This Wedding Sparks

Nicholas Sparks successfully wooed booksellers with his first fiction, The Notebook, back in 1996. It sold more than 500,000 copies in its first three months, making it the most successful debut fiction that year; its total sales are in the millions. Seven books later comes the sequel to the romantic tale of Allie and Noah Calhoun. The Wedding tells the story of their daughter and her 30-year marriage, which is running into a bit of trouble. Warner launched the book with a one-million-copy first printing. Sparks is on tour the entire month of September and judging from the crowds at his first stops, sales should be robust enough for all involved to uncork the champagne. The author signed close to 4,000 books (including backlist) on publication day (September 9)—his fans began arriving at Waldenbooks in New Bern, N.C., at 6 a.m. Two days later, at The Open Book in Greenville, S.C., he signed 2,500 copies of The Wedding; both signings were records for the stores. A Sparks profile in next week's People is eagerly anticipated.

—With reporting by Dick Donahue