‘We have to talk about it’: Why Viola Davis wrote a state-of-the-nation novel about abortion

It was only a matter of time before Hollywood star Viola Davis started writing fiction.

“I think actors are storytellers, I think people are storytellers,” Davis says.

“I carry a story within myself… I absolutely love stories. That’s a place of connection.”

Now, the actress – who has achieved Egot status (making her an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony winner) – is publishing her first novel for adults, co-authored with bestselling author James Patterson.

Judge Stone is a state-of-the-nation tale set in a small town in Alabama called Union Springs. When a local doctor is charged with murder after performing an illegal abortion on a 13-year-old girl, the case divides the town. The main character is Judge Mary Stone, a black woman who presides over the case, who finds her small courtroom suddenly the centre of national debate.

Abortion is a particularly hot-button issue in the US, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade in 2022, which eliminated a national constitutional right to abortion and opened the door to state bans and restrictions.

“There is a lot of reality that inspires” Judge Stone, says Patterson, who has sold more than 300 million copies of his own novels – including the Alex Cross, Michael Bennett and Women’s Murder Club series. Alabama currently has a near total ban on abortion, meaning a case like the one in the book could very well go to trial in real life.

“There are a lot of very tragic things that have been going on in the last couple of years now because of the reversal of the law, putting people in very difficult situations – not just in Alabama, in several states,” Patterson, 79, adds.

So why did Patterson and Davis want to tackle such a divisive subject head-on?

“Because we have to talk about it – that’s why. And why not?” says Davis, 60.

“I’m a fan of discourse – there’s a lot to be learned from discourse. When you enter the novel, I think we’ve done a really good job of not painting it black and white, right or wrong. What you see is this town [through] the lens of this topic of abortion, and you see how it gets so agitated and riled up, and it becomes an awesome device for a beautiful drama.”

Davis played the complex character of lawyer Annalise Keating in six seasons of TV show How To Get Away With Murder, and wrote a memoir in 2022’s Finding Me, so she knows a thing or two about weaving a good story – and that’s what attracted Patterson to this collaboration.

“I had read Viola’s memoir, Finding Me, and I admired it,” he says. “I thought it was honest and true, the writing was terrific and the structure was great.”

Patterson has done his fair share of celebrity collaborations, writing books with the likes of country singer Dolly Parton and former President Bill Clinton – but working with Davis was different.

“She’s probably the best writer I’ve worked with, [having] the background of dealing with story after story after story in the movies makes her great at that whole thing about: how do we tell the story in the best possible way?” Patterson says.

“The other collaborators – that’s not their life work, telling stories, making them better and wanting to make them better. One of the great things for me is she just kept pushing me – sometimes I walk away too soon. I shouldn’t, and I didn’t in this case.”

There’s a cinematic quality to Judge Stone, which could be down to Davis’ background in film and television – but don’t expect a big screen adaptation of the story any time soon (“I try not to fast-forward,” Davis says).

Instead, it would seem like the writers looked backwards for inspiration, with both mentioning the impact of Harper Lee’s seminal 1960 novel To Kill A Mockingbird. Both books feature an explosive court case that tears a small Southern town apart, with Davis saying: “It does make a larger statement about who we are, which is very much To Kill A Mockingbird and Harper Lee, [where] a bigger statement was made, but you were so invested in the characters.”

Patterson agrees: “It’s really great to start with the town, because you’ve got a small thing to work with, and a trial – [it’s like] To Kill A Mockingbird a little bit.

“And then all of a sudden… there are so many people who have come to this town, with so many agendas and points of view. [With] the internet, it’s a worldwide story… And it is controversial, I guess. But as I always said, let’s talk about these things. Let’s stop throwing stones at each other and talk.”

Patterson had the seeds of the story in his brain for years.

“I went to graduate school in the south, Vanderbilt in Tennessee, and I, on some level, always had in my mind that I’d love to tell a big courtroom story in the South,” notes Patterson, who is now based in Florida.

But it was Davis who really helped him make the book what it is – and much of its magnetism comes from the title character, a hardworking judge who also tends to her family farm.

“Judge Stone is beautiful in her contradictions and her depth,” says Davis. “She definitely is strong, but she’s also vulnerable and honest, and she takes brave, deep-dive looks at herself.”

Patterson adds: “There are so many pieces to it where you get to see how complicated she is. And as Viola says, she keeps surprising us in terms of who she is.”

Just don’t expect to be hit over the head with some kind of important message by the end of the book.

“I’m not into messages,” says Patterson. “A message means you want people to think something, as opposed to: ‘I want them to think’.”

Davis agrees, saying: “I’m not into messages either – I just want people to come into Union Springs and sit with us for 432 pages.”

So will we see more from this writing duo? Patterson says he’s “sure” Davis will write more novels – and doesn’t rule out a sequel.

“Judge Stone survives the book – she’s certainly around for another story.”

Judge Stone by James Patterson and Viola Davis is published in hardback by Century, priced £20. Available now.