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Books That Make You Podcast


Books That Make You is a channel about all things bookish. Home to the The Books That Make You show with host Desiree Duffy of Black Chateau Enterprises. Where she discuses books with authors and experts, unraveling the inner pages of all the books that help make us who we are. BTMY also live streams bookish events as well as posting author readings and bookish contest on www.BooksThatMakeYou.com

Mar 2, 2023

Books That Make You Feel Like You’ve Been Taken Off on a Grand Fantastic Journey

In J.W. Zarek’s BookFest Award-winning novel “The Devil Pulls the Strings,” time-travel, twisted history and secret societies come crashing together.

Since Boone was six, he’s been haunted by a Wendigo spirit, which doesn’t help his debilitating panic attacks or gut-wrenching guilt. Now, come Saturday, a cursed Immortal seeks to destroy New York City. But all Boone wants is to just keep a promise to a friend, a friend he nearly killed last Sunday.

Set in modern-day New York City, 1813 Genoa, Italy and Wentzville, MO, the book threads together Slavic mythology, secret societies, bromance, Paganini’s music and time travel.

In his day job, J.W. Zarek has helped catch bad guys for the government. While in Japan, he taught English Conversation in Japan, and can analyze anyone’s handwriting. He’s hunted pirates in the Persian Gulf, and has sailed twice through the Suez Canal.

While working at the FBI, his thesis on relationship red-flag behaviors earned him an invitation to present a paper at the First Annual Forensics Congress in China. This, in turn, led him to writing his award-winning book “Naughty or Nice – Whose List Are You On?”, now available as a handout during lectures.

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