Eddie Muller, alias the “Czar of Noir” and the host of “Noir Alley” on TCM, will host the 7th annual Noir City Detroit Film Festival — one of the most popular film noir events — at the Redford Theatre in Detroit this weekend, Sept. 20-22.

Muller will present eight crime noir films over three days. All shows are double features and are as follows:

On Friday, Sept. 20, at 7:30 p.m.:

• 1951’s “Victims of Sin”
• 1946’s “Night Editor”

On Saturday, Sept. 21, at 1 p.m.:

• 1944’s “Laura”
• 1947’s “Framed”

On Saturday, Sept. 21, at 8 p.m.:

• 1947’s “Brute Force”
• 1954’s “Black Tuesday”

On Sunday, Sept. 22, at 1 p.m.:

• 1952’s “Never Open That Door”
• 1949’s “The Window”

All double features are $15 each. The All-Access Pass costs $55, which includes admission to all eight films, a commemorative poster and an early admission meet-and-greet with Muller on Friday, Sept. 20, at 5:30 p.m., who will sign his books, including “Eddie Muller’s Noir Bar: Cocktails Inspired by the World of Film Noir.”

It also includes a private reception with Muller in the Redford lobby on Saturday, Sept. 21, at 6 p.m. Refreshments will include coffee and dessert. There will be special cocktails from “Noir Bar” for sale, as well as beer and wine.

The Redford is located at 17360 Lahser Road, Detroit.

Tickets can be purchased online at redfordtheatre.com or at the box office.

For questions or more information, contact the Redford at 313-537-2560.

Editor’s note: The venue for the book signing has changed. It’s been corrected below.

After suffering a sports-related injury during his freshman year at the University of Notre Dame, New York Times bestselling author Nicholas Sparks decided to write his first book on a whim.

“Recovering meant that I couldn’t train over the summer and, while home on break, I moped around the house until my mom got eventually tired of my foul mood. ‘Do something,’ she said, and when I asked her for a suggestion, she suggested that I write a book,” recalled Sparks, 58, of North Carolina.

Sparks — who attended Notre Dame on a track and field scholarship and graduated magna cum laude with his bachelor’s degree in business finance — will sign copies of his latest novel, “Counting Miracles” (Random House $30), at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25 at The J-Detroit, 6600 West Maple Road, West Bloomfield.

“(My mom) wasn’t serious, but because I loved stories — and reading — I asked myself, ‘Why not?’” Sparks continued. “Since I couldn’t train, I had extra time on my hands, so I spent five to six hours at the keyboard for the remainder of the summer writing until the manuscript was complete.”

That was his first novel, which was never published.

“Though it was never published, the process of writing that novel taught me much, and I continued to hone my abilities outside of the classroom,” Sparks said. “I wrote a second novel during my senior year of college, and while it was also unpublished, that effort taught me even more than my first attempt had.”

His first published novel was “The Notebook.” Debuting in 1996, it made the New York Times bestseller list its first week of release and remained there for 56 weeks. It was adapted into 2004’s award-winning movie starring Rachel McAdams (“Mean Girls”), Ryan Gosling (“Barbie”), James Garner (“The Great Escape”), Gena Rowlands (“Gloria”), and Joan Allen (“Nixon”). It grossed $117 million on a $29 million budget. The movie was directed by Nick Cassavetes (“Alpha Dog”), son of the late John Cassavetes (“Rosemary’s Baby”) and Rowlands, who died Aug. 14. Earlier this year, a musical version of “The Notebook” debuted on Broadway.

“The success of ‘The Notebook’ over the years has surprised even me,” Sparks said. “I had high hopes for the novel, but then again, I think all authors have high hopes for their first novel. To have the novel, the film, and now the musical become as successful as they are is something I could never have imagined. I’m both moved and thrilled that people have enjoyed the story for decades — in three different mediums, all around the world. One can only hope (their first novel will do well) but anticipating or expecting success is something altogether different. I definitely fell into the first category.”

