Blue Heaven, your first stand-alone novel will be released January 2008. Tell us a little about it.

I first heard the term that became the title in LA when an ex-LAPD police officer told me how many of his former colleagues had moved to extreme North Idaho to a place they called “Blue Heaven.”...

Meet the Author: C.J. Box

Q&A with C.J. Box
Q: Your writing is very focused on the American West and the issues facing those in that part of the country. Does it surprise you that readers from other areas, me included, are so fond of your novels?

A: It did at first until I began meeting readers at booksignings and other events across the country and overseas, where I learned that many issues I had thought local and parochial turned out to be universal. The tension between development and conservation, traditional versus new, ethics concerning the land and the philosophy of environment – those things apply everywhere, not just the mountain west. In Wyoming, the conflicts sometimes have a harder edge, but the issues seem to resonate. Also, I’ve found many readers are truly interested in the issues in the west because the west is sort of our collective land of myth and legend.

Likely Stories A Book Blog by Keir Graff Friday, October 5, 2007 2:02 pm Interview: C. J. Box Posted by: Keir Blue Heaven, by C. J. BoxSince 2001, when his Joe Pickett mystery series debuted with Open Season, C. J. Box has earned accolades and fans in ever-growing numbers. Not only was Booklist one of the earliest publications to take note of his exciting talent (Bill Ott wrote a double-length, rave review), Box went on to have a track record here that few writers can equal: five of seven Joe Pickett novels have been deemed worthy of a starred review...

By Hank W. Wagner FREE FIRE, Wyoming native C. J. Box’s latest Joe Pickett adventure, is an interesting example of how an author takes an idea and turns it into a full blown novel. The inspiration for the novel came from, of all places, a Georgetown Law Review article by Michigan State law professor Brian C. Kalt. That piece, titled “The Perfect Crime”, posited the notion that one could literally get away with murder inside the confines of Yellowstone National Park. The theory, picked up on by media outlets such as the BBC and NPR, was brought to author Box’s attention by helpful readers and friends. He was immediately struck by the possibilities. “Since I’d always wanted to write a Yellowstone book, the “perfect crime” theory was my entrée. I contacted Professor Kalt and ran the theory by a U.S. District Court judge to make sure it was valid. It was. And is.

Jeff Parker writes a wonderful feature in the LA Times on the annual fishing trip known as "The Gauntlet" including Ken Wilson, Brian Wiprud, and C.J. Box.