Dolly Parton already has many hyphens after her name. Obviously, she’s a singer/songwriter. She’s also an actress and a producer who’s owned several production companies. She has The Dollywood Company that oversees her land holdings and theme parks. And of course she’s a philanthropist who founded The Dollywood Foundation. But as we’ve come to learn from Dolly, she wasn’t done. Now she’ll add author to her growing list of titles. It was just announced that Dolly teamed with best-selling author James Patterson to write a thriller called Run, Rose, Run about a country singer trying to escape her past. And not only are we getting a book from this, Dolly wrote an accompanying album to be released alongside it.
In February 2020, James Patterson flew to Nashville to visit Dolly Parton.
She was a fan of his “Alex Cross” thrillers, and he had a proposal for her: Would she work with him on a novel about an aspiring country singer who goes to Nashville to seek her fortune and escape her past?
Parton loved the idea. Two days later, she sent Patterson notes on the plot — along with lyrics for seven new songs that she wrote, based on the story.
“She didn’t want to get involved in something just to put her name on it. She really wanted to be involved,” Patterson said in an interview on Wednesday. “She’s not going to do something if she doesn’t think she’s going to do it well.”
In March, Little, Brown plans to publish “Run, Rose, Run,” a collaboration between Patterson and Parton, in print, e-book and audio editions. The novel, about a young singer with a dark secret that inspires her music, draws on Parton’s experiences in country music.
Parton will simultaneously release an album, also titled “Run, Rose, Run,” featuring 12 new songs inspired by the novel. The songs are “based on the characters and situations in the book,” Parton said in a news release, and the lyrics are threaded throughout the novel.
In the news release announcing the book, Little, Brown seemed giddy over the commercial prospects of a multimedia project targeting Patterson and Parton’s audiences: “This dual release will mark the first time a #1 best-selling author and an entertainment icon who has sold well over 100 million albums worldwide have collaborated on a book and an album.”
For those who’ve followed Patterson’s career, he frequently collaborates with other people. Arguably his most successful collaboration has been with Maxine Paetro, but the two books he wrote with Bill Clinton were very popular. I’m not a huge Patterson-the-author fan. I’m qualifying that because I find him quite entertaining in interviews. I‘m not saying he’s not good, I’ve just stopped reading him. But my gawd is he a prolific writer. I don’t know how he has time to do anything else. However, I will read this. The fact that Dolly had input, and the story draws from her experience is enough to sell me on it. Patterson said they worked together for months, on scenes and “going back and forth on chapters and notes,” so he’s not just slapping her name on it. He said the collaboration was a natural one because, “we both consider ourselves storytellers.” That’s why the accompanying album is such a draw, it’s telling the story in both their languages. What I didn’t know was that Patterson also has a reading and literacy non-profit like Dolly. Knowing that profits are supporting that makes me side-eye his voluminous output less.
Patterson also said, “people love (Dolly.)” Well, duh. I’m just glad to know he’s one of them. Speaking of loving Dolly, maybe they can have a book signing in her office building in Nashville. She recently said she used the royalties from Whitney Houston’s version of I Will Always Love You to invest in an office complex in a Black neighborhood in Tennessee. She saw it as, “I’m going to be down here with her people, who are my people as well.” She considers it, “The house that Whitney built.” Buy this woman’s book. She deserves every good thing that happens to her!
Oh, and look who got top billing!
Photo credit: Instagram and Amazon
Dolly is so amazing. I don’t love Patterson’s writing, either, but I’ll buy this and the album, too.
Do you think there’s any chance that Dolly narrates the audiobook? I’d love that!
I used to read his Cross books, but I stopped long ago. I got bored, they were all the same. The early ones were really good though. My mom still loves him and she’s actually reading one of the Clinton ones now. This sounds pretty amazing though and I’m sure I’m gonna buy it and download her album too.
Yeah I was going to say, he has time to write all these books because they’re all the same. But people like them, let Dolly get a piece of that profit too, and the album will probably be good.
I love her.
I think what the world really needs is a Dolly Parton/Betty White buddy film.
YES. YES PLEASE.
I thought Patterson stopped writing his books long ago, he uses ghost writers. He comes up with an outline/plot but doesn’t actually write the book. I’m sure he reads and edits the story before publishing. Clancy did the same.
Patterson’s interviews do convey and fun and interesting guy.
National Treasure: full stop. Last time I saw her perform, she played several instruments (including saxophone) and told great stories between each of her songs. People from all walks of life were at this show- joined in our love of the one and only Dolly. I look forward to supporting this book and album!
Dolly Parton is the real deal alright. She is probably one of the most giving people on earth. She really DOES to so much for others, lives modestly and gives away so much. Lovely. She is a prolific songwriter (seriously check out the list of songs she has written) and does SO MUCH for children’s literacy programs of all kinds including her wonderful Imagination Library for kids, everywhere. Not to mention donates incredible amounts to all kinds of good causes, much on the downlow too, which is very rare, So heck yeah, I am buying this book and several copies for friends and family. Probably lol the only celebrity I have no hesitation giving my money to. LOVE her.