In DATING SILKY MAXWELL, a facial scar alters a former sex worker's identity. A social media influencer leads a double life, and a mysterious, fortune-telling stranger makes promises for a price. A jilted bartender leaves her seaside inheritance in flames. A woman kills an unnerving stranger while defending her dog. Left at the altar, an office worker finds her roots at a truck stop. A woman on a deserted farm calls on nature to defeat a would-be rapist, and a lonely heart's new boyfriend may have questionable motives. From a rundown coal country dog track to a glittering Washington, DC high-rise, Butler brings to life a chorus of passionate, damaged characters who leave their pasts behind and reinvent themselves until their mistakes no longer define them.

TJ Butler writes fiction and essays that are not all fun and games. Her writing has been featured in a variety of media and literary outlets. She lives with her husband and dog, dividing their time between a tiny house and a sailboat on the Chesapeake Bay. She has a degree in a field she will never return to, and she was one of those kids who wanted to be a writer when they grow up. Dating Silky Maxwell is her first collection. 

"Butler communicates the stories of these women in clear, unadorned prose, which allows her to focus on potent symbols of resistance and resilience. These are deceptively simple tales, told in accessible and insightful ways." - Kirkus Review

"There's so much to love about these stories, but it's the characters who've been haunting me, vivid and flawed and human and as beautifully written as any I've met in life." - Amber Sparks

"Dating Silky Maxwell introduces readers to an important new voice. TJ Butler's poignant collection about uneasy lives will be well-remembered long after you close this exquisite volume that hauntingly touches both the heart and mind." - Pete Earley