Of the 24 novels he’s penned, 11 of them have been turned into movies. “Counting Miracles” has been optioned, but Sparks couldn’t get into detail. He could, however, get into detail about the plot and impetus behind “Counting Miracles.”

“The original inspiration was an image in my mind: I saw an elderly man who’d been injured in the forest with an old dog standing over him,” Sparks said. “I wasn’t sure why he’d been in the forest or how or why he’d been injured, but the image stayed with me and eventually became the starting point for the novel.”

That old man became 83-year-old Jasper. Along with his dog Arlo, Jasper learns that a white deer — a mythical creature — was spotted in the forest. Jasper becomes obsessed with protecting the deer from poachers. His path will soon cross with Tanner Hughes and Dr. Kaitlyn Cooper.

Raised by his grandparents, Tanner becomes an Army Ranger. On her deathbed, his grandmother tells Tanner about the father he never knew who’s living in Asheboro, North Carolina. Tanner travels there and meets Kaitlyn, a single mom. There’s an instant attraction between the two, who don’t want to get too attached to one another.  Kaitlyn has her own baggage and Tanner will be returning to the military shortly.

“Tanner was inspired by the veterans I know — including my cousin — who returned home safely from numerous overseas tours, only to eventually realize that many of their former squad members would commit suicide in the aftermath,” Sparks said. “It’s a tragedy on many levels, and I wanted to create a character that reflected that reality. I began with the question, ‘What would a veteran do when he loses a number of friends to suicide?’ For Tanner, those losses result in a feeling of restlessness, a need to touch base with the families of those he’s lost, and a desire to stay on the move forever.”

Sparks likened “Counting Miracles” as a modern retelling of “The Book of Job.”

“It is a novel that also illustrates how people handle grief in different ways,” he said. “It’s a novel that speaks about the difficulty of balancing work and family. It’s a story about surprise and circumstance and faith, one that reminds us that life will never be quite what one expects it to be. And, of course, it’s a story about the power of love, though a case can be made that all my novels also include this particular theme.”

Kaitlyn proved to be the most challenging character when writing this book.

“Realistically creating and expressing Kaitlyn’s mindset was, at times, difficult,” he said. “She — like all of us — can be contradictory. We say one thing but mean another, for instance, or we feel one way and then a few moments later, our emotions suddenly change. Kaitlyn had reasons to both fall for Tanner and keep him at a distance. Maintaining that balance while moving the story forward was tricky.”

Although Sparks’ books have been published in more than 50 languages and have sold more than 150 million copies worldwide, he said he doesn’t think about how successful his writing career is.

“Most of the time, I’m too busy obsessing over whatever novel I happen to be working on to dwell on (it),” he said. “I will say, however, that I consider myself both blessed and fortunate to have been able to work from home since I had the opportunity to see my five wonderful children grow up. Having success has also allowed me to meet interesting people from all over the world, which I very much enjoy.”

He said he looks forward to coming to Michigan.

“I’m excited to visit the folks at Schuler Books and thrilled that Detroit is part of my book tour. In the distant past, I had signings there and it’ll be wonderful to return,” he said. “I enjoy meeting readers and I enjoy introducing new readers to my work.”

Visit nicholassparks.com.

If you go

Nicholas Sparks will be in conversation with Neal Rubin and sign copies of “Counting Miracles” at The J-Detroit, 6600 West Maple Road, West Bloomfield, at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25. For questions or more information, contact Schuler Books at 248-956-1515 or info@schulerbooks.com.

‘The Notebook’ Musical

A musical version of Nicholas Sparks’ “The Notebook” debuted earlier this year on Broadway at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre in New York City with music and lyrics by Emmy-nominated singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson (“Little Fires Everywhere”) and a book by Bekah Brunstetter (“This is Us”). It has earned three Tony Award nominations. Visit broadway.com/shows/the-notebook.