Run, Rose, Run

Both the appeal and the story of Run, Rose, Run is inextricably linked to the backgrounds and experiences of its authors. James Patterson is an acclaimed thriller writer, revered among peers like Lee Child for his storytelling prowess. Patterson is famous for his collaborations with others; for example, in his Alex Cross series (1993-2021), he wrote 50-page outlines for a team of writers and revised the results where necessary to suit his vision. Extremely prolific, he has authored 322 books, which in total sold about 425 million copies. More recently, he worked with celebrities such as former President Bill Clinton on books that reveal secrets about his collaborators’ professions. The collaboration with Clinton especially was a commercial success, producing the bestseller The President is Missing (2018), which sold more than 3.2 million copies, and The President’s Daughter (2021).

Patterson emulated the Clinton collaboration model with Parton, a country music star who has sold 100 million albums worldwide. Their project began in February 2020, when Patterson flew to Nashville to meet Parton, a fan of his Alex Cross thrillers. Patterson proposed that she work with him on a novel about a rising country music star who runs away to Nashville to escape a dark past. Parton loved the idea so much that she sent Patterson some ideas for the plot, along with the lyrics to seven songs based on the story. These later formed part of the accompanying album Run, Rose, Run (lyrics from which appear in the novel). Patterson notes that Parton “didn’t want to get involved in something just to put her name on it. She really wanted to be involved” (Alter, Alexandra. “Dolly Parton and James Patterson Are Working 9 to 5 on a New Novel.” The New York Times, August 11, 2021).

Reviewers have witnessed evidence of both writers’ styles in the finished book. While Patterson’s is visible in the thriller-style plot twists and detailed descriptions of combat, Parton’s is evident in the details about music and the inner workings of the country music industry. In addition, for many reviewers, the glamorous superstar Ruthanna Ryder recalled Parton herself. However, one reviewer remarked that the younger star, AnnieLee, reflected Parton’s spunky yet humble character. Certainly, Parton shares AnnieLee’s rags-and-obscurity-to-riches-and-fame narrative, as she grew up one of 12 siblings in a rural farming family in Pittman Center, Tennessee. Like AnnieLee, she learned her love of country music from her mother, who (like AnnieLee’s) was in poor health. Similarly, she had to build her country music career from the ground up, working every honky-tonk gig she could find.

Despite the authors’ different careers, Patterson, who attended school in Nashville at the time of the Grand ol’ Opry, when the town was full of honky-tonks, thinks that he and Parton have a lot in common. They both had small-town upbringings and love storytelling. Moreover, both believe in passing on storytelling to the world and have created reading nonprofits for underprivileged children: Patterson’s ReadKiddoRead, an organization dedicated to making kids readers for life, and Parton’s The Imagination Library, which gifts books to children in underprivileged families. Parton channels her belief in the importance of reading by depicting her Run, Rose, Run character Ruthanna attending the events of her literacy charity, The Book Garden, even when she’s too heartbroken to sing.