Get to know the Author

Larry Preston

In an art history class at Michigan State University, the author met and became close friends with a fellow student who has become one of the most esteemed art conservationists in the world. Later, giving him a postcard of William Bouguereau’s painting, The Nut Gatherers, she started his fascinated discovery of art conservation, forgery, and theft and Bouguereau. All found their way into Preston’s first murder mystery novel.

His love of art started before then. When he was a teenager, he sold his precious Firebird and used the money to travel alone through Europe. He designed his adventure to travel to as many great art museums as possible. It started in Rome with the Sistine Chapel. What a way to start! Over the years, he’s compiled a list of his favorite paintings, many he saw for the first time during his early travels. These include Las Meninas by Velasquez at the Prado, the Nightwatch by Rembrandt at the Rijksmuseum, Birth of Venus by Botticelli at the Uffizi Gallery, and Lady of Shallot by Waterhouse at the Tate Gallery.

While traveling, the thought of writing a novel began bouncing around in this head. It would percolate for decades before he had time to write it. In the years that followed, Preston and his wife, for over 30 years, raised three successful children. He practiced business and estate planning law for two decades, co-founded a private bank for high net worth clients, and was its CEO for its first almost 20 years.

When he retired from the bank, he became CEO of a performing arts center and art museum. His new role gave him time to spend on two things: writing his novel and working in his flower gardens. He likes to joke with friends that, after 40 years of law and finance, he was able to focus on two of his true loves, art and flowers.

Preston’s passion includes his community, the Great Lakes Bay Region of Saginaw, Midland, and Bay City. He’s been a leader with the Saginaw Art Museum, the Midland Symphony, the Saginaw Symphony, the Midland Center for the Arts, the Saginaw Community Foundation, and the Temple Theatre. His thriller starts in Saginaw, a city he knows well, and continues to Midland and Bay City. The novel is about big-time art forgery in his backyard and finding its way to New York City and Istanbul, two of his favorite cities.

Being nervous about how Forged Fates will be received, he hopes his readers will be excited to keep turning the pages and look forward to his sequel.