A comedy of manners: short stories set around USA
Thriller set in Wyoming – plus interview with best selling author, C J Box
16th April 2016
Off the Grid by C J Box, thriller set in Wyoming.
Off The Grid is the 16th book in the hugely successful Joe Pickett series by C J (Chuck) Box. The book was launched in March this year in the States and went straight to No 1 in the New York Times best sellers list… Joe is a Wyoming Game Warden and, in Off The Grid, is asked by the State Governor to search for an acquaintance called Nate Romanowski whom the Governor believes has been despatched in somewhat strange circumstances to the desolate Red Desert area of Wyoming to check out a possible Jihadi plot. Nate is on the run from justice and was tracked down by two very secretive US intelligence agents who promised him immunity, and the wiping of his criminal record – if he cooperated… He was chosen largely because of his falconry expertise and the skills necessary to survive in the wilderness… one of the key suspects believed to be operating in the desert, Muhammad Ibraaheem (Ibby), is also a keen falconer. Joe was in turn promised that the large medical expenses for his daughter following her hospitalisation would be met by the State if he assisted in the way the governor asked. Both men have the same more than scary dream of what is about to happen – a sort of Butch Cassidy stance against overwhelming force.
Joe and Nate (who actually know each other) embark, separately – but ultimately together – on a fast moving and thrilling adventure in the desert. Joe’s daughter, Sheridan, is also in the wasteland – innocently involved in the plot, but also in grave danger. The action is dramatic, a real page turner, and builds to a terrifying and violent conclusion.
In one sense the plot is far fetched, but in another it is quite believable. The weapon the terrorists are planning to use (an EMP – no more for fear of a spoiler…) is truly frightening in its implications. The scheduled impact, as Nate says, was more major than 9/11.
Off The Grid is a real treat for TripFiction readers. The glorious wildlife and natural beauty of Wyoming (the smallest US State in population terms) come through loud and clear – from tracking a grizzly bear in the Bighorn National Forest to the initially desolate, but ultimately teeming with life, Red Desert. Chuck is a proud inhabitant of Wyoming and his love of the State is quite apparent – he is also a member of the Tourist Board. All the locations in the book ring true.
I guess that after 16 books in the series, you might expect another Joe Pickett thriller to be a little tired and formulaic – but Off The Grid is absolutely not. It is a great read for anyone who loves a really good thriller written by a master of the art.
Tony for the TripFiction team
And now over to our questions to Chuck…
TF: Off The Grid is the 16th book in the Joe Pickett series. How do you manage to keep a series fresh and relevant without it becoming perhaps a little tired and formulaic?
CJB: Two reasons, I think and hope. The first is that each book in the series includes a real issue or concern beyond who-done-it. In Off The Grid it’s domestic terrorism as well as a runaway grizzly that’s been stalking hunters. Additionally, since the books take place in real time Joe Pickett, Nate, Marybeth, and family age and change.
TF: In addition to the 16 Joe Pickett books you have also written 4 stand alone novels. Which do you find easier to write / more satisfying?
CJB: They’re both satisfying. The stand-alones allow me to explore territory (both literally and figuratively) that simply wouldn’t work in the Joe Pickett series. But it’s always a pleasure to return to Wyoming in the series.
TF: The location in which a book is set is absolutely key to TripFiction. You clearly love Wyoming, its wildlife, and its countryside. Given your role with the Wyoming Office of Tourism Board, do you feel that your books are in some ways ambassadors for the State?
CJB: I wonder about that and sometimes it makes me laugh because I depict Wyoming and its weather and landscape as realistically harsh and unrelenting. If anything, I think many readers would want to steer clear. But I do know there are people who have moved to Wyoming because they read the books, and plenty of visitors. I hear from them quite a lot.
TF: The 9,000 square miles of the Red Desert sound to be a quite amazing location – desolate and yet teeming with wildlife. Adobe Town, in particular, seems especially awe inspiring. Is the Desert an area that you personally know well – or did you depend on research for your descriptions?
CJB: I’ve toured and trekked through the Red Desert in the past. I’ve seen the wild horse herds and desert elk. It’s a vast and rough place and except for some energy production as lonely as described in the book. But I’d advise visitors not to go there without a very good map or GPS system and plenty of time on their hands.
TF: You express a great and precise knowledge of both small arms and falconry in Off The Grid. Is it reasonable to assume that you are a practitioner of hunting with both?
CJB: Like most residents of the Mountain West, I grew up hunting and fishing. It’s part of the culture and doesn’t have a stigma attached like in some parts of the world. As long as the sportsman uses the meat (or fish) it’s perfectly acceptable. I’m not a trophy hunter and if forced to make a choice I’d choose fly-fishing over just about anything else. Falconry I learned from a friend who is a master falconer. I’ve hunted with him and others.
TF: How much do you plan your books ahead of starting to write? Do you have a detailed plot in your head – or do you let the characters you create have a degree of free rein and see in which direction they go?
CJB: I do the research on the topics I’m going to cover and then do a detailed outline from Chapter One through the conclusion. That’s not to say things don’t change during the writing or that the ending turns out to be vastly different than originally planned.
TF: In many ways the story line of Off The Grid seems a little ‘far fetched’ – a Jihadi plot based in Wyoming (but none the worse for that…). Is it your experience that US Intelligence believes that such plots could be hatched more or less anywhere in the continental US?
CJB: FBI Director James Comey has stated on multiple occasions that the agency is investigating active terrorism plots in all fifty states, including Wyoming. So it isn’t as far-fetched as it may sound at first.
TF: Book Covers are a subject of particular interest to TripFiction. The cover of the UK edition of Off The Grid is quite different to the US one. Is this something in which you, as the author, get involved – or are you happy to leave it to the local publisher and his graphic design team?
CJB: I trust the judgment of the publishers to design the best cover for their readers.
TF: I guess you must write at least one book per year. How do you manage to organise such a punishing schedule? Do you allocate fixed amounts of time to writing each day? Do you have periods away from writing?
CJB: I go to work every morning like everyone else. My goal is to achieve a particular word count as opposed to how many hours it takes to get there. Because there is so much travel in my schedule I don’t take much time off when not writing.
TF: Who are your favourite authors?
CJB: I’m a huge fan of Thomas McGuane, the late Jim Harrison, Cormac McCarthy, Flannery O’Connor, and too many biographers and historians to list here. In the genre I never miss books by Michael Connelly, Denise Mina, John Sandford, and George Pelecanos.
TF: What, if you can tell us, are you currently working on? Is it another Joe Pickett or a stand alone?
CJB: I just completed the first draft of the next stand-alone. It’s the Cassie Dewell vs. The Lizard King book and it may be as creepy as The Highway. Now I’m working on the next Joe Pickett novel called Vicious Circle.
A big thank you to Chuck for answering our questions so fully…
Catch up with the author on Twitter, Facebook, and via his website
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