John Vercher

Three-Fifths is a riveting debut novel about a bi-racial man whose world is turned upside down when his best friend is released from prison, raising not only his own but old family demons and forcing him to reckon with the past he only thought he knew.

Three-Fifths

A harrowing and spellbinding story about family, the complications of mixed-race relationships, misplaced loyalties, and the price athletes pay to entertain--from the critically acclaimed author of Three-Fifths Xavier "Scarecrow" Wallace, a mixed-race MMA fighter on the wrong side of thirty, is facing the fight of his life. Xavier can no longer deny he is losing his battle with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), or pugilistic dementia. Through the fog of memory loss, migraines, and paranoia, Xavier does his best to stay in shape while he waits for the call that will reinstate him after a year-long suspension. He watches his diet and trains every day at the Philadelphia gym owned by his cousin-cum-manager, Shot, a retired champion boxer to whom Xavier owes an unpayable debt. Xavier makes ends meet by teaching youth classes at Shot's gym and by living rent-free in the house of his white father, whom Xavier has been forced to commit to a nursing home because of the progress of his end-stage Alzheimer's. Dementia has revealed his father's latent racism and Xavier finally gains insight into why his Black mother left the family when Xavier was young. Then Xavier is offered a chance at redemption: a last-minute comeback fight in the largest MMA promotion. If he can get himself back in the game, he'll be able to clear his name and begin to pay off Shot. But with his memory in shreds and his life crumbling around him, can Xavier hold on to the focus he needs to survive?

After the Lights Go Out

A Novel

Devil Is Fine

A PROPULSIVE AND GRITTY SPORTS DRAMA FOR FANS OF KING RICHARD, WARRIOR AND SA COSBY'S RAZORBLADE TEARS 'Thrums with authenticity... the sweat shines on every page' The Times 'Powerful, bruising and beautiful... Those who haven't discovered John Vercher yet are seriously missing out' Chris Whitaker 'A riveting portrait of masculinity... so exquisite is the result, I would go so far as to say John Vercher could well be the next Great American Novelist' Kia Abdullah 'Shrewd and explosive' New York Times ______ FROM THE AUTHOR OF THREE-FIFTHS, A SUNDAY TIMES, GUARDIAN AND FINANCIAL TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR It's not a comeback. It's a fight for his life. Xavier "Scarecrow" Wallace is a biracial Black MMA fighter on the wrong side of thirty, who's been given a last-ditch chance to break into the big leagues. He is also losing his battle with pugilistic dementia – a struggle he is desperate to hide. In the nursing home of his father, a white man suffering from Alzheimer's, Xavier witnesses shocking episodes that expose ugly truths about his past and his family. And as the big fight draws near, a sparring session with a younger competitor goes horribly wrong, leaving Xavier faced with a dangerous dilemma: throw his match or suffer the deadly consequences. ______ FURTHER PRAISE FOR AFTER THE LIGHTS GO OUT 'Vercher writes with the intensity of championship rounds. It had me hooked from start to finish' Kevin Powers, author of The Yellow Birds 'Exactly the type of book one needs about the fighting life... Brilliant' Ryan Gattis, author of All Involved 'Think Warrior by way of Fat City ... Xavier "Scarecrow" Wallace is a character I just can't shake' William Boyd, author of Shoot the Moonlight Out 'A stunning, stone-cold knockout' P. J. Vernon, author of Bath Haus 'A spellbinding tour de force... Written in deft and visceral prose' Lauren Wilkinson, author of American Spy 'John Vercher writes like a fighter, a dancer, an athlete... After the Lights Go Out left my heart black and blue' Wiley Cash, author of A Land More Kind Than Home

John Vercher

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