Author inspired by Dolly Parton says 'there's never going to be another Dolly, but aren't we lucky that we had her?'
Suzan Holder has been honouring Dolly Parton's legacy after the news of her death this week
An author who was inspired by the late great Dolly Parton has been honouring the singer's legacy following the news of her death this week.
Suzan Holder, who was born in Halesowen and now lives in Cheshire, was inspired by the legendary county singer to write 'What Would Dolly Do' - a romcom about a Dolly Parton impersonator.
"It is, it was it was such a shock," she said after hearing the news of Parton's death on Tuesday (August 25).
"Obviously, I had seen reports that she'd not been well. I knew she that she'd cancelled the upcoming Vegas dates that she had originally booked in, which I did try and get tickets for and failed to do so. But it still was a terrific shock.
"I'm still reeling, to be honest."
The former journalist and wife of the former frontman of Wolverhampton band Slade, Noddy Holder, wrote the fiction novel about a tribute act who was on a journey to find out who she really was.
She said that's something the real-life Parton knew and she drew inspiration from the country music star specifically as she was "unapologetically herself" .
Suzan said: "Coming through my 50s and heading towards my 60s, I just think it's an amazing thing to know who you are, and she knew who she was from a very early age."
She continued: "There's never going to be another Dolly, but aren't we lucky that we had her??"
Dolly made an impact across the world with more than just music - even here in the Midlands
"She's one of those people I think would be recognised in pretty much all four corners of the world," Suzan said.
"Her humanity, her charity work, she was just an all-round good egg and you don't get many of those and that's why people loved her."
Parton's activism work can still be felt here, through her Imagination Library initiative which helps provide books to underprivileged children internationally.
It's work can be seen in the likes of Walsall, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.
"It was inspired because her dad couldn't read or write, although she always used to say he was the smartest man that she ever knew, but he was illiterate," Suzan explained.
"She decided to try and give children books locally and it just grew and grew to the point where to date she has put 300 million books into the hands of children worldwide.
"J.K. Rowling has said it's the biggest literary initiative that's ever been done by a celebrity to help people and help children to learn to read."
She continued: "These are the sort of things she was passionate about. These are the sort of things that she gave her time to, and it is incredible.
"A mutual kind of friend, somebody I know who works in Nashville, did tell her about my book and she asked for a copy. I never got to meet Dolly, but I did send her a copy, not very long ago.
"I do hope it reached her. So although she's never given me a book, I've given her one. So that's my one little kind of claim to fame with Dolly apart from writing a book that's inspired by her."
Suzan said her music, dolly-isms and work to make the world a better place for all will always be remembered.
She said: "One of the things she used to say is try and leave something good in every day.
"And I think, quite honestly, Dolly Parton did that every single day of her 80 years, and I don't think we can ask much more from her than that."