C.J. Box At The Crossroads: Joe Pickett's Daughters Take the Lead

In this episode of Writing the West, we’re joined by bestselling author C.J. Box to talk about The Crossroads — the 26th Joe Pickett novel, and one of the boldest turns the series has taken yet. Box shares what inspired a new “book of threes” structure, why he wanted the Pickett daughters driving the action, and how real-world pressures reshaping the modern Mountain West continue to fuel his fiction. Plus, don’t miss our print exclusive: Cowboys & Indians’ February/March 2026 issue features an exclusive excerpt of Chapter One of The Crossroads — a first look readers can only get in the magazine before the full book release.

Transcript

Cowboys & Indians: You've been busy, obviously, in the time since we last spoke. What are you doing today? Are you writing, traveling? Are you spending a lot of time outdoors?

C.J. Box: Oh, right now it's December in Wyoming, so I'm not out doing much other than — my office is located on the top of our horse barn. I walk back and forth every day and kick through the snow to get here today.

C&I: Beautiful country, I'm sure.

Box: It is. It is. It's gorgeous. And it's a good time of year for the wildlife, or if I'm seeing every day. I don't know whether I'll see pronghorn antelope or deer or elk on our place. And that's always fun.

C&I: The last time we spoke, you shared a lot about Wyoming and the way that it inspires your storytelling. Since the 25th book and now into the 26th book with The Crossroads, what stayed constant for you creatively, and what's changed? Anything that's inspired you differently this time?

Box: This time, I really wanted to take a different kind of path with the books. In the past, Joe Pickett has a family. He has three daughters, his wife, Mary Beth. And I've always sort of focused on one of the family members in each book or at least included them. And I thought it was time, and something I wanted to do, and that was to bring them all together — the daughters together in this book — and have them be the drivers of the action as opposed to Joe Pickett. So, it's a totally different tack with this kind of book, and with my series in particular.

C&I: The preview of The Crossroads we get in the February/March issue still opens with Joe, but he is in a little different scenario than we usually find him. His pickup is riddled with bullet holes. He's fighting for his life. And it's such a different mode to put Joe in such a vulnerable position. What led you to want to start with that for The Crossroads?

Box: Part of it was just the motivation of, “how do we get the girls to come together from their three independent adult lives now, other than a Thanksgiving holiday?” And the one thing that would make them come together, and does make them come together, is when Joe is found injured. And he's airlifted to a hospital in Montana and put into a coma, a drug-induced coma. So, he is kind of out of the picture. And the three daughters decide that they're going to try to figure out if they can solve the crime and figure out who targeted their father. So wholly different thing. Even Mary Beth is pretty much out of the picture because she's in the hospital for the entire book.

C&I: Did you always know it would open that way, or is that something that evolved as you started writing?

Box: It's something I've been thinking about for a few years now, is a very traumatic kind of injury to our protagonist, which not only is he going to make it — and then the added feature is, if he makes it, is he going to be the same person? Because a brain injury often alters someone's personality and traits. And I was able to... I had read a book just prior to starting this one called Gray Matters by a neurosurgeon named Theodore Schwartz, and it was fascinating. And he has some stories in there of personality changes and that kind of thing. And I was able to consult with him as I wrote this book to make sure I got those things right and to include them.

C&I: And like you said, this investigation kind of falls to the daughters, and obviously Mary Beth in a certain way. And fans obviously get so attached to these supporting characters when you've done 26 books. And what excited you about shifting a lot of that narrative away from Joe and on to his wife and daughters?

Box: Two things. One was the structure of the book is kind of complex. Hopefully it's not the kind of thing where a reader will be confused or anything. I don't think so at all. But in building it, it was complex in that the three daughters... The book is the threes. I should have called it the book of threes. Joe is found at a crossroads that the roads lead to three different ranches, and he was obviously headed to one of them when he was ambushed. So, the suspects — there's three suspects, three suspect ranches with very crazy characters on each one. All of them have motive. Then there's the three daughters as well. And they decide that to investigate this, they're going to split up, with each daughter going to a different ranch simultaneously. So, nobody can tip off anyone else. So, they conduct their investigations in their own way.

Their personalities are different. They ask different questions; they observe different things. So, while they're doing that, there's some flashbacks to Joe Pickett leading up to the ambush. And so, the girls discover the bad guy, and he discovers the bad guy at the same time.

C&I: Last time we spoke, you talked about how your own family has some influence, obviously, in some of these characters. And how much did you return to the well of your own life in trying to put yourself in the mindset of these daughters?

