What happens when a small community is met with long-simmering tension? Author De’Shawn Charles Winslow examines the premise in his latest release, The Fervent Whites.
Tell me about your latest book.
The Fervent Whites is about Sylvia Upshaw, a single mother of two, who is concerned about the abrupt return of her two neighbors, James and Ella White, who have been recently released from prison after having been exonerated for a murder they didn’t commit. Syl and her best friend, Fate Jolly, had strained relationships with the Whites, but they adored the Whites’ black adopted son, Morgan. He was like a nephew to them. While the Whites were in prison, Syl told Morgan a big secret that, in a way, led to a tragedy, but her intentions were pure. When the Whites learn that Syl told Morgan the secret, they are furious and want more than simple accountability. They want revenge.
The hamlet of Fervent is a fictional one that used to be all-white, but in the ’60s, a couple of Black families moved there, causing white flight. James and Ella, and one other white person, Mrs. Talbot, are minorities in the neighborhood.
Why did you decide to write it?
The idea first came to me while I was living temporarily in a hamlet in upstate New York. I was one of few people of color living full-time in the hamlet. I noticed that many of the residents seemed uncomfortable with my presence. For a time, I wondered if it was me being Black or the fact that I was simply new and openly queer. But over time, my observations made it clear that race played a large part in the cold behavior I was receiving. After leaving the area, the Tops Supermarket terrorist attack on Black people happened in Buffalo, NY. I was still working on my second novel, Decent People, at the time, but I remember doing a bit of research on race relationships in rural parts of New York state. I learned that there had been a white supremacist who took the lives of many Black people in the ’70s. And the book kept growing and expanding from there.
How did you come up with the book’s title?
When I learned of the serial killer, I remember thinking something like, Oh, he was the worst, most Fervent kind of white racist. Fervently white. When I decided that James would have a lot of racist tendencies of his own, I decided his last name needed to be “White.” But the character he and Ella were accused of murdering was also quite racist. After realizing the book had multiple white supremacist characters, and that some of them had lived in the neighborhood where Syl lives, I named the hamlet Fervent. The title, The Fervent Whites, was born of those thoughts before I even finished the novel.
What’s the nicest thing a reader has ever said to you?
Every time I get an email or DM from a reader at all, it’s shocking and heartwarming—even after three books. But if I had to pinpoint a particular nice thing, it’s that my characters feel like very real people to them. I love that compliment more than anything because that’s exactly what I set out to do in my books. I don’t want any of my characters to come off as “stock” or too similar to characters that exist in other books.
When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?
I knew I was interested in storytelling as a child, but I was not a reader and definitely wasn’t thinking about writing. It wasn’t until I was 29 that I decided to take a creative writing class. My father had passed away suddenly, and I became obsessed with getting some of the nuances of his life down on paper (as nonfiction). But after taking the class, I realized that I enjoyed writing fiction more––fiction based on just a few nuggets of truth.
What author would you love to meet?
I would’ve loved to have just a 10-minute conversation with Toni Morrison.
What books have you read lately and loved?
Dominion by Addie Citchens, The Seven Daughters of Dupree by Nikesha Elise Williams, and Score by Kennedy Ryan are three of the books I’ve read this year and loved.
What books are at the top of your to-be-read pile?
Ghalen by Walter Mosley, and I’ve recently decided to start reading more of Octavia Butler’s books.
What’s next for you?
I’m in the very early stages of writing book #4, which will be the first one set in a time in which the cell phones are the primary way people stay in contact. I also teach, so my plate is almost always full.
Do you have anything you would like to add?
My two previous novels are In West Mills (2019) and Decent People (2023).
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To learn more about author De’Shawn Charles Winslow, connect with him on Instagram: instagram.com/deshawncharleswinslow