C. J. Box: Read Across Genres

C. J. Box is the author of 24 Joe Pickett novels, eight stand-alone novels, and a story collection. He has won the Edgar, Anthony, Macavity, Gumshoe, and two Barry awards, as well as the French Prix Calibre .38, the Western Heritage Award for Literature, and two Spur Awards. An avid outdoorsman, Box has hunted, fished, hiked, ridden, and skied throughout Wyoming and the Mountain West. He has been executive producer on shows based on his books, including ABC TV’s Big Sky and Joe Pickett on Paramount+. Follow him on X (Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram.

C. J. Box

Photo by Dave Neligh

In this post, C. J. Box discusses what inspired him to write his new mystery novel, Three-Inch Teeth, his advice for writers, and more!

Name: C. J. Box
Literary agent: Ann Rittenberg
Book title: Three-Inch Teeth
Publisher: Putnam
Release date: February 27, 2024
Genre/category: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Elevator pitch: A rogue grizzly bear has gone on a rampage—killing, among others, the potential fiancée of Joe’s daughter. At the same time, Dallas Cates, who Joe helped lock up years ago, is released from prison with a special list tattooed on his skin. He wants revenge on the people who sent him away: the six people he blames for the deaths of his entire family and the loss of his reputation and property. Using the grizzly attacks as cover, Cates sets out to methodically check off his list. The problem is, both Nate Romanowski and Joe Pickett are on it.

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What prompted you to write this book?

Over the past decade, the number of grizzly bear “encounters” with humans in Wyoming and the Rocky Mountain West has continued to increase. In several chilling instances, bears have attacked without any kind of obvious provocation. Humans like to think of themselves as the ultimate apex predator, but that simply isn’t the case in the mountains anymore.

In several cases, people did all the things they’re “supposed” to do to avoid bear attacks, like hanging food from trees far from their camp, not getting between sows and cubs, and carrying bear spray. But those measures didn’t save them from attack.

In Three-Inch Teeth, I wanted to explore the primal fear grizzly bears invoke in people as well as a couple of human predators that are just as ruthless and unpredictable.

How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?

Since I’m on a book-a-year (and sometimes more) timeline, it usually takes anywhere from seven to nine months from idea to completion. Some novels weirdly seem to write themselves without bouts of angst along the way. This book was one of them.

Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?

The more one learns about grizzlies, the more one becomes both impressed and terrified by them.

I was fortunate to be able to call on the expertise of Wyoming’s leading grizzly bear expert for assistance. This man is the first on the scene when it comes to fatalities in the wild, and he’s learned more about grizzlies than I will ever know. Among the many things I learned:

Grizzles can sprint up to forty miles per hour.The bite force of a grizzly bear is 1,160 pounds per inch. That compares to a hippo at 1,800 psi, an alligator at 2,125 psi, or a human at a measly 162 psi.The best estimates are that there are at least 1,100 grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and at least seven hundred in the State of Wyoming.There have been over 200 confirmed conflicts between grizzly bears and humans annually.Mature male grizzlies tend to have two to four-inch claws and up to three-inch teeth.

Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?

What I learned is that there are some grizzly bear attacks that simply can’t be explained.

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

I hope readers will come away with a greater appreciation for the challenges faced by authorities and locals when it comes to living with and managing large predators in the wild.

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

As crazy as it might sound, I meet a surprising number of fledgling authors who don’t read very widely and can’t really discuss books other than their own. I think one of the secrets of being a novelist who lasts is to read across genres and not be confined to fiction, nonfiction, or other specialty lanes. I’ve learned much more from deconstructing books that moved me than from any writing instructor or writers’ group.

Also, embracing the real world and encountering people from every walk of life (and not just other academics or writers) will help ground the writing and the writer.

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