His Heart Captured by a Tongan Beauty is a riveting, winding journey through the Tongan community of Oakland, California. Bi-racial police officer Gideon Thompson comes to understand and appreciate his Tongan roots when he falls in love with Tilisa Tokelau, a beautiful teacher with a heart as big as the island her people came from. Along the way Officer Thompson survives a pit bull attack, foils an armed robbery and rebuffs the unwanted advances of his cheating ex-fianc e. Readers unfamiliar with Tongan culture will enjoy learning about Anga Faka Tonga, or what it means to be a Tongan, while following the travails of Tilisa as she works as a tou'a (a kind of bar maid) serving men the indigenous, intoxicating beverage kava. In the course of this duty she attracts the attention of a local drug dealer later implicated in a string of killings. That's when Officer Thompson comes to the rescue.
Charlotte Fonua, the daughter of Tongan immigrants, was born in Martinez, California, and raised in East Oakland. With an AA degree in Child Development and Social Science Behavior, Charlotte is the first of the seven children in her family to earn a college degree. She is currently working toward a Bachelor of Arts degree. A natural storyteller, Charlotte's interest in writing sprang from an unlikely source - punitive sessions at the blackboard in school in which she had to repeatedly write "I will not talk out of turn" and "I will raise my hand before I speak." Charlotte has worked as a caregiver and teacher, and can identify with children who are being bullied since she endured similar treatment in her school days.
You can reach Charlotte at cfonus85@gmail.com. Find more of Charlotte's poems at Poetry.com and her first book, A Tongan Girl's Trials, at Amazon.com.
Publisher;s website: http: //sbprabooks.com/CharlotteLavenderFonua