Butler, Tajuana

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BUTLER, Tajuana

PERSONAL:

Born in Indianapolis, IN; daughter of Raymond and Linda Butler. Education: Graduated from University of Louisville.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Los Angeles, CA. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Villard, Random House, 1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Writer, actor, director. Worked in magazine publishing in Atlanta, GA. Lavelle Publishing, Smyrna, GA, founder, 1997—.

MEMBER:

Alpha Kappa Alpha.

WRITINGS:

The Desires of a Woman: Poems Celebrating Womanhood, Lavelle Publishing (Smyrna, GA), 1997.

Sorority Sisters (novel), Lavelle Publishing (Smyrna, GA), 1998, Villard (New York, NY), 2000.

Hand-Me-Down Heartache (novel), Villard (New York, NY), 2001.

The Night before Thirty (novel), Villard/Strivers Row (New York, NY), 2003.

SIDELIGHTS:

Novelist and poet Tajuana Butler was born in Indianapolis but grew up in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, with her two sisters. She graduated from the University of Louisville and moved to the Atlanta area, where she worked in trade magazine publishing. Making the decision to become a freelance writer and graphic designer, she published a book of poetry through her own publishing firm, Lavelle Publishing. Her first novel, Sorority Sisters, was also self-published, and Butler marketed her books aggressively through book signings, college appearances, and black arts and literature events. She was on the second printing of both books when she approached Random House, and within a month, their Villard imprint made her an offer.

The five women in Sorority Sisters are Cajen, Chancey, Stephanie, Tiara, and Malena. They are all from different backgrounds and have different goals. Cajen, a freshman who is seduced by an upperclassman, must deal with having given in to a one-night stand, while Chancey is engaged to a football player who will soon be going pro. Stephanie is the adopted daughter of a wealthy Atlanta family, and Tiara has had a disadvantaged, inner-city life. Ultimately the most "together" of the five is Malena, who is highly motivated and goes after what she wants. Black Issues Book Review contributor La Monica R. Yarbrough wrote that "Butler's approach to the issues surrounding sororities, sex and relationships, friendships, and sisterhood, are all genuine and down-to-earth. Sorority Sisters is a relaxing read that offers a trip down memory lane for some and a heads-up for others."

In Hand-Me-Down Heartache college graduate Nina Lander moves back to Atlanta and her dysfunctional family, where she begins a career in broadcasting, as well as a romance with rookie basketball player Maurice, who refers to himself in the third person and who has a temper and problems with fidelity. L. J. Love, who has had a crush on Nina since high school, is now a successful rapper. He still loves her, and they become a couple when Maurice breaks it off to go on the road. But when Maurice asks for another chance, complications arise. A strong thread in this story is Nina's adult relationship with her mother and their conversations about the fact that they have both been attracted to abusive men, the result of which is that the mother begins to stand up for herself with Nina's father. A Publishers Weekly contributor felt that the story "deals sensitively with the impact of domestic abuse on an African-American family and the choices made by a young woman dealing with issues of self-doubt."

Disk jockey Louisa Montero holds a contest in which five listeners who share her birthday can win a birthday cruise to the Bahamas in Butler's The Night before Thirty. A reviewer for Reading Group Guide online said of the group of women that "while their time together is brief, the impact they have upon one another's lives is everlasting."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Black Issues Book Review, September, 1999, La Monica R. Yarbrough, review of Sorority Sisters, p. 50.

Booklist, May 1, 2000, Lilian Lewis, review of Sorority Sisters, p. 1650 October 1, 2001, Lilian Lewis, review of Hand-Me-Down Heartache, p. 298; April 15, 2003, Lilian Lewis, review of The Night before Thirty, p. 1447.

Essence, October, 2001, Patrick Henry Bass, review of Hand-Me-Down Heartache, p. 70.

Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 2001, review of Hand-Me-Down Heartache, p. 1244; April 1, 2003, review of The Night before Thirty, p. 492.

Publishers Weekly, April 17, 2000, review of Sorority Sisters, p. 50; September 17, 2001, review of Hand-Me-Down Heartache, p. 55.

School Library Journal, March, 2002, Patricia White-Williams, review of Hand-Me-Down Heartache, p. 260.