NICHOLAS SPARKS, Live in Manila

"A Walk To Remember," "The Notebook," "Message in the Bottle," and "The Last Song," all of these are famous novels with blockbuster film adaptations brought to us by the brilliant novelist, Mr. Nicholas Sparks.  The famous author is now on tour to promote his latest book entitled, "The Best of Me," and it was just recently that he visited Philippines for the said book launch.

To grab the signing passes, National Bookstore who sponsored the event released the following mechanics:


1. All purchases of Nicholas Sparks’ new book “The Best of Me” from National Book Store or Powerbooks will come with a Lucky Draw Coupon. Note: The Lucky Draw Coupon in not a guaranteed Signing Pass.
2. A person may purchase as many copies as he/she wants and each purchase will come with a Lucky Draw Coupon.
3. The Lucky Draw Coupon shall entitle the bearer to one (1) attempt at a Lucky Draw on Friday, October 28, 2011 at the atrium of The Podium. Lucky Draw will start upon registration at 1:00 pm.
4. Every person who draws a marked winning stub shall be entitled to a signing pass to have one (1) book signed by Nicholas Sparks at the event.
5. There will be a minimum of six hundred fifty (650) winning stubs in the the Lucky Draw.
6. In addition, there will also be fifty (50) Early Birds. The first fifty (50) persons to arrive at the venue will be allowed to have their Lucky Draw Coupon automatically exchanged for a Signing Pass. Limit is one (1) signing pass per Early Bird.

It's no longer a surprise that the event would be a success, (of course, it's Nicholas Sparks eh! dudumugin talaga ng tao yan! ) but one thing that impressed me was the dedication of one fan who lined up at Atrium since 2'o clock in the morning. Whew! I salute you Ms. Sam Sanchez! =)

A friend of mine, Edalyn Vargas, also lined up early and took a vacation leave just to make sure that her dream of meeting the legend, Mr.Sparks is met.  This is what she had to say, (parang interview portion lang sa TV, hehehehe):


"I went to Nicholas Sparks book signing event last Friday, Oct 28 (VL ako!hehe) around 9:30am hoping to get an early bird slot yun nga lang may mas fanatic pa saken (2am pa lang andun na) so I had to rely on my lucky charm to get a signing pass & thankfully I did get one, nag-antay na ko till 5pm para sa signing, dumating sya mga 5:20pm, pandemonium sa venue parang si Justin Bieber ang dumating (hehe) pag-akyat ng stage super kaway sya sa mga fans tapos may konting interview regarding sa new book nya (the best of me) tinanong sya kung ano favorite nya among his novels (a walk to remember) then tinawag na yung #1 fan nya (sam sanchez) konting chitchat, binigyan nya ng t-shirt & pinirmahan na yung lahat ng books na dala nya (kaka-inggit) start na ng book signing, 50 persons per batch, maya maya biglang bumaba si nicholas sa stage para puntahan yung lolang naka wheel chair (mala real life message in a bottle ang love story nya), tapos tuluy-tuloy na ung signing, 176 ang signing pass number ko. pumila na ko sa stage, medyo mahigpit ung organizers bago ka pa umakyat kinukuha na nila yung book at camera, pag-akyat ko, he said hi to me, I shook his hands, he signed my book tapos picture taking na. Wala pa atang 1 minute tapos na pero it was the best moment for me,worth it ang paghihintay at pagod plus I met new friends who shares the same passion in reading & love for our favorite author! Dream come true talaga!"

Edalyn with Nicholas Sparks

Her signed "The Best of Me" book.

Thank you Eds for sharing your wonderful experience & congratulations! =)

http://www.nicholassparks.com/meet/tour
http://www.facebook.com/pages/National-Book-Store/72546266913