The Devil Pulls the Strings by J.W. Zarek is for you if you’re all about those occasions when tortured heroes, epic battles, time travel, twisted history and secret societies collide. Reality often doesn’t do all that, so fulfill your quest with this novel. It sure makes a big splash and is a spectacular page-turner.
This is an epic fantasy adventure set in modern-day Wentzville, MO, New York City and 1813 Genoa, Italy. Boone Daniels has problems: a debilitating panic attack, gut-wrenching guilt, a wendigo haunting him since age six and now he almost killed his best friend. But when he fills in for his injured comrade, a body falls from the brownstone balcony and the place explodes with gunfire. Boone escapes but uncovers a sinister plot to perform a rare Paganini piece that summons the Devil to trap Baba Yaga and destroy modern-day New York.
What a cocktail of chaos! We picked the brain behind this epic battlefield for all the details that went into the depiction. The author more than aptly provided some answers but left all the best parts for readers to discover. Check out the full review here.
Q: How did you decide to mix together so many diverse ideas? Baba Yaga, wendigos, vampires, Ren faires, 19th-century violinists, time travel and even domovoi?
A: I’ve always liked Ren faires, 19th-century violinists, and time travel and I grew up reading and listening to epic fantasy adventures, Slavic mythology, bedtimes stories about Baba Yaga. I wrote The Devil Pulls the Strings to honor the hero’s journey and infuse Slavic mythology and all the many faces of the mother of all witches, Baba Yaga, in a modern setting. Vampires and domovoi, however, weren’t in the original draft, and instead are the result of pure inspiration, based on a recommendation and suggestion.
David Henry Sterry, the co-founder of The Book Doctors, read the first twenty-five pages of my manuscript and recommended I show the joust scene before the protagonist meets his love interest. This led me to share and show Boone’s (The protagonist) best-friend-bromance with his friend Flynn, the same friend he almost killed during a Ren faire joust. Thank you, David Henry Sterry.
And Bonnie Solomon, a producer on Shrek and The Chronicles of Narnia, read the manuscript afterwards and suggested I show the secret societies in the story before the joust. Writing this chapter resulted in a new beginning and ending, and the introduction of steampunk vampires, and my version of the domovoi and the domovoi runt called Pip. Read the story to discover how essential Pip is. Thank you, Bonnie Solomon.
Q: Why Paganini as the musical centerpiece?
A: All great stories are a dime a dozen, but how you execute your story makes all the difference in the world. And behind every great story is the idea or premise. Which, for me, was a question about Niccolò Paganini, born in 1782.
Paganini was the world’s first rockstar of his day. He was known as the world’s greatest violinist who revolutionized violin technique. Rumor has it, his mother gave Paganini’s soul to the Devil so Paganini could be the world’s greatest violinist. Imagine a world where that’s true. Then you’d be immersed in the world of The Devil Pulls the Strings, where time travel, twisted history, secret societies, Paganini’s music and one haunted hero collide.
Q: Are you yourself a musician?
A: Haven’t you heard my latest uber-awesome solo kazoo performance? It makes battle-hardened warriors wearing Valhalla smiles weep. And to listen to my clumsy plinks and plunks on piano keys affirms I can’t play the piano either. So, no, I’m not a musician, but I do appreciate and love music.
It’s why I invited world-class musicians, violinist Oleg Bezuglov, pianist Natalia Bezuglova, and guitarist Vladimir Gapontsev, to create snippets of Paganini’s music on the audiobook and to include Paganini’s secret sonata.
Why violin and guitar? Paganini plays both. Why the piano? Natalia is Oleg’s wife, and they do everything together, and the song snippet they created together sounds sublime.
Q: Why tell the bits of the story from the past as time travel and not flashback?
A: Flashbacks and time travel occur in the story for different reasons. The protagonist, Boone, is a small-town Missouri musician, who can’t make sense of his flashbacks and visions, because they’re bits and pieces of waking dreams that filter in and out throughout his day: a result of a horse kick received when he was six years old. It’s the same kick to his head that gives him a warped version of eidetic memory and synesthesia so he knows how to play any song he hears once, and sees, feels and experiences whatever the artist that created the song, saw, felt or experienced. Time travel experienced in the story is due to characters using magic, ancient technology and quantum physics.
Q: Who would you like to see playing Sapphire, Boone, Wickhamby, Rizos and of course Blaine and Beau, in a movie adaptation?
A: That’s a fantastic question. To play Sapphire, two phenomenal performers perfect for the role come to mind. Lindsey Stirling, who plays the violin, and Zendaya, could both play a fantastic French Diplomat’s daughter, music student at NYU and Boone’s love interest. They would make the role their own, in their own way.
To play Boone, Two actors spring to mind: Joe Keery of Stranger Things could play him, with his dreamy rockstar hair, or Cole Sprouse who plays Jughead Jones in Riverdale. Wickhamby could be played by the following actors: Michael Wincott, Tom Hiddleston, Jared Leto,or Benedict Cumberbatch. I always envision Stacey Keach in his late 40s or early 50’s playing Rizos. And Blaine and Beau could be played by Billy Crystal (bringing back his Night Watchman role on Saturday Night Live) and David Spade, or Adam Sandler and Rob Schneider.
Q: Can we expect any more books from you?
A: Great question. I have a goal to write 100 books, and I’ve written three, so 97 more to go. The graphic novel version of The Devil pulls the Strings is almost done, and Pro Audio Voices is putting the finishing touches on the podcast series. Then I’ll start the next book in The Archivist series, and a book about the nine domovoi clans, their culture, and their thousand-year treasure war.
As for nonfiction books, bestselling author Adam Hogue invited me to co-author his next book, written from authors to authors and sharing stories, cautionary tales, step-by-step instructions and more. Bestselling author Brian Wright invited me to co-author his next book about lessons learned from dad. The best lesson I learned from my dad involves a pair of earmuffs and a football helmet. I’m excited about both projects.
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About J.W. Zarek:
Joseph helps catch naughty folks for the Government. He’s successfully run in the Walt Disney World Marathon as a woman. He’s climbed to the top of Mount Fuji and been kicked off Mount Rainier. He’s sailed through the Suez Canal and taught English Conversation in Japan, and can analyze anyone’s handwriting.
He’s also on a mission to save the world through cheesecake, one-slice-at-a-time. When he worked at the FBI, his thesis Red Flag Behaviors Found in Relationships, earned him an invitation to present a paper at the First Annual Forensics Congress in China. Which led him to write his award-winning book Naughty or Nice – Whose List Are You On? Available as a handout during lectures. His other bestselling book, The Happiness Code, he co-authored with Ray Brehm and other authors who share and show you their own happiness hacks they use, you can use too.
