Douglas W. Jacobson's roadtrip report

Douglas W. Jacobson checked in with McBooks Press News following last week's book promo trip for Night of Flames, which took him down to Chicago and back up to Door County, Wisconsin.

MPN: You spoke last week in Chicago at the Polonia Bookstore.

DWJ: Yes, the group was the Chicago Society of the Polish National Alliance. It is a fraternal organization of Polish-American businessmen. There were about fifty men in attendance and they were all extremely interested in the book, especially the part about the 1939 German invasion of Poland. One very memorable moment was when an elderly man stood up and said how much he appreciated the presentation. He was one of those soldiers who was captured during the invasion and survived two years in the Soviet Gulags in Siberia. We discussed all the myths surrounding that campaign as well as Poland’s overall contribution to the WW2 war effort, which was considerable. It was a good night in Chicago, great people.

MPN: So then from Chicago you drove back up to Wisconsin, to meet with the Peninsula Belgian-American Club.

DWJ: Northeast Wisconsin is home to the largest concentration of Belgian-Americans in the US. Most are descendants of immigrants that arrived in the beginning and mid-twentieth century. The interesting thing is that many of these folks travel to Belgium on a regular basis, and every year 20 or 30 Belgians travel to Namur, Wisconsin for the annual Belgian Days festival.

MPN: Then you'll be speaking and giving presentations in Brussels this coming December.

DWJ: Night of Flames has generated a lot of interest among the members of the American Club of Brussels. This is a large organization of ex-patriot Americans working in Brussels. Brussels, of course, is home to NATO as well as the European Union and there are thousands of Americans living and working in the area.

MPN: Are you working on a sequel to Night of Flames?

DWJ: Yes. The story of Anna and Jan continues with the search for her father after the end of the war.

MPN: I should mention that Night of Flames will appear on bookshelves the first week in October. Thanks Doug.

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