Play It Again

Book two of my And Then Came Love series will be released on June 28th. It’s available for pre-order now! Check it out!

Excerpt Play It Again. Copyright 2016. Sara Preston.
A classic example of don’t judge a book by it’s cover!
Trevor stopped to look at a picture on the wall. “Check out this picture.”
Arianna looked at the picture. It was a black and white, grainy photo of an American soldier in his dress uniform, sitting in what looked like a prison cell with a man in a wrinkled and worn SS uniform a shock of blond curly hair on his head. “The curly hair seems out of place, but then again the uniform seems out of place as well.”
“That man spent the entire war in that one uniform. It became more and more tattered as the years went by.” A voice with an Irish accent spoke from behind her.
Arianna turned quickly to see the tall, white-haired man standing behind her. There was still dark hair in his beard, but all the hair on his head was white.
He held out his hand to her.
She gave it to him and he brought it to his lips. “Brennen O’Riley, but the kids call me Pops.”
“Arianna Halsey.” She smiled. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“And surprisingly enough, I’ve heard a bit about you as well.” Brennen hugged Trevor before pointing at the picture. “You remember the story I told you about the S.S. man and the red-headed Goddess?”
Trevor nodded. “I told that story to Arianna on our first date.”
“Aye, what a boring first date that must have been.” Brennen grinned. “The man in the picture is the S.S. man I told you about. They arrested him as soon as he arrived in Germany after the war. He came down to face his punishment, even though he deserved a medal.”
“From what I understood he did so much good for not only his family, but many of the people of Norway, how could he still be punished?”
Brennen motioned for the two of them to sit down at the table. He joined them and looked across the table at Arianna. “When Trevor told you the story, how did you immediately react to being told I was asked to help an S.S. man?”
“I told him I hoped you didn’t help.” Arianna looked down at her hands. She’d judged him strictly on his uniform and not for the person he was.
“That’s right. He wore the S.S. uniform. It didn’t matter what he did and how many people he saved. When he entered Germany all they saw was the uniform and therefore he was the enemy.” Brennan leaned forward and took her hand. “Had I been approached by an S.S. man who asked me to save his life, I probably would have told him to go to hell? Instead, I was approached by his lovely wife and family. They convinced me what a good guy he was. I, too, would have seen the uniform and assumed he deserved to be punished.”
“It doesn’t seem fair.” Arianna glanced back at the picture. “No one should be judged harshly for the clothes they wear.”
“No, they shouldn’t.” Pops shook his head. “But it happens all the time. Kids are gang members if they wear certain colors. The soldiers coming back from Vietnam faced similar issues. We judge people because we don’t know them. And that man–” Brennan pointed at the picture. “—is the perfect example of don’t judge a book by its cover.”
“I bet his family is incredibly proud of him.”
“They are.” Brennen nodded. “Every single one of them. They moved to America to get away from the stigma. To some people they’ll only ever see the uniform. I’ve had people leave the bar when they see that picture.”
“That’s not right either.”
“It’s not, but it’s how the world works, lassie.” Brennen smiled.

Christmas on Bellevue Lane by Anna DeStefano — Review

The history of the Dixon family is rich in tradition. Anna DeStefano did a wonderful job of presenting the reason the family has Christmas in July as a beautiful short story. It was full of family memories and a great way to help get through more of the history of the Dixon family.

The love story between Joe and Marsha Dixon was a beautiful one. From their first meeting in college to the current Christmas in July. It’s a beautiful, heartwarming story that you’ll love.

★★KINGPIN LOVE AFFAIR BOXED SERIES★★

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Play It Again Snippet

Here’s an excerpt of Trevor’s book. Brennen is a friend of the family. People are so quick to judge a person based on one thing. People aren’t always what they seem. ‪#‎andthencamelove‬ ‪#‎trevorandarianna‬ This is rough and unedited, so expect typos. Subject to change as well.

