be like a nightmare, albeit one that could happen all too easily.
Why did you publish The Guardian in April, as opposed to your normal publishing time in the fall?
This had to with my writing career in general. There's a fine line to walk in keeping readers satisfied, and my thinking went like this: In the beginning, many people discovered me by reading The Notebook, my first novel. Many authors are rightfully accused of “changing” as their career progresses and as a result, the authors become less popular over time. The Guardian is very different than The Notebook, and I didn't want to become less popular. How can I keep everyone happy, including those who want different stories, and those who want stories like the first one I wrote? The solution I came up with was simple; write a story that is somewhat similar to The Notebook, and release that in the fall (Nights in Rodanthe). Release The Guardian in the Spring. Then, come out with The Wedding (a sequel to The Notebook) a few months later. That way if people were upset by the differences concerning The Guardian when compared to The Notebook, they didn't have to wait an entire year to discover I wasn't changing my style permanently, just enough to keep the surprises coming.
Will you ever write another love story with thriller elements?
In time, I probably will. I have a few more stories I want to get to first.
You wrote the screenplay for The Guardian. What's happened with it?
So far, nothing. I haven't submitted it yet. It needs a good polish, and I've been too busy to get to it. When my schedule clears a bit, I'll get back to it and we'll see what happens.
Is there going to be a sequel to The Guardian?
Perhaps. I have no plans to attempt a sequel at the present time (or even in the near future) but I said the same thing about The Notebook years ago. Only one of my novels was written with a definite sequel in mind (True Believer), but that was only because I had two books coming out that year, and the story lended itself to a sequel.
Will The Guardian be adapted into a film?
Who knows. I've written the first draft of the screenplay, but as of this writing, Hollywood has little interest in the project. Hence, I've kept the screenplay on file and haven't submitted it yet. I've learned never to predict what the studios intend to do with my work.