Strange Fruit A Novel

In this frightening novel about the future, a series of catastrophic events not only cripples the world's economy, but also ushers in the return of slavery. Traci and Bill Bianco were living the all-American dream, until the world as they knew it came crashing down. Years after a black man is elected President of the United States and the Empire State building is toppled by an explosion, the nation is in a state of upheaval. But it's Hurricane Molly in 2018 and The Stock Market Crash of 2020 that seals the country's fate. Once the economy takes a nosedive, ordinary Americans must resort to the barter system to get by. Food and shelter are exchanged for labor and initially it seems as though it may work, until the unscrupulous begin to take power and laws are changed. Though Traci and Bill actually fare better than most, economically, they are confronted with a new riskinterracial marriage is once again deemed unlawful and anyone caught is subject to arrest. Soon Traci and their four-year-old daughter are on the run. Strange Fruitoffers a post-cataclysmic world when desperation reigns supreme and people resort to the cruelties of the past to take control.

Michelle Janine Robinson’s short story “Mi Destino” was included in Zane’s New York Times bestseller Caramel Flava and her short story contribution “The Quiet Room” was a featured story in the New York Times bestseller Succulent: Chocolate Flava II. She’s the author of More Than Meets the Eye, Color Me Grey, On the Other Side, Serial Typical, Strange Fruit. Michelle is a native New Yorker and the mother of identical twin boys.