My name is Devrani Barrios and I wrote a novel named Bartered. Bartered is a Trinidadian/Caribbean Literature piece that tells the tale of the protagonist, Savitri Sookhai, a young woman from Trinidad and Tobago, who just completed university in America.

When she found out that her violent father killed her mother. Her father ran a drug cartel throughout the Caribbean with the help and investment of a friend from Bolivia. This friend from Bolivia has a son, and Savitri’s father bartered Savitri to this dashing young man in order to leave his inheritance to her.

Had it not been so, Savitri would have lost her inheritance to her blood-thirsty relatives or to the investor/friend. The novel shows the strength of a young woman coming into her own, deliberating her choices in life, facing her past and how to shape her life regarding this arranged marriage and father’s drug business.

My inspiration for this book came from a myriad of experiences with other girls in my country.

It is a culmination of how women survive in our culture, the roles of relatives in such survival and the independence that education provides women. The empowerment that Savitri gained from educating herself is a representation of the differences between the lives of women in the Caribbean.

Her perspective of her mother is a direct depiction of the daughters who watched their mothers stay with their monsters. At the same time, the book springs hope and closure from the perspective of the protagonist. I really wanted to capture these issues of culture and empowerment that many are afraid to speak out about.

The target audience comprise of young adult and adult readers who don’t mind a strong female lead, and seeing the raw relationship between male and female romance.

It may be a trigger for those who came from abusive relationships. It is also sensual as Savitri is learning about her sexual self, a feat that was ignored in her young days because of her many fears. Thus, a mature audience is a must.

I hope my readers can appreciate some truthful experiences that women face, even from relatives and friends who don’t wish them well.

I hope that they can feel and learn from Savitri’s strength and choices, as well as how she views her dilemma and the people around her. There is also a lot of regret for her, so I would want my readers to be conscious of how they live and enjoy their time with loved ones.

I would love to get Bartered into the hands of as many women as I can. This book can be an inspiration of strength, sensuality and empowerment for many as they weigh their own life choices. I hope to have a video preview and more sales for it as well.

Personally, I am an empowered woman who survived a violent home and childhood. I am a product of a mother who stayed.

I view the women in my life like Savitri’s female relatives and while I was a victim as a child, I am a hero now. I am a mother of 4 children, 2 of whom are autistic. My husband of 22 years is a strong man, who stays his course as a father of two special boys. I am also a teacher, business owner who owns and operates my own private school, and I wrote a series of reading books to help special needs students like my sons.

I have grown to love myself and appreciate all the experiences in my life thus far, both the good and the bad. I believe that, as a woman, I am important and I love womanly roles. I also appreciate men when they are not abusive, I appreciate their strength and patience, and their practical minds to solve problems that I tend to fuss about. We are different but equal, this is my view, and I live my life like this.

Please kindly visit my Amazon and please do grab some copy of my book!