How do you feel about hazing?
I write honestly about the pledge experience in Sorority Sisters, but I do object to hazing. There have been numerous examples of “bad pledging” found on campuses. And increasingly there have been cases where pledges were injured or even killed as a result of hazing. Individuals and groups have acted irresponsibly. Because of that the process had to be altered. If it means saving a life or preventing unnecessary injury, I am all for the new changes.
I entered into Greek life before hazing became illegal. I included that aspect of joining a sorority in my novel because, although the process has often been abused, it did exist and was at one time a major part of becoming a member of a Greek organization. In Sorority Sisters, I chose to write about a situation in which pledging was handled with respect and therefore a successful procedure. If more people took responsibility for their own actions, the reality of a fun and memorable experience of pledging would still exist. I feel good that people who read Sorority Sisters will have the opportunity to vicariously experience the process without the threat of injury or harm.
Which character in the book most closely resembles you, if any?
I am fond of each of the characters, probably because each of them has a bit of me in them.
Why did you write this book?
Sorority Sisters is an accumulation of everything good and bad that I witnessed both first- or secondhand while I was in college. I wrote it a year or two after I graduated. I always say I didn’t choose the story, the story chose me. I just allowed all of my thoughts and feelings from that time to be processed and come alive in the form Malena, Stephanie, Chancy, Tiara, and Cajen.
What is next for you?
I’ve been blessed with an abundance of opportunities. I am currently sorting through them all to make solid decisions. For sure is the release of my second novel, Hand-me-down Heartache. Also, I am working on my third novel. In addition I am developing sitcom story lines, taking acting classes, and interning in the area of television production. I guess I’m in a learning stage. I’m excited about my possibilities. I’m sure that when he’s ready, God will help me to bring it all together.
Are you going to write a sequel?
A sequel to Sorority Sisters has definitely been brewing in the back of my mind.
Sisterhood is an ongoing theme in your writing, both with this book as well as your poetry collection, Desires of a Woman. Describe what sisterhood means to you and how it has manifested itself in your own life.
I have been blessed to share my life with two incredible women, my sisters, Kim and Tracy. They are supportive, loving, and blatantly honest. We disagree and argue often, but as we’ve grown older we have realized that a lot of times our arguments arose from our wanting the other to become better. I would have not had the courage to venture out and try new things without their support. Because of them sisterhood means to me unconditional friendship. I am a firm believer that if you don’t have a family or if yours isn’t nearby, God will give you one. Sometimes that family comes in the form of groups and organizations. The sorority was that for me while I was in college.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tajuana “TJ” Butler is the founder of Lavelle Publishing and is also a writer, poet, and public speaker who lectures on sisterhood at colleges throughout the United States. Sorority Sisters is her first novel. She has published a collection of poetry entitled The Desires of a Woman: Poems Celebrating Womanhood. She is originally from Kentucky, where she attended the University of Louisville. Her second novel, Hand-me-down Heartache, will be published by Villard Books in fall 2001. She lives in Los Angeles. You can visit her website at www.tjbutler.com.
ALSO BY
TAJUANA “TJ” BUTLER
Hand-me-down Heartache
The Desires of a Woman:
Poems Celebrating Womanhood
Copyright © 1998, 2000 by Tajuana Butler
Reading Group Guide and author interview copyright © 2001 by Random House, Inc.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Random House, Inc., New York.
This is a work of fiction. It is not meant to depict, portray, or represent
any particular organization or group of people. Names, characters,
places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination
or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales,
or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
While there are some incidents in this book that could constitute hazing, the author wishes to note that hazing is illegal and is not permitted by fraternities and sororities. The author does not
wish to condone or endorse hazing activities, and the incidents
are merely included as a plot device and are not meant
to promote such activities.
Villard Books is a registered trademark of Random House, Inc. Strivers Row and colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.
Earlier editions of this work were published in 1998 by Lavelle Publishing, Smyrna, Georgia, and in 2000 by Villard Books, a division of Random House, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Butler, Tajuana.
Sorority sisters: a novel / Tajuana “TJ” Butler.
p. cm.
1. African American college students—Fiction. 2. African American women—Fiction. 3. Women college students—Fiction. 4. Greek letter societies—Fiction. 5. Female friendship—Fiction. 6. Young women—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3552.U829 S67 2001
813′.54—dc21 2001035024
Villard Books website address: www.villard.com
eISBN: 978-1-58836-069-4
v3.0
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