Trevor stopped to look at a picture on the wall. “Check out this picture.”
Arianna looked at the picture. It was a black and white, grainy photo of an American soldier in his dress uniform, sitting in what looked like a prison cell with a man in a wrinkled and dirty SS uniform a shock of blond curly hair on his head. “The curly hair seems out of place, but then again the uniform seems out of place as well.”
“That man spent the entire war in that one uniform. It became more and more tattered as the years went by.” The voice from behind surprised her.
Arianna turned quickly to see the tall, white haired man standing behind her. There was still dark hair in his beard, but all the hair on his head was white.
He held out his hand to her.
She gave it to him and he brought it to his lips. “Brennen O’Riley, but the kids call me Pops.”
“Arianna London.” She smiled. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“And surprisingly enough, I’ve heard a bit about you as well.” Brennen hugged Trevor before pointing at the picture. “You remember the story I told you about the S.S. man and the red headed Goddess?”
Trevor nodded. “I told that story to Arianna on our first date.”
“Aye, what a boring first date that must have been.” Brennen grinned. “The man in the picture is the S.S. man I told you about. The arrested him as soon as he arrived in Germany after the war. He came down to face his punishment, even though he deserved a medal.”
“From what I understood he did so much good for not only his family, but many of the people of Norway, how could he still be punished?”
Brennen motioned for the two of them to sit down at the table. He joined them and looked across the table at Arianna. “When Trevor told you the story, how did you immediately react to being told I was asked to help an S.S. man?”
“I told him I hoped you didn’t help.” Arianna looked down at her hands. She’d judged him strictly on his uniform and not for the person he was.
“That’s right. He wore the S.S. uniform. It didn’t matter what he did and how many people he saved. When he entered Germany all they saw was the uniform and therefore he was the enemy.” Brennen leaned forward and took her hand. “Had I been approached by an S.S. man who asked me to save his life, I probably would have told him to go to hell? Instead, I was approached by his lovely wife and family. They convinced me what a good guy he was. I, too, would have seen the uniform and assumed he deserved to be punished.”
“It doesn’t seem fair.” Arianna glanced back at the picture. “No one should be judged harshly for the clothes they wear.”
“No, they shouldn’t.” Pops shook his head. “But it happens all the time. Kids are gang members if they wear certain colors. The soldiers coming back from Vietnam faced similar issues. We judge people because we don’t know them. And that man–” Brennen pointed at the picture. “—is the perfect example of don’t judge a book by its cover.”
“I bet his family is incredible proud of him.”
“They are.” Brennen nodded. “Every single one of them. They moved to America to get away from the stigma. To some people they’ll only ever see the uniform. I’ve had people leave the bar when they see that picture.”
“That’s not right either.”
“It’s not, but it’s how the world works, lassie.” Brennen smiled.

Coming Soon: The Latest from Author J.L. Beck!

Coming soon, Author J.L. Beck will be putting all of her Kingpin Love Affair books together into one book!  And including a Novella about your favorite to two characters Zerro and Bree.  Check it out and make sure to pre-order it for only .99 cents!  

Oops! Snippet of If You Only Knew

I forgot to post yesterday.  Well, not much to say today.  I will introduce Donovan and Noelle tomorrow.  Donovan is Helena’s father — you met her a couple days ago.

Anyway.  I did want to share with you an excerpt of If You Only Knew. My friend Wendy loves my shower scene, so I thought I’d share the beginning of it with you. If you like it, check out the rest of the book.  It’s still on sale, but for $1.99 for the next four days. #andthencamelove #mustread #freeonKU #kindleunlimited #oneclick

It was a little after six in the morning when he returned to the apartment. Drew called sometime after midnight in a rough spot. They’d hung out at the cabin all night. Talking and drinking.

Julian popped an extra Adderall sometime in the middle of the night to stay awake. The combination of amphetamines, caffeine, and alcohol hadn’t been the smartest move on his part. He hadn’t been this keyed up since he snorted cocaine as a teenager.

By the time he made it to Liza’s, his mind was on one thing and one thing only. If he was lucky, he’d catch her in bed or the shower. He looked toward the bedroom. The light was on. He smiled when he heard the water running in the bathroom. Opening the door, he drank in the sight of her naked form through the frosted glass doors. What a way to come home.

“Everything all right?” She opened the door to look out at him.

“Yeah, evidently, Ava’s ex-husband was killed and the FBI was convinced Drew or Ava did it. He needed to vent.” Julian stripped off his shirt and pants. “I hope you’re up for company.” He stepped inside, closing the door behind him.

“Wait! What happened? Did they let Ava go as well? Who killed her ex-husband?”

