The eponymous Joe Pickett is a game warden in C. J. Box's hugely successful Wyoming-set crime fiction series which is our Series of the Month. This year we have seen the release of the 24th instalment, Three-Inch Teeth, described as "yet another successful page-turning thriller featuring the indomitable game warden from Wyoming".

The first book in the series, Open Season, was Box's debut novel and was first published in 2001, introducing us to Joe as he investigates the first murder he's ever encountered. Throughout the Joe Pickett series there's abundant wildlife, soaring mountain ranges and rugged landscapes that help to bring the story to life alongside thrilling, page-turning plot. 

We're thrilled to highlight our latest Series of the Month and to have had the opportunity to ask C. J. Box some questions about this popular series. Keep reading to find out more about Box's writing process and inspiration for his characters, settings and stories. 

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C. J. Box is the author of over 30 novels including the Joe Pickett and Cassie Dewell series. He has won Edgar, Anthony, Macavity, Gumshoe and Barry Awards, as well as numerous other US and international awards for literature. Two television series based on his novels have been produced (Big Sky on ABC/Disney+ and Joe Pickett on Paramount+) and he is an Executive Producer for both series. He and his wife Laurie live on their ranch in Wyoming.

How long did it take to develop Joe Pickett from thought to fully-fledged character? Has he changed from your initial ideas as the series has progressed?

When I first conceived a story-line involving endangered species in the Rocky Mountains of the American West (which was based on actual events) I tried out a local sheriff as the protagonist and then a journalist. Neither worked for me, and I settled on a Wyoming game warden instead. Game wardens in my part of the world are autonomous, heavily armed, and they have duties and responsibilities that extend far beyond enforcing game and fish regulations. Like Joe Pickett, most real-life game wardens live in state-owned homes with their families. I liked the idea of an unconventional protagonist who does his best, and Joe Pickett seems to have resonated with readers as well. Since Joe Pickett and his family have aged in real time through 24 books, they have changed and matured since introduction in OPEN SEASON.

Three-Inch Teeth is told in alternating viewpoints between Pickett and Cates. Does your writing process change when writing from different characters’ perspectives?

The process doesn’t change but the point-of-view certainly does. I enjoy writing books with multiple points-of-view advancing the story because I think it engages the reader in an interesting way. In a nutshell, the reader knows more about what’s going on than any of the characters in the book.

You're a Wyoming native and the Joe Pickett series is set in Wyoming. For those of us who haven’t had the opportunity to visit, how much does the Wyoming in the book reflect reality, and what has been given a fictional embellishment?

Of course, no Wyoming game warden has ever – or will ever – face the perils that have befallen Joe Pickett, his family, or his friends. Realism must be willfully suspended when reading a multi-book series in general. But despite that, I try very hard to portray Wyoming and the Mountain West as authentically as I can. I’m proud to say that most local readers agree. I dislike novels where most of the characters are “western” caricatures instead of real people with real jobs and ambitions.

Joe Pickett is a game warden and so wildlife and the weather play a key role throughout the series. How much research is involved in establishing an authentic setting? At what point do you decide which environmental factors to incorporate into the storyline?

Wyoming has less than 600,000 people in a state the size of France. Nature, weather, wildlife, and natural resource issues dominate day-to-day life. Many controversial subjects originate in Wyoming and the rural west, like energy generation, environmental activism and concerns, eco-terrorism, and political extremism on both sides. I try to reflect that reality in the novels. I do research by interviewing experts on both sides of hot-button subjects and by going out and doing the things Joe Pickett and others get involved with in the books so I can write from a first-hand perspective.

Can you tell us a bit about your writing process? Where do you write and do you have any writing habits? Do they change with each book you write?

I have a very nice office located on top of our horse barn on our ranch, and I trudge out here every day.

I always start with the issue or controversy (wind energy, grizzly bear attacks, extremist groups) and do the research so I’m comfortable with the subject matter and I understand (even if I don’t always agree) both sides. Then I build a bullet-point outline that, in essence, pulls a reader through that issue in a page-turning way. Once the research and the outline are complete, I write literally on top of that outline until the book is finished. I try to complete a minimum of a thousand words a day, although somedays I exceed that. I edit what I wrote the day before as a first step, then proceed. Every writer is different, but this method has always worked for me and I never have days where I don’t know where to start.

What have we got to look forward to reading from you next?

I’m deep into the next Joe Pickett book now. It’s tentatively called BATTLE MOUNTAIN, and Nate Romanowski plays an important role.