Rifi Strawn's Blog
August 12, 2019
my 3rd novel
Hi everyone!
Here’s the inside scoop for my third novel, Trust for Sale. I originally named it Passion Plantation, after the fantasy resort in this story. The beta readers confused the title with a sex farm, so I changed it to Trust for sale.
I was afraid the erotic romance novel readers would’ve been pissed off at me if they bought my less than steamy romance novel based on the title. Don’t worry, there’s plenty of sexual tension in this story to get you hot and bothered.
Trust for Sale is about a Russian escort’s transformation into the real world. She’s born into sex slavery. It's the only life she's ever known. Sex is no fun for her. It’s work that she hates.
The stunning beauty is sent to the outskirts of New Orleans to blackmail a wealthy Louisiana resort owner, but he outsmarts her eastern European mob boss.
She begs the handsome billionaire to help her escape from her life of bondage in exchange for inside secrets of how the system works. His care, respect, and trust make her fall in love with him. He touches her heart in a special place that no man has ever been.
There are more than alligators, croaking frogs, and snakes in this hot, humid misty swamp of lust and betrayal. The tranquil plantation the resort guests enjoy in antebellum costumes is anything but soothing for the owner and his helpless damsel in distress.
This story was inspired by one of my all time favorite movies, My Fair Lady.
Happy reading!
Rifi
Here’s the inside scoop for my third novel, Trust for Sale. I originally named it Passion Plantation, after the fantasy resort in this story. The beta readers confused the title with a sex farm, so I changed it to Trust for sale.
I was afraid the erotic romance novel readers would’ve been pissed off at me if they bought my less than steamy romance novel based on the title. Don’t worry, there’s plenty of sexual tension in this story to get you hot and bothered.
Trust for Sale is about a Russian escort’s transformation into the real world. She’s born into sex slavery. It's the only life she's ever known. Sex is no fun for her. It’s work that she hates.
The stunning beauty is sent to the outskirts of New Orleans to blackmail a wealthy Louisiana resort owner, but he outsmarts her eastern European mob boss.
She begs the handsome billionaire to help her escape from her life of bondage in exchange for inside secrets of how the system works. His care, respect, and trust make her fall in love with him. He touches her heart in a special place that no man has ever been.
There are more than alligators, croaking frogs, and snakes in this hot, humid misty swamp of lust and betrayal. The tranquil plantation the resort guests enjoy in antebellum costumes is anything but soothing for the owner and his helpless damsel in distress.
This story was inspired by one of my all time favorite movies, My Fair Lady.
Happy reading!
Rifi
May 15, 2019
My 2nd novel
Hello everyone!
In my second novel, Saving Face, I bring together a family of the most unlikely people on a ranch in Topanga Canyon, California. Their diverse talents and problems literally save each other’s lives. Each person harbors a secret that affects the other in a good or bad way.
Rosa, the seventy-five-year-old housekeeper, mentors and raises Dani, the heroine, as her own daughter in the absence of her birth mother, who had abandoned her as a child. She fills Dani’s void for love after her father’s death and her bitter divorce.
Rosa’s chicken tortilla soup and margaritas are more than a weekly ritual meal. They’re an excuse to bond with Dani to help her overcome her struggles that often stifle her from moving on with her life. Sometimes, she crosses the line with her manipulations for Dani to see the light.
Lucas, the hero, comes into Dani’s life as a handyman and vet’s assistant when she’s down on her luck. He fixes her broken fences and cares for her horses at the ranch. He breaks her trust in a sizzling love affair with secrets that change her life forever. His guarded special talent saves her life and yet he can't take credit for it.
Dani feels trapped and manipulated by the people she loves the most until Dylan, a troubled teenager with a drug addict mother walks into her life. She identifies with his bottled-up anger and gives him refuge in her art studio. As she rescues the troubled teenager and gives him hope, she finds herself.
Nothing is as it seems on the surface in this story.
Enjoy reading!
Rifi
In my second novel, Saving Face, I bring together a family of the most unlikely people on a ranch in Topanga Canyon, California. Their diverse talents and problems literally save each other’s lives. Each person harbors a secret that affects the other in a good or bad way.
Rosa, the seventy-five-year-old housekeeper, mentors and raises Dani, the heroine, as her own daughter in the absence of her birth mother, who had abandoned her as a child. She fills Dani’s void for love after her father’s death and her bitter divorce.
Rosa’s chicken tortilla soup and margaritas are more than a weekly ritual meal. They’re an excuse to bond with Dani to help her overcome her struggles that often stifle her from moving on with her life. Sometimes, she crosses the line with her manipulations for Dani to see the light.
Lucas, the hero, comes into Dani’s life as a handyman and vet’s assistant when she’s down on her luck. He fixes her broken fences and cares for her horses at the ranch. He breaks her trust in a sizzling love affair with secrets that change her life forever. His guarded special talent saves her life and yet he can't take credit for it.
Dani feels trapped and manipulated by the people she loves the most until Dylan, a troubled teenager with a drug addict mother walks into her life. She identifies with his bottled-up anger and gives him refuge in her art studio. As she rescues the troubled teenager and gives him hope, she finds herself.
Nothing is as it seems on the surface in this story.
Enjoy reading!
Rifi
March 6, 2019
My debut novel
Hello everyone!
My first novel, Passion by Design, was inspired by a Mediterranean mansion on the cover of an interior design magazine. The description of the home didn’t impress me. I thought to myself I can do better than this.
I got busy on my computer and wrote my version of the architectural wonder and loved it. Impressed with myself, I thought someone needed to live in this magnificent mansion. I looked out the window at the hunky construction worker tearing up my backyard to fix a broken pipe. I imagined him in an expensive business suit and turned him into a handsome billionaire businessman.
I named the hero, Terrance Kensington, after the street I lived on. Shana Coltrane, the heroine, was inspired by one of my son’s friend’s pretty mother. I named her after a street just like the hero. Whoever walked in my house was in that book. No one was safe. Lol.
I wrote a novel I hadn’t intended to. One paragraph at a time, I finished the story. Every day, my imagination went into overdrive when I worked on this story. I loved that I had friends who did whatever I wanted them to do and never complained like the people in my real life.
I hope you enjoy reading Passion by Design as much as I enjoyed writing it. As a retired interior designer, I’ve enriched the story with tricks of the trade and my travel experiences. It's a comfort to know that love never goes out of style.
Happy reading!
Rifi
My first novel, Passion by Design, was inspired by a Mediterranean mansion on the cover of an interior design magazine. The description of the home didn’t impress me. I thought to myself I can do better than this.
I got busy on my computer and wrote my version of the architectural wonder and loved it. Impressed with myself, I thought someone needed to live in this magnificent mansion. I looked out the window at the hunky construction worker tearing up my backyard to fix a broken pipe. I imagined him in an expensive business suit and turned him into a handsome billionaire businessman.
I named the hero, Terrance Kensington, after the street I lived on. Shana Coltrane, the heroine, was inspired by one of my son’s friend’s pretty mother. I named her after a street just like the hero. Whoever walked in my house was in that book. No one was safe. Lol.
I wrote a novel I hadn’t intended to. One paragraph at a time, I finished the story. Every day, my imagination went into overdrive when I worked on this story. I loved that I had friends who did whatever I wanted them to do and never complained like the people in my real life.
I hope you enjoy reading Passion by Design as much as I enjoyed writing it. As a retired interior designer, I’ve enriched the story with tricks of the trade and my travel experiences. It's a comfort to know that love never goes out of style.
Happy reading!
Rifi
