Rickey Fayne Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Rickey Fayne is a successful published author.

The writer hails from rural west Tennessee and is a fiction writer. His writing has been featured in such publications as Guernica, American Short Fiction, The Sewanee Review, and The Kenyon Review, as well as other magazines.

Rickey attended Northwestern University where he graduated with his MA in English. He also has an MFA in Fiction that he received from the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas. Fayne’s writing largely embodies his Black and Southern as well as what he describes as ‘over-churched’ upbringing so that he can honor and re-imagine the experiences of his ancestors.

He has been nominated for the 2026 PEN Open Book Award longlist for his debut novel, The Devil Three Times.

The Devil Three Times is the debut novel from Rickey Fayne. If you’ve been wanting to try out something new and have room in your reading list for a fresh voice in fiction, this debut might be a great pick. The story follows along with eight generations of a black family living in west Tennessee as they receive repeat visits from the Devil.

Main character Yetunde wakes up and finds herself on a slave ship that is on its way to the United States. The only person keeping her company is the spirit of her dead sister. Yetunde knows that only bad things wait for her once the ship gets to its intended destination, and is desperate to make it through the hell that is only some nautical miles away.

Yetunde is scared and would take assistance from anywhere, but then she finds that an unexpected form has presented itself to her and offered help. This would be none other than the Devil. He is looking for a way to get into the pearly gates of heaven once more and thinks that the best way to prove himself to a God that appears indifferent is to go out of his way to protect Yetunde and give her a piece of his own supernatural power.

But the exchange is not entirely innocent. Yetunde makes a huge sacrifice in return. The deal that she makes is about to go far beyond her own individual lifespan as a mortal, however. It extends to the rest of her family lineage that is yet to come as well.

Over the curse of the next 175 years, the Devil decides to meet Yetunde’s descendants when they need them the most. These include Lucille, who is a conjure woman, as well as Asa, who is light enough in skin color that she can pass for white. It also includes Louis and Virgil, as well as Cassandra (who can speak to the dead), James (who’s just trying to keep the family together), and many more in her bloodline.

The Devil appears to Yetunde’s family and offers each of them salvation– or at least his own version. But while he is offering them the chance at salvation, is he going to be able to save himself as well? Full of creative flair and hailing from the spiritual traditions and oral history of the Black diaspora, this is one incredible debut that you won’t want to miss. Check out Rickey Fayne’s work The Devil Three Times to follow along with every word.