Dolly Parton Teams Up With James Patterson for Her First Novel

Dolly Parton is ready to prove that her way with words extends beyond songs. In early 2022, she’ll release her first novel, Run, Rose, Run.

The country music megastar has teamed up with bestselling mystery author James Patterson to put together a Nashville-based thriller about a young singer-songwriter with a dark secret. “She’s a star on the rise, singing about the hard life behind her,” explains a description on publisher Little, Brown and Company’s website.

“Nashville is where she’s come to claim her destiny,” the description adds. “It’s also where the darkness she’s fled might find her. And destroy her.”

Says Parton said in a statement to People, ”I cannot be more excited about the release of my very first novel.” Adds Patterson, “It’s been an honor — and a hell of a lot of fun — to work with the inimitable Dolly Parton, whom I’ve long admired for her music, her storytelling, and her enormous generosity.”

Little, Brown and Company

Though Parton has a habit of venturing beyond music, she never leaves those roots far behind — and she won’t with Run, Rose, Run, either. In addition to the book’s music-focused plot, it will arrive in tandem with an album of 12 original songs, “based on the characters and situations in the book,” by Parton.

“The mind-blowing thing about this project is that reading the novel is enhanced by listening to the album and vice versa,” says Patterson. “It’s a really unique experience that I know readers (and listeners) will love.”

Both the Run, Rose, Run book and album are set for release on March 7, 2022.