Meet David L. Preston on July 4th at Page & Palette!
Stop by between 1-3PM to grab a coffee or a glass of wine and get a copy of Smoke Over the Pine Barrens signed. Come chat with the author and discover your next great read!
ABOUT THE BOOK
Smoke Over the Pine Barrne: Glory was the promise. Survival became the truth. In the spring of 1862, in the shadow of the Battle of Shiloh, the war spreads across the South and the men of Alabama answer the call. Wilkerson and his brothers leave behind their family farm to join the newly formed 2nd Alabama Cavalry, driven by duty, pride, and the promise of honor. Under the steady, unflinching leadership of Sergeant Silas Ward, they are forged from eager recruits into soldiers and sent south to the pine barrens along the Florida border, where Confederate forces struggle to contain a growing Union presence near Pensacola. But the war they find is not the one they imagined. In the suffocating heat of unfamiliar wilderness, amid constant uncertainty and the ever-present threat of enemy patrols, discipline becomes survival, and survival comes at a cost. As fear, loss, and hard lessons reshape them, Wilkerson is forced to confront a truth no one taught him: War is not about glory. It is about endurance. Powerful, atmospheric, and deeply human, Smoke Over the Pine Barrens is a gripping work of Historical Fiction that strips away the myth of war to reveal the brotherhood, sacrifice, and quiet strength required to survive it. Vampire Nurse: By day, St. Augustine’s Hospital is a sanctuary of order and light. By night, it becomes a labyrinth of shadows and newly-turned vampire nurse Evelyn Carter walks its halls caught between her duty to heal and the hunger she can barely control. But when a series of brutal killings rocks Crescent City and coded transmissions hint at a hunter operation closing in, Evelyn’s fragile balance shatters. Everything changes the night a mysterious, impossibly resilient man is wheeled into her trauma bay. Lucian Devereaux, a stranger with ancient blood, a haunting aura, and a dying curse carved into his flesh awakens something in Evelyn’s own forgotten past. Their connection is instant, visceral… and forbidden. As hunters tighten their net around the city and a prophecy buried in the hospital’s archives begins to echo through time, Evelyn is thrust into a world where blood is power, fate is written in symbols beneath the skin, and love is as deadly as any blade. To save him, she must risk the bond that could destroy them both. In a storm-drenched city where monsters hide in the alleys and angels never come, a nurse who was never meant to survive may become the only one who can break the curse or doom them all.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David Preston is a lifelong student of history, an avid reader, and a storyteller shaped by place, perseverance, and deep Southern roots. Though born in Gurdon, Arkansas, much of his formative life was spent in Hernando, Mississippi, where he attended elementary, middle, and junior high school, years that left a lasting imprint on his worldview and storytelling voice. His ties to Mississippi remain strong; relatives still live throughout the state, with a particularly high concentration in Attala County, grounding his work in the culture, history, and rhythms of the Deep South. David holds a degree in Political Science from the University of South Alabama and has spent his career navigating the intersecting worlds of politics, journalism, and business. A former politician and reporter, he brings a practiced eye for power, conflict, and human motivation to his fiction. After living in Plano, Texas, and later returning south, David settled in Mobile, Alabama, which he has called home for the past 30 years. His journey as a novelist began in earnest after a below-the-knee amputation in November 2023, a life-altering event that redirected his focus toward writing and deepened his commitment to storytelling.