Tortue du Soleil

Tortue du Soleil is women's fiction that tells the story of three women, Maia, Amélie, and Cassandra, whose paths cross at the beautiful and serene Hotel Tortue du Soleil in French Polynesia. Each of the women is drawn to the hotel for a different reason and are thrown together by circumstance and happenstance as they strive for acceptance, independence, and love. The three ladies ultimately embark on life-changing adventures when faced with the threat of tsunami against the backdrop of the extraordinary landscape and gracious culture of French Polynesia. Maia, a young woman from the Marquesan Islands, goes to the Hotel Tortue du Soleil to find work in the hopes of building a fashion design name for herself, but becomes distracted by the attention of the handsome dive master who is inclined to keep secrets about himself. Amélie, an orphan raised in a French convent, leaves her reticent lover for the retreat in the hopes that he will follow her to fulfill her dream of starting a real family together, but loses interest, as she, too, becomes acquainted with the congenial dive master. Cassandra, a socialite from California, chooses the destination because she is determined to make her philandering politician husband appreciate her again, until she also becomes obsessed by the charismatic dive master.

S. E. Filomeo lives on her family cherry farm in the Central Valley of California, and teaches at her local high school. She is also contributor to several women's and gardening magazines, where she waxes witty about her personal experiences with gardening and cooking, her chickens and ducks, Baby Doll sheep, two Border Collies, Sapphire the Cat, and Sunny the African Sulcata tortoise, as well as life in general.