Box: Well, if you've got daughters, that means you do a lot of listening. Sometimes not too much talking. So, I did draw back on when all three daughters were still at home and their personality and their interactions. But the three daughters in the books are not my three daughters. I take different traits from all of them. All three of my daughters think that Sheridan, the oldest daughter, is based on them. So, I was able to use that and the interaction stuff, and sometimes the wrestling and the fighting and that kind of thing. And that was fun to write. I really enjoy writing about the family.

C&I: What's most exciting, too, if you have daughters is obviously when all three are together. Is there a point in this book where we get to see that in action?

Box: Absolutely. Right off the bat. They all converge at the family home, even though Joe and Mary Beth are not there. And that's where they start plotting out how they're going to do their own investigation. And then they split up, and then they reunite to share notes. And each of them is convinced that the ranchers that they talked to did it.

C&I: Right. Well, and I couldn't help but wonder, especially in the opening of this book, which our readers will get to see an exclusive excerpt from. With the title of the book being The Crossroads, obviously, like you said, Joe's found at these literal crossroads, but how much of that did you try to play into the thematic side, whether it be a crossroads for Joe, his family?

Box: Well, I certainly kept that in mind. The whole crossroads idea —  I mean, is Joe going to cross over in this book, and what's going to happen? I kept that in mind, but I never think about big themes like that. And I'm trying to say this, and I just write the book.

C&I: And when you go through that craft of writing the story, is there a point in time where you say, "This is going to be a good Joe Pickett novel," or maybe it needs to be a standalone or an entirely different project?

Box: That's usually at the very beginning. I've never gotten into a book at length and said, "This can't be a Joe Pickett book." My process is always to start with the issues or the plot devices first, research them, and then do an outline. So, the books I've written that are not in the Joe Pickett, it was obvious because of the subject matter or the place that they would not be a Joe Pickett book.

C&I: Well, and as you just alluded to, we've talked extensively before about your process, and in terms of that central issue — often a real-world issue in your area — the research, obviously, the outlining. How did that process play out for The Crossroads?

Box: A little bit differently because, again, back to the book of threes, there are three different devices, each associated with a ranch, on why they may want to have shot up Joe Pickett. And each of those are real-world themes or plots — things that are happening right now in the West. And so, in a sense, it's three books, too.

C&I: And I was going to ask, too — you’re so involved with your fans and out on book tour. Do you see that result of what you're putting in your stories as these real-world issues? Do fans notice that, and do they appreciate that you're bringing light to a lot of these issues?

Box: They certainly do. I mean, and I love that kind of feedback. It always amazes me when I write about something —  an issue or something that's, I think, kind of obscure or very local —  to find out that same issue is happening in other parts of the country or outside of the country even. Maybe with different creatures or different subject, but basically the same thing. I try to write about tip-of-the-spear, cutting-edge issues in all of the books and find how they apply all over the place.

C&I: And one thing that really interests me, too, about these long-running series like Joe Pickett or Longmire or the Tony Hillerman series is about aging your characters. Twenty-five years in, how do you keep these characters going? And Joe ages, albeit slowly, and his daughters obviously evolve in their own ways — how do you balance that with your storytelling?

Box: I start out every book figuring out, is this a year from the last one, three months, four months? So, I do a little sheet of all the characters, their ages, and where they were in the last book and where they are now. Most of the books have been annual — a year, fall to fall — because that's when hunting seasons are, and Joe Pickett's a game warden. But some of them are just a few months from the last one. So, I kind of plot out the characters’ lives, where they're at  —  is the youngest one still in college, that kind of stuff — and then go from there. And it does keep the series fresh for me because, obviously, not only Joe and Mary Beth, but the girls are now all doing their own things, too. And that makes it interesting for me to make that little change-up each time.

C&I: As you mentioned, too, with these real-world issues — from energy and land use, crypto mines we talked about before — what are you seeing in terms of the Mountain West and your area in Wyoming? Just in terms of how people are dealing with these, how important is storytelling like what you're doing and some of the other authors? And we've even seen this come to light with some of these new TV series that are coming out. What have you seen as the impact from some of these forms of entertainment?

Box: In a state like mine — and I'd say the entire Mountain West now — I mean, it's happening pretty fast: an influx of new residents, new population, people moving from other places, but also kind of a gold rush going on when it comes to rare earth minerals and mining and discoveries. And also, the energy sector has ramped back up, whereas for years it was kind of in the doldrums. So, it is very much a go-go place now, and it's happened pretty quickly. The big difference for us — also data centers. They're being built in places that are cold, like Wyoming, because the biggest issue with those is keeping them cool. So, there are huge, huge data centers going in. So, it's sort of changing the whole economic landscape and cultural landscape to some degree.

