Is there anything Dolly Parton can’t do? From global superstar and vaccine sponsor to memoir writer and fashion icon, the singer-songwriter has proven herself capable of many things throughout her career. 

And now, she’s adding another title to her list of achievements: novelist.

That’s right: Parton is venturing into the world of fiction. In a collaboration with bestselling novelist James Patterson, the star has co-written Run, Rose, Run – a new thriller about a young singer-songwriter “on the rise and on the run”.  

The book, which is being published by Century in the UK, will also be accompanied by an album of the same name, consisting of 12 original tracks based on the characters and situations explored in the novel. Both will be released on 7 March 2022.

Revealing the news on social media yesterday, Parton said she’d combined her love of storytelling and books to put the novel together. 

In a statement to People, she added: “I cannot be more excited about the release of my very first novel Run, Rose, Run with the great James Patterson… I hope you enjoy the book and the songs as much as we’ve enjoyed putting it all together!” 

According to a press release from the book’s US publisher, Run, Rose, Run is set in Nashville, and follows the story of a young woman who has travelled to the city to “pursue her music-making dreams”.

“The source of her heart-wrenching songs is a brutal secret she has done everything to hide,” the official synopsis reads. “But the past she has fled is reaching out to control her future – even if it means destroying everything she has worked for.”

Speaking about the experience of working on the novel alongside Parton, Patterson said it had been “an honour – and a hell of a lot of fun” to work with the star, whom he has “long admired for her music, her storytelling, and her enormous generosity.” 

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

Although this book marks the first time Parton has entered the world of fiction, she’s already proven herself to be an amazing storyteller through her songs. With this in mind – and with the talent of Patterson involved, too – we can’t wait to get our hands on Run, Rose, Run when it drops next year.

Run, Rose, Run is available to pre-order now 

Images: Getty/Century