An Exaltation of Larks: 1 (Venery)

Grand Prize Winner in the 2017 Writers Digest Book Awards.September 11 1973: Eleven-year-old Alejandro Penda watches from his apartment window as Santiago Chile falls to a military coup destroying his family and his childhood. Arriving alone in America hes taken in by the Larks: a prominent family in the town of Guelisten. Though burdened by unresolved grief for his disappeared parents he becomes fiercely loyal to the Larks eventually marrying one of their daughters Valerie. September 11 2001: Javier Landes watches from his apartment window as New York City falls to terrorism. As one of Manhattans top-paid male escorts this professional lover has never lacked for company and is loyal only to himself. But in the wake of 9/11 Jav is named guardian for an orphaned nephew in Guelisten and must open his carefully-guarded heart to emotions long suppressed. Alex Valerie and Jav meet first in their twenties with a sudden attraction each finds strange and compelling. When they meet again in their forties they discover not only is their bond still strong but their life experiences are strangely similar. All have been shaped by separate 9/11s and their unfinished business from the past will change everything they know about love loyalty and friendship. Across three decades and two continents Suanne Laqueurs fifth novel explores the unpredictability of sexual attraction how family ties are forged torn and mended and how loves downfall can turn to exaltation.