How has the success of The Notebook affected your life? Do you find your family lifestyle has changed much? Or your values?

The success has been wonderful. It's enabled me to concentrate on writing full-time, but more than that, it's allowed me to spend more time with my family. We've benefited financially, of course, and it would be dishonest for me to pretend otherwise.

But other than that, our lifestyle is largely unchanged. I go to Tae Kwon Do with my kids, we go to church every Sunday, we're in a "Supper Club" with the same people we've known for years, my wife volunteers at the school like every other mom, we still eat Kraft macaroni and cheese.

Nor have our values changed. We worry about the same things all parents do, and we're doing our best to raise kind and confident children. Our relationship with each other, with our children, with our community, and with God, will always be the most important things in our lives.