review1

C. J. Box’s Open Season swept four coveted awards for BEST FIRST NOVEL--the Anthony Award, Macavity Award, Gumshoe Award, and Barry Award – and nailed nominations for the Edgar Award and the L.A. Times Book Prize. As if that weren't enough acclaim for C.J.’s debut novel, Open Season was a New York Times Notable Book of 2001 and for six powerful weeks it was on the L.A. Times bestseller list. Chicagoans were impressed too, Open Season was named one of the ten best mysteries of 2001 by the Chicago Tribune.

Check out C.J.Box’s website to read accolades garnered by his next two books: Savage Run and Winterkill. His fourth book, Trophy Hunt, will be released July, 2004. His website link is posted below the examples.

C.J. Box’s series features Joe Pickett, a Wyoming game warden who will capture your heart. He’s a good person, a family man, who strives to do the right thing. C.J. doesn’t overplay emotion but he writes it well, treats the reader to fresh writing, and shows the reader that all-important nonverbal communication between his characters.

Here are three short examples from Open Season. Sometimes he shows then tells…

“Joe noticed Wacey shift his weight sharply in his saddle, a familiar sign of irritation.”

“Vern bit off the last 3 words with a vehemence that caught Joe completely off-guard and unnerved him.”

“He blew a short, hard breath out through his nose in exasperation.”

He gives the reader 194 words spinning off Sheridan reacting to her mother’s expression. No, he doesn’t empower every facial expression in the book. Most are basic or complex.

Sheridan had noticed an expression on her mother’s face at times when Nate was at their table. It was a look Sheridan had rarely seen before. It was a kind of a glow, the kind of look her mother sometimes had when she and her dad were going out somewhere – dinner or a movie-- at night. The look reminded Sheridan just how attractive her mother was to some men. The expression didn’t last long, and it made Sheridan uncomfortable and want to act out. Sometimes, Sheridan knew, she had acted like a brat at the table when this happened, like picking on Lucy or demanding a second helping of something that was no longer there. She didn’t know why she did this, other than to divert attention. But there was something about the way her mom looked at Nate. Maybe that was why her dad acted so differently when Nate was around. There was something adult going on, Sheridan knew, but she wasn’t sure what it was. But she didn’t want to ask about it, or say anything. She didn’t want to give them a reason to question the propriety of the falconry lessons.

The following excerpts are from another chapter in Trophy Hunt, from game warden Joe Pickett’s point of view. A strong basic example:Joe felt a clutch in his stomach as he saw Missy Vankueran push a screened door open and emerge from the home.

A few lines later: Stimulus:When he looked at the absolute animal desperation Missy exuded behind her eyes as she stood there, Joe fought an urge to ask, Are you really Marybeth’s mother?

Response:Instead, he stepped back from her as if she were radioactive

Here’s an example of complex emotion. C.J. fit four emotional hits (points) in those first 18 words. One is Barnum’s response.

He turned away, closing his eyes tightly and trying to breathe steadily. He heard Barnum snort behind him. “Something the matter, Joe?” Barnum asked.

Here’s a longer passage: C.J. shows with proxemics then deepens the message by telling the reader that Joe didn’t want to walk beside Barnum.

Halfway up the hill, away from the others, Joe noticed that Barnum had stolen a look back at him to see if he was still there. Barnum was slowing down as he climbed, and Joe slowed as well. Not because he was wheezing, like Barnum, but because he didn’t want to walk beside the man. It was that bad between them, Joe thought.

A half-page later:

Barnum stopped suddenly and Joe nearly ran into him. Barnum turned slowly. His face was red. Joe didn’t know if it were from the hike, or anger, or both.

On the next page, notice the FRESH interpretation of what Joe saw in Barnum’s eyes.

Joe and Barnum stared at each other, neither speaking. Joe looked into the eyes of the old man, and it reminded him of half a dozen reasons why Barnum couldn’t be trusted.

“Just stay the hell away, unless you want to bring me the head of that bear.”

Joe paused, not breaking the stare. He spoke softly, “I won’t be staying away, and I won’t be bringing you the head of a bear.”

Joe watched the veins on Barnum’s temples pulse.

C. J. Box is one heck of a talented writer. I appreciate his willingness to share chapters from his not-yet-released book, Trophy Hunt. If you’d like to read about his rocky path to publication, click on the link below for an article I wrote. To learn more about C. J. and his books, visit his website.

Stay Tuned:

I will be featuring New York Times bestseller Lisa Gardner as my Spotlighted Author in April. If you haven’t read Lisa . . . you should.