Julian shrugged. “They let both of them go. They weren’t even in the area when he was killed. As far as who killed him, I have no clue. And neither do the police.”

“So then what did you two do all night?” Liza rinsed her hair.

“Sat and bullshitted.” He shrugged and pressed a kiss to her lips.

She pushed him away. Her eyes narrowed. “How much did you have to drink?”

Great. His ears burned. He knew she’d see the guilt. This was the last thing he wanted to talk about. A glance at her naked body and he was more than ready. “We shared a six pack, Liza. I could drink all six and not even be close to drunk.”

“You shouldn’t be drinking at all.” She crossed her arms, pushing up her breasts as she did.

Julian moaned. God, he wanted her. ”I think I can handle a couple beers, Liza.” He thrust her against the wall, his lips on her neck, his hands sliding over her body.

“I have to leave for work in half an hour.” She brought her hands to his chest and turned her head away from him.

“You’re just picking up a kid, right?” He slipped his knee between her legs.

“Yeah, but I need to be there on time. I have to get her there for the visitation by eight.”

His traced his fingers down her side and pressed his hips against her.

“They’ll have to wait.” He smothered any protest she might make with his lips.

Untitled Book 7

I skipped Mason and Renee yesterday to post Petur and Helena.

No snippet for this book.  It’s not even in rough draft form yet.

Mason Parker is the nephew of the other characters I’ve posted (Julian, Trevor, Blake, Drew, Jake, and Terra Vitalli.  His mother is one of the older sisters, Angela.

Here’s the family tree if you wanted to see it!

And here’s where Mason comes into play!

The majority of this book does not take place in Indiana, but rather Houston, Texas.  I don’t know if I mentioned it in Jake’s book.  It was Houston that he ended up in after he left Audrey.  Renee works for Jake’s company.  😀 So how does his nephew end up falling for a woman who works for Jake’s company?

Well, what does a family does a family do when their brother has been gone for five years? They may send a member of the family to check on him. He he.  It’s going to be a fun story.  At least I think so.  Hope you enjoy.

If You Only Knew

It’s on sale!  Check it out.  11 hours left to get it for .99 cents!  Today only!

Head Over Feet

Hey all! I’m skipping book 7 for the moment and going on to book 8. This book is being written in collaboration with Amber Root, who runs the page Tears of the North. Anyway, I figured out the title, one of the songs, and Amber and I wrote a scene for the book. So I wanted to share it with you all!

Title: Head Over Feet

Dr. Petur Muller

Helena Vitalli

Here’s the excerpt.  Hope you all enjoy.  Helena’s not in the scene, but Julian and Liza are. 😀

Petur walked toward his office and carried a brown bag containing his lunch.

“Hey, man.”

Julian’s voice stopped him. He looked up and smiled. “Julian. This is a nice surprise, are you looking for, Liza?”

“We’re having lunch, but I was hoping to catch you first.” Julian shifted his feet.

“Of course. Come into my office.” He ushered him into the office and waited for Julian to sit down. “Thirsty? I have bottled water or root beer?”

“I’m fine. Thanks though.” Julian cleared his throat and continued only once Petur sat down. “You know Drew’s wedding is tomorrow, right?”

“I know that.” Petur nodded.  What was he getting at and why was he nervous? “I didn’t get an invitation, but as I understand, it was something of a last minute thing.”

Julian scoffed. “Invitations? Drew and Ava? Yeah, right.” He shook his head. “Anyway, I have a proposition for you.”

Petur raised his eyebrow. This couldn’t be good. “A proposition. That sounds . . . unsettling.”

“Have you met my niece, Helena?” Julian leaned back in his chair and crossed his feet at his ankles. “Pretty, dark hair, kind of a tomboy?”

“I think I’d remember a girl like that.” Petur chuckled and unpacked his lunch. “I haven’t had the pleasure. Why do you ask?”

“Would you like too?” Julian grinned. “She just got dumped and was supposed to introduce the guy she’s been dating to the family tomorrow at the wedding. Everyone’s excited, because this was her longest relationship.”

Petur’s eyes widened and he held up his hands. “Run that by me again?”

The conversation stopped when there was a knock on the door.

Liza stuck her head into his office. “Hey, Pete. Sorry to interrupt.” She turned and smiled when she saw Julian. She stepped into the office and kissed him. “What are you doing here? Where’s Abby?”

