Coming up in the inner city, Kwame and Romeo Braxton never had anyone except their Nana and each other. So when big brother Kwame caught two years for doing nothing but keeping the wrong kind of friends, their lives were turned upside down. And things are about to get shaken up one more time. . . Romeo is seventeen and the star quarterback for the Tucker Tigers. He gets all the attention he can handle from the honeys—and the big-time college football programs. Deciding where to take a scholarship should be Romeo's biggest problem, but these days it's the last thing on his mind. . . Not only is Kwame finally getting out of jail, their absentee mother Pearl is back on the scene, and Rome's girl Ngiai says she's ready to get serious. Oh, and a couple of thugs beat Pearl nearly to death and wrecked Nana's crib. With everything in their lives out of control, Kwame and Rome are at a serious crossroads. Now they'll have to decide who's really got their backs, and what kind of future they're ready to step up to. . . "Gritty, realistic, and unforgettable, Travis Hunter knows the urban teen scene." —Ni-Ni Simone, author of Teenage Love Affair
Author
Travis Hunter is an author, songwriter and father. The Hearts of Men was self-published in 2000 by Hunter's own company, Jimrose Publishing House. During the 2000 Book Expo America in Chicago, Hunter handed out copies of his self-published novel, The Hearts of Men and one week later received and offer from Random House's imprint, Strivers Row/ Villard for the re-release of The Hearts of Men. Five more novels followed; Married but Still Looking,Trouble Man, A One Woman Man, Something to Die for and the current release, A Family Sin. Hunter is a native of Florence, S.C. He was also reared in Philadelphia, Pa. A veteran of the U.S. Army, he attended Clark Atlanta University and subsequently enrolled in Georgia State University where he majored in Psychology. During his tour of duty in the military, he discovered his interest in music, ultimately writing his first song for a Sony recording artist. Always an avid reader, Hunter parlayed his interest in music into a passion for story-telling that led to his critically acclaimed debut novel. Hunter lives in a suburb outside of Atlanta with his son Rashaad. He is the founder of the "Hearts of Men Foundation," through which he mentors underprivileged children. If you'd like to meet Travis Hunter or hear him read from his latest novel, check his schedule to see if he's going to be in a city near you. "I can only write about what I know," explains Travis Hunter about writing The Hearts of Men. "I've always been interested in what makes some relationships work and others fail, so I observed various relationships. I listened to people's gripes about their spouses and what they were expecting out of their relationships but never took the time out to communicate to their spouse. People love drama, and the things I've encountered in my unofficial research is enough to fill ten novels. My goal is to help others understand men better—why we do what we do. That goes for males, too. Just because you are over eighteen, doesn't make you a man."
