Novelist and fellow AFO member Theodore Wheeler will read from his new novel, The War Begins in Paris, and talk with creative and AFO member Jeffrey Koterba about the influences and historical figures that inspired him. The novel follows several American foreign correspondents (some real, some fictional) as they confront the reality of a fascist Europe from a journalist's perspective. Come ready for a conversation about the connections between travel, inspiration, and learning about history. Questions and comments from the audience are welcome.

The event is free and refreshments will be available for purchase. No registration is needed.

Où et quand? Please join AFO members at Pace's McCormick's bar starting at 5:30 pm for a happy social hour and French conversation before the event, which starts at 7:00 pm on Friday, February 23rd at the Pottawattamie Arts, Culture, and Entertainment (PACE) Center in Council Bluffs.

Copies of The War Begins in Paris will be for sale at the event. You can order a signed copy online at https://dundee-book-company.square.site/.../the-war.../3553

Theodore Wheeler is the author of three novels: The War Begins in Paris (2023), Kings of Broken Things (2017), and In Our Other Lives (2020). He has won fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, Nebraska Arts Council, and Akademie Schloss Solitude in Stuttgart, Germany. For fourteen years, he worked as a journalist who covered law and politics, including the last two presidential elections, and now teaches creative writing in the English Department at Creighton University. He and his wife, Nicole, operate Dundee Book Company, an independent neighborhood bookshop, and are avid Francophiles. Learn more about him at theodore-wheeler.com.