ASHEBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — Best-selling romance novelist Nicholas Sparks' new book is based in the Piedmont Triad and already at the top of the New York Times best sellers list. Sparks chose Asheboro as the setting for "Counting Miracles." The novel is the 24th for Sparks, who lives in New Bern, North Carolina. Sparks's previous books all topped the charts, and many have been made into films. He likes to base his books on small towns in our state. Several have been along the Outer Banks and in the Blue Ridge Mountains. He told FOX8's Shannon Smith he chose Asheboro for this book because of the nearby Uwharrie National Forest.