“She’s at Mom’s.”

“He’s trying to enlist my aid as a prostitute.” Petur folded his arms over his chest.

Liza looked over at Julian and raised her eyebrow. “Umm – what?”

Julian shook his head. “I didn’t say sleep with her.” He grinned. “That’s still my niece we’re talking about.”

“Well that makes the whole thing slightly less disgusting . . .”

Julian leaned forward. “She’s a really nice girl, but she makes bad choices when it comes to men.”

Liza scoffed. “Must run in the family.”

Julian glared at her.

Petur shook his head. Why in the world was he even considering me for this? “Let me see if I understand you correctly.” He steepled his fingers and placed them against his chin. “I am to meet your niece, take her to this wedding, and pretend that we are madly in love so the family doesn’t give her a hard time?”

Julian nodded. “Yep.”

Liza rolled her eyes. “Oh dear God, a Vitalli plan – this is not going to end disasterously.” She shook her head. “Run, Pete, run while you still can.”

“You’re not helping, dear.”

“Where is the bottle of Schnapps when I need it?” Petur rubbed his left temple. “If I were mildly inebriated this scheme might sound workable.”

“I’m assuming we’re discussing, Helena, since the rest of your nieces are way too young to be dating, Petur?” Liza sat down in the seat next to Julian.

“Yes.”

Petur leaned forward and rested his arms on his desk. “What in our prior dealings suggests I can pretend to love a woman I haven’t even met yet?”

Julian opened his hands. “Because you’re my friend and I’ve never asked you to do anything for me before.” He grinned. “And my lovely fiancee thinks you’re this great guy.” He looked over at Liza and then back at Petur. “Which makes me wonder why she doesn’t leave me for you but that’s beside the point.”

Petur held up his hands. “I am not interested in, Liza.” The last thing they needed was for Julian to have a bipolar moment in the office. He changed the subject. “What about Helena? What does she think of this . . . plan?”

Julian looked over at Liza.

Liza rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Either she asked you to find her a date or she knows nothing about this.”

“Actually, she asked Trevor, who came to me.” Julian shrugged.

“This woman doesn’t know me from Adam. I don’t believe she asked for me by name.” Petur cocked his head to the side.

“Well, no. Trevor suggested you. I just agreed to ask.”

“Remind me to give Trevor a heartfelt ‘thanks’ for throwing me under the proverbial bus.” Petur grimaced.

“I’m sure Trevor will then have the same conversation with Julian.” Liza let out a sigh.

Julian held up his hands. “To be fair, Trevor’s comment was ‘he’s the nicest guy we know.’”

“Who isn’t fucking gay!” Petur exclaimed.

Julian stifled a chuckle.

“What’s so funny?” Petur narrowed his eyes.

“Nothing, nothing at all.” Julian grinned. “So are you up for it?”

Petur let out a heavy breath and looked at Liza.

Liza shook her head. “Nope. This is between you and him.”

Petur shoved a hand through his hair. “This is the very definition of insanity.

Liza held her hands skyward. “You’re dealing with the Vitalli clan. Look up insanity in the dictionary, their pictures are all there.” She pointed at Julian. “This one being the first one on the list.”

“Thank you, Princess. I love you too.”

“If I say no you’ll only keep asking, correct?”

“No, if you say no, he’ll torture you.” Liza shook her head.

“I love my fiancée, I love my fiancée, I love my fiancée.”

Petur held up his hands. “All right! I surrender. Can you arrange a dinner for the two of us tonight?”

Liza smiled.

Liza’s sudden smile had him cocking his head. Did I just get played? He looked at Liza.

“To be fair, Helena’s a nice girl. Julian’s right, she has a bad track record with men, but then again we all have at least one skeleton in our closet.”

Petur looked over at Liza. “I’m sure she’s lovely. But would it not be better for her to be escorted by a gentleman that bears or real affection . . . or at least knows her middle name?”

“Madeline Celeste,” Julian said.

“Excuse me?” Petur looked at him.

“Her full name is Helena Madeline Celeste Vitalli.” Julian smiled. “Anyway, when and where do you want to have dinner tonight?”

“Perhaps a place, small and intimate, where she feels comfortable?”

