Viola Davis, James Patterson on why new book centers on a small-town abortion trial

Like many booklovers, James Patterson read and loved Viola Davis’ 2022 memoir “Finding Me.” But rather than wait to see if she'd write a new book, he decided to pursue one himself. 

He was successful. “Judge Stone,” the creative brainchild of bestselling Patterson and EGOT-winner Davis, is out now. The novel is an Alabama courtroom thriller about a ripped-from-the-headlines trial involving a 13-year-old rape victim and the doctor who gave her an illegal abortion. The case splits the town, and at the center of the uproar is our protagonist, Judge Mary Stone.

The pair of authors share a love of reading. Davis is a comfort rereader, currently diving back into “The Parable of the Sower” by Octavia E. Butler. Patterson recently loved “The Correspondent” by Virginia Evans. 

But they come from different creative fields, which ultimately made for an even stronger book, they agree. Patterson learned a lot about crafting dialogue from Davis, and Davis leaned on Patterson’s plot instincts. And, of course, they had edits for each other.

“I appreciate James accepting some of the very, very, very small notes from me,” Davis says, laughing. “I’m like, James, we can’t just have shrimp cocktail sauce on the table. We’ve got to have Crystal Hot Sauce on the table. Somewhere there’s got to be hot sauce.”

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. 

Question: Why was a courtroom drama the story you wanted to tell?

Davis: James is what made the offer enticing because I feel like he’s a master of what he does. But also, I just felt like it was a beautiful premise to create great characters, a pulsating thriller.

Patterson: It's a very dramatic story in a courthouse in a small town, and the whole world winds up watching what happens in a small town. We're both big fans of "To Kill a Mockingbird."

What did you learn from each other while writing ‘Judge Stone’?

Patterson: For me, digging deeper − digging, digging, digging. With Hollywood, with movies, you have a lot of people. There's the studio and the manager and the agents and the other actors. It was just two of us. Our thing was, let's just keep making this better and better.

Davis: James knows what works. I like that. I don't always know what works. Sometimes I can be in my own world. I love character-driven stories. And so that was my big takeaway from this, is he knows what works.

Patterson: In addition to being a really good writer, and Viola did a lot of work in the book, but she does know what works in terms of scene. Or dialogue, especially with Nova, the 13-year-old, [Davis would say] either she's saying too much or she's not saying enough, a lot of it needs to be interior with her [character].

How did it feel building a character on the page versus for the screen?

Davis: I don’t think it is different. You’re building a human being, not a character. So you have to ask the big swing questions to figure out who they are. Or they ask you the question, which is "What do I live for? What makes me happy? What is getting in the way of making me happy?"

You build from there. And for me, I build from my experience because I feel like it’s the wellspring of the foundation of art in life. 

What parts of yourself did you put into the characters?

Davis: Truth. I always feel like truth is the best device to make people lean into a story, because people lean in when they feel connected. I don't care how fictitious the story is. Something about it just jumps out at the page and makes you feel like you're in the story. I used to do that with my little girl when I would pick up stories with her at night. I felt something very realistic in there, no matter how fantastical the story was. That's the whole purpose of reading, really.

They may not be real, but for the time period that you're in that story, they feel real to you. They feel almost like you're looking at a part of yourself. I pulled on me with Nova. I remember myself very clearly at 13. Some things I’d like to forget.

This is fiction, but abortion is a very real, hot-button political issue. Why did you want to explore it?

Patterson: One of the interesting things here is Judge Stone doesn't really come down on one side, she just conducts this discussion, which I think we need to do more of. Let's discuss this stuff. I have respect for people who honestly come to either side of it, as long as they come to it honestly, but then talk more. 

When we get into these really tricky situations like a 13-year-old who's been raped, where do we go with that? The idea that in some states, the doctor could get a life-ending sentence, where do we go with that? Is there any fairness there? Let's talk about it because we need to talk about it. We need to think about it. We need to discuss it. And this book will be, I believe, discussed all over the country [and] all over the world.

What do you hope readers take away from this story?

Davis: I would like just for them to have an honest conversation. There's something that happens in the sacred space of conversation. They can lead through connection, even if you disagree on something. Ultimately what that connection will lead to could be something monumental. 

Patterson: In my time on the planet, and I could be wrong on this, but I've never seen less open-mindedness. 

There was a time in the Senate, in the Congress, where these people would disagree and then go out for dinner together and talk about stuff. And it doesn't seem to be happening. And I think that's terrible. I think that's a terrible thing.

Davis: Artists in general should be disruptors. You're on this train of thought, you're on this train of life, and then something enters your life and wakes you up. Now, what that wake-up is is absolutely dependent on the individual.

If you have a whole lot of people who wake up, there's something beautiful that can happen there and happen in that space. And whatever that beauty is, is a beauty that we need right now.

Can we expect more Viola Davis fiction books in the future?

Patterson: If she does it with me, I’m good. But if she’s going to be competition, I don’t like it. 

Davis: I would never be competition, Mr. Patterson. But you know what I like about fiction is that you can make stuff up. You can go into imagination playground, and I think that's where Viola lives. Little Viola lived there and now adult Viola lives there because in that place you can be anyone you want to be. There are no wrong choices. 

Clare Mulroy is USA TODAY’s Books Reporter, where she covers buzzy releases, chats with authors and dives into the culture of reading. Find her on Instagram, subscribe to our weekly Books newsletter or tell her what you’re reading at [email protected].