H.T. Retzlaff has a distinguished resume: Samoa's deputy prime minister, minister of finance, minister of state and former attorney general of the Pacific island nation.

Now Retzlaff, 53, can add author of a love story to the list.

Retzlaff, better known in Samoa as Misa Telefoni, will be in town Thursday to launch his first novel, "Love and Money" (Niu Leaf Productions; $20) at Native Books/Na Mea Hawai'i. (See box.)

Set in Aotearoa (New Zealand) and Samoa, "Love and Money" is "a crosscultural love story," Retzlaff said via e-mail from Apia, Samoa's capital. The novel follows New Zealand's most eligible bachelor, James, who falls in love with a Samoan girl, Sieni.

Retzlaff has serious goals: He hopes to educate readers about the Samoan culture and sensibility. "I wanted to explore cross-cultural interaction in the context of the core values of the Samoan people and their Fa'a Samoa," he wrote, in a press release about the book.

Fa'a Samoa, he explained, is "all things Samoan — our language, our culture, our way of life, our psyche — what defines us as human beings."

In the novel, when the wealthy New Zealander, James, acquires a Samoan title, he realizes that financial status means little to the Samoan people.

The tale mixes descriptions of Samoan life and courtship — rugby games, youthful crushes — and explanatory material, such as this passage: "It became clear to James that money only played a minor part in the values systems underlying Samoan society. No amount of money could buy him the status he acquired."

Retzlaff, who has also written short stories and poetry, squeezed in the creation of his first book with the hectic life of a deputy prime minister. But he managed to write the book in eight weeks, drafting away at odd hours, he said.

"The basic story flowed freely," Retzlaff said. "It was written between 2 and 5 in the mornings."

Reach Zenaida Serrano at zserrano@honoluluadvertiser.com.