Amelia Wilkes’s strict father does not allow her to date, but that doesn’t stop the talented, winsome high school senior from carrying on a secret romance with her classmate Anthony Winter. Desperately in love, the two envision a life together and plan to tell Amelia’s parents only after she turns eighteen and is legally an adult. Anthony’s mother, Kim, who teaches at their school, knows—and keeps—their secret. But the couple’s passion is exposed sooner than planned: Amelia’s father, Harlan, is shocked and infuriated to find naked pictures of Anthony on his daughter’s computer. Just hours later, Anthony is arrested.
Despite Amelia’s frantic protests, Harlan uses his wealth and influence with local law enforcement and the media to label Anthony a deviant who preyed on his innocent daughter. Spearheaded by a zealous prosecutor anxious to turn the case into a public crusade against “sexting,” the investigation soon takes an even more disturbing and destructive turn.
As events spiral wildly out of control and the scandalous story makes national news, Amelia and Anthony risk everything in a bold and dangerous attempt to clear their names and end the madness once and for all.
A captivating page-turner, Therese Fowler’s Exposure is also a deftly crafted, provocative, and timely novel that serves as a haunting reminder of the consequences of love in the modern age.
Read the excerpt!
Nine hours before the police arrived, Anthony Winter stood, barefooted and wild, on the narrow front porch of the house he shared with his mother. The painted wooden planks were damp and cool beneath his feet, but he hardly noticed. In his right hand he held a fallen maple leaf up to a sun that was just breaking the horizon. In his left he held his phone. He squinted at the leaf, marveling at its deep blood-orange color, amazed and happy that nature could make such a thing from what had, only a few weeks earlier, been emerald green, and before that, deep lime, and before that, a tight, tiny bundle of a bud on a spindly limb, waving in a North Carolina spring breeze. He’d always been an observant person; he hadn’t always been so romantic. It was Amelia. She brought it out in him. She brought it out in everybody.
Amelia’s voice, when she answered his call, was lazy with sleep. It was a Monday, her day to sleep a little later than she could the rest of the week. Tuesday through Friday, she rose at five to get homework done before her three-mile run, which came before the 8:50 start of their Ravenswood Academy school day. At 3:00 pm was dance—ballet, modern, jazz—then voice lessons twice a week at five; often there was some play’s rehearsal after that, and then, if her eyelids weren’t drooping like the dingy shades in her voice teacher’s living room, she might start on her homework. But more often she would sneak out of her astonishing house to spend a stolen hour with him. With Anthony. The man (she loved to call him that, now that he’d turned eighteen) with whom she intended to spend all of her future life, and then, if God was good to them, eternity to follow.
Seeing Amelia and Anthony together, you would never have guessed they were destined for anything other than a charmed future, and possibly greatness. Perhaps Amelia had, as her father was fond of saying, emerged from the womb coated in stardust. And maybe it was also true what Anthony’s mother claimed: that her son had been first prize in the Cosmic lottery, and she’d won. They were, separately, well-tended and adored. Together, they were a small but powerful force of nature. Love makes that of people, sometimes.
That morning, nine hours and perhaps five minutes before his arrest, Anthony stood on the narrow front porch with a leaf and a phone in his chilly hands. Amelia was saying, “I dreamt of us,” in a suggestive voice that stirred him, inside and out. He heard his mother coming downstairs, so he pulled the front door closed. Unlike the rest of his school’s faculty, she knew about Amelia and him; in her way, she approved. Still, he preferred to keep his conversations private. There were certain things even an approving mother wouldn’t want to hear. Certain things he absolutely did not want her to know.
Amelia’s voice, when she answered his call, was lazy with sleep. It was a Monday, her day to sleep a little later than she could the rest of the week. Tuesday through Friday, she rose at five to get homework done before her three-mile run, which came before the 8:50 start of their Ravenswood Academy school day. At 3:00 pm was dance—ballet, modern, jazz—then voice lessons twice a week at five; often there was some play’s rehearsal after that, and then, if her eyelids weren’t drooping like the dingy shades in her voice teacher’s living room, she might start on her homework. But more often she would sneak out of her astonishing house to spend a stolen hour with him. With Anthony. The man (she loved to call him that, now that he’d turned eighteen) with whom she intended to spend all of her future life, and then, if God was good to them, eternity to follow.
Seeing Amelia and Anthony together, you would never have guessed they were destined for anything other than a charmed future, and possibly greatness. Perhaps Amelia had, as her father was fond of saying, emerged from the womb coated in stardust. And maybe it was also true what Anthony’s mother claimed: that her son had been first prize in the Cosmic lottery, and she’d won. They were, separately, well-tended and adored. Together, they were a small but powerful force of nature. Love makes that of people, sometimes.
That morning, nine hours and perhaps five minutes before his arrest, Anthony stood on the narrow front porch with a leaf and a phone in his chilly hands. Amelia was saying, “I dreamt of us,” in a suggestive voice that stirred him, inside and out. He heard his mother coming downstairs, so he pulled the front door closed. Unlike the rest of his school’s faculty, she knew about Amelia and him; in her way, she approved. Still, he preferred to keep his conversations private. There were certain things even an approving mother wouldn’t want to hear. Certain things he absolutely did not want her to know.
Read the reviews!
“A story of desperate young love, complicated families, and a legal system gone awry, Therese Fowler’s Exposure is provocative, timely, and compelling. Amelia and Anthony’s story will surely strike fear into the heart of every parent, and leave book clubs talking for hours.”
–Meg Waite Clayton, national bestselling author of The Wednesday Sisters and The Four Ms. Bradwells
"Run, do not walk, to your nearest bookstore and buy this book or download it to your ereader. This is a book that cannot be missed!"
--My Reading Room
"A captivating page-turner, Therese Fowler’s Exposure is also a deftly crafted, provocative, and timely novel that serves as a haunting reminder of the consequences of love in the modern age."
--A Musing Reviews
Therese Fowler is the author of Souvenir, Exposure, and Reunion. You can visit Therese Fowler’s website at www.theresefowler.com.
Now that we have your attention, are you ready to learn how to win a copy of this amazing book? Here are the details:
1) You must be a follower or subscriber of The Book Connection to win.
2) For your first entry, leave a comment with a valid email address. You can't win if you don't provide an email address.
3) One additional entry if you friend me on Facebook. Leave a comment with your profile link to show you're friending me.
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5) One additional entry if you like Therese Fowler on Facebook. Leave a comment with your profile link.
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7) Three additional entries if you blog about this contest. Leave a link to your post here.
8) You must be 18 or older and reside in the U.S. or Canada to be eligible to win.
Deadline for entries is 11:59 PM Eastern on Sunday, June 5, 2011. Winner will be selected out of all entrants who followed the rules governing this contest. The book will be shipped to the winner by the publisher. The Book Connection is not responsible for lost or damaged goods.
23 comments:
I follow. Sounds like a great book!
Good luck to all who enter.
I'm a follower
This sounds like an amazing book with a timely subject.
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Wow! This book looks fabulous! I am a follower.
Michelle V
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sounds great!!!
gfc follower
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I have this on my wish list and would LOVE to win a copy. It looks like such a great read!
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GFC follower Tiffany Drew
Facebook friend:
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I follow Therese on Facebook:
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Looks really great!!!
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I have been wanting to read this so badly. It definitely looks like a page turner! Thank you for the chance at winning a copy :)
GFC follower Tiffany Drew
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I follow you on Facebook
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I would love to read this book! I am a new follower (GFC = Erika).
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I am now following you on Twitter:
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Now following Therese on Twitter:
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Love the excerpt! I'd love to read the rest.
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