BCC Shines A Light On: TJ Butler

BCC Shines a Light On:

TJ Butler

Name of the piece published by BCC:

The Well Man

When/where was it originally published:

It was originally published in Barren Magazine.

What is the background of the piece? What led you to write it? What’s your process?

I was new to writing flash when I wrote The Well Man. I was inspired by a scene with an animal and a man with ill intentions from the novel A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. I let my mind wander to a settling closer to home that I could see and feel inside my mind. It remains one of my favorite stories.

How did you feel when it was first published and how have your thoughts or feelings on the piece changed from then to now?

I’d only recently started submitting when it was published. I didn’t know much about things like long waits, watching the Submittable queue, and how many rejections writers should expect. When Barren sent their acceptance, I was over the moon. The only other time I’ve been that excited by an acceptance was when my short story collection, Dating Silky Maxwell, was accepted by a publisher at the beginning of 2023. (Cover Image Below)

Is there a specific message you’d like readers to take away from reading this piece?

I have a story inspired by The Well Man in my short story collection. I’d like readers to know that they may end up drawing inspiration from their earliest pieces many years later.

Where can readers find more of your work? (Website/social media, etc)

Learn more about me and my short story collection, Dating Silky Maxwell, at TJButler.com. I’m @TJButlerAuthor on Instagram. My photography mimics the gritty, hardscrabble themes found in The Well Man and my other writing.