An Exaltation of Larks

A single, drunken misunderstanding is all it took for Javier Landes to be thrown out of his home at the age of seventeen. His keen survival instincts and power of imagination guide him to a career as one of Manhattan’s top-paid escorts. Shrewd and street-smart, Jav has no interest or faith in love, and familial loyalty is a thing of the past until he is named guardian for an unknown nephew in an upstate town. Reunited with his late sister’s son, Jav is not only forced to confront the long-buried pain of his childhood, but he comes face-to-face with a fascinating couple he’s met before: Alex Penda and Valerie Lark.

Val and Alex evolved from childhood friends to casual lovers and finally to husband and wife. Along the way, each crossed secret paths with Javier Landes, walking away slightly changed. Now in their forties, their marriage is fiercely passionate and unshakeably devoted. But when Jav reappears in their town, a rekindled attraction causes an unexpected reaction, and nothing in their shared life can be the same.

Winner of the Grand Prize in the 2017 Writer’s Digest Awards, An Exaltation of Larks will take you across fifteen years and two continents, exploring both the business of sex and the price of love.