Julian shrugged. “Gramps’ pub? She’s a tomboy and a cop.”

“She’s a member of the police force?” Petur sputtered.

“Vice.”

Petur palmed his forehead. “If this doesn’t go well, she’ll have me arrested.”

Liza laughed. “Nah, she hasn’t arrested any of the other assholes when things went bad. I think you’re safe.”

Julian chuckled.

Petur pointed at Julian. “If this blows apart neither you nor your mad siblings may bludgeon me. Are we clear?”

“I promise, no bludgeoning.”

Liza shook her head. “If you actually intend to take me to lunch, I’ll be in my office. Good luck, Petur.”

Petur sighed and looked at his shoes. “Seven o’clock. Your grandfather’s pub. Please request she be on time. We have work to do.”

“Thanks, Pete.” Julian extended his hand. “I owe you one or three.”

Petur stood and shook Julian’s hand. “You’d best go catch, Liza. I expect she has words for you.”

Julian grinned. “I’ll take her home for lunch. She’ll be fine when she comes back.” He winked as he walked out of Petur’s office.

Petur sunk into his chair. What had he gotten himself into?

Waiting For Superman

Book 6: Waiting For Superman.

I think I need to call Ethan and Terra’s book a Romantic Comedy!  LOL.  It’s such a fun book.  I had a lot of fun writing it.  Okay here’s the characters and a snippet!

Terra Vitalli (Sibling #8)

Ethan Steele

Ethan glared at Terra later that night, red and blue lights flashing behind them as they were pulled over on the side of the road.  Terra put her hand over her mouth to try and stop from laughing as Ethan turned off the car, rolled down the window, and tossed the keys on the dashboard.

“Can you stop laughing long enough to grab my wallet from the console?” he asked her.

Terra chuckled again and handed him his wallet as the police officer walked up to the window.  “Evening officer,” Ethan said looking out the window at the cop.

“License and registration, sir,” the officer stated.  “Any reason for your speed this evening?” he asked as Ethan handed him his license and registration.

Terra’s composure broke at that point and she started laughing again.  Ethan looked over at her and couldn’t help but smile.

The office frowned and bent down to look at her.  “I don’t find this funny in the least bit, ma’am, you were in a car doing 85 on a road with a speed limit of 45 and at dark that makes it even more dangerous,” he said seriously.  Terra tried to control it, but ended up losing it again.  “Ma’am I’m going to need to see your ID as well,” the officer said and the stern look on his face told them both he wasn’t joking. Terra pulled out her purse and handed the officer her license.

Ethan looked up at the officer.  “Sorry about my fiancée, officer,” he stated.  “I’m taking her drunk ass home.”

“Ethan!” she exclaimed.

“Ma’am, I suggest you do your best to compose yourself before I get back,” the officer said as he headed back to his squad car.

“You’re going to get me arrested,” Ethan told her with a chuckle. “You know how embarrassing it would be to have to call my Dad and tell him I was in jail for reckless driving?”

Terra laughed again. “I’m sorry, Ethan, but the look on your face when the cop pulled out behind you was priceless,” she told him.  She glanced behind them to make sure the cop was still in his vehicle.  “I’m just glad he didn’t catch you when you were going 120.”

“Yeah, I would have gotten arrested for that one,” he said with a nod.  “No questions asked, he would have just arrested me.”

“If it helps any, I would have bailed you out of jail,” she told him.

“I would hope so! It was all your idea,” he stated.  “Are you done laughing, because he’s coming back?”

Terra smiled, but sat back in her seat and tried to stay quiet.

“All right, Mr. Steele, I see you’ve had  a clean driving record for quite some time.  I’m not going to arrest you for reckless driving, instead I’m just giving you a ticket,” the officer stated as he handed Ethan the two driver’s licenses and his registration back.

“Thank you, officer,” Ethan told him.  “I appreciate that.”

The officer handed him the ticket to sign.  Ethan signed the ticket and handed the clipboard back to the officer, who tore off the top copy and handed the secondary copy to Ethan.  “I suggest you take Ms. Vitalli home, before she gets you into any more trouble.”

“I was doing just that,” Ethan responded. “Thank you again, sir.  I appreciate your generosity.”

“Try and keep it at the speed limit, Mr. Steele,” the officer said as he headed back to the car.