C&I: Do you ever feel any sort of pressure to write about any issues, or is it mostly for you about what's going to tell that story the best?

Box: I don't feel pressure. No. It is more about what's going to... I usually start with the issue and then build the story around it. And then the way I always think about it is, let's just say data centers: how can I pull a reader through this issue in a page-turning way that’s not just about building a data center? So, I start with that and then build through it.

C&I: Well, and one thing that is going to hit readers, especially after chapter one, is not only are we looking at this through the lens of different characters, but each of them are a little bit different in terms of their moral complexity, their skills. Joe — he's stubborn, but he's got such a sense of integrity. And how much of that was a challenge for you in writing this story from these characters' perspectives?

Box: It wasn't that much of a challenge because those traits have been — especially with the daughters — have been explored and expanded throughout the series. This is kind of the culmination of all of that. So, we know who they are. They're just more so in this one. And the youngest daughter kind of flowers in this book because, like I think real family dynamics, the older kids tend to think of the baby of the family as always being the baby of the family who will never mature. And the older daughters in this book see the youngest one actually come into her own.

C&I: After finishing The Crossroads, any thoughts on potentially branching out with the daughters or Mary Beth or anything, or are you strictly a Joe Pickett author?

Box: Well, I don't know if I like that idea. What I like to do instead is just turn over some books to other characters with Joe in the background to some degree. And I've been doing that for years. Sometimes Nate Romanowski steps up to be the main driver. Sometimes it's Mary Beth. Sometimes it's one of the girls. This is the first time it's been all three.

C&I: What I found so interesting, as you talked about the three crossroads here with three daughters, each of them kind of put in their own unique scenario here. How did you match the girls — and without giving anything away — with these different families that all have a reason to target Joe in some way?

Box: That's actually a decision made by the daughters. Oh, okay. The crazy sisters who run one ranch — they're going to send April, the craziest of the three daughters. The more cerebral and mysterious one goes to the oldest daughter, Sheridan, and the sophisticated out-of-state landowners who like to travel internationally go to the youngest one because she's just returned from a study abroad program. So, they decide which ones I think will work best.

C&I: And I'm sure this opened up such a Pandora's box for you to explore some other parts of these characters, which I'm sure throughout the years fans have clamored for or asked questions about. And how much do you enjoy that kind of almost fact-finding or characterization for these different characters?

Box: Well, I love it. I mean, that's the heart of every book — is the characters and their motivations and where they go. I don't ever want to say the plot's not important because, of course, it is. It's the driver. But I like the idea of people coming away with the books knowing more about the characters than they did going in and thinking about that — that's what the book is about.

C&I: And going back to the pressure idea, because I think that in another way it's just great expectations, obviously, from fans who have come to know and love your series. Did you ever worry for a second about, "Uh-oh, I'm not putting Joe Pickett front and center," and how will fans react to that?

Box: A little bit. I think about those things, but at the same time, I know I'm going to write another book. This will be resolved.

C&I: Okay. So, fans don't need to worry.

Box: They don't need... For example, the current book — what I'm writing right now — as opposed to The Crossroads, which will soon come out, I thought this one we will isolate Joe in a different part of the state where it's all Joe. And so that's kind of the remedy for people who might think that.

C&I: That's right. That's right. Well, and even from your last book, which we mentioned, and obviously with The Crossroads, a ton of new readers or new fans, I guess, have found Joe through, obviously, the streaming of the Joe Pickett series that was out. And we've talked at length about that before and how it's helped to build that audience for your series. How has that series influenced, if at all, how you go about writing future books?

Box: I have to say not at all. I mean, I think they did a good job with the casting, and they certainly drew on the earlier books and the seasons of them, but those books were already done. And I never think of actors when I'm writing, ever, and never have, never will. It's just a totally different thing — totally entertainment business, very collaborative. Whole different structure. It's so different from me just sitting on top of my barn working on a book, as opposed to being in the middle of a bunch of people all running around with lights and microphones and all of that. So, I don't let that affect me in any way.

C&I: As your fans have seen, you can pack so much more into your books. Have you had fans that came and told you, "I came from the TV series and I've found your books?" And what's the reaction been?

Box: Absolutely. That's one thing — I think I give people a lot more credit than sometimes they do in entertainment. What I have found — yes, the answer is yes — there's always probably 20% of every crowd that comes to a book signing now found the books through either Big Sky on ABC or Joe Pickett. They started with that and then they thought, where does this come from? What's the source material? So, they seek it out. And I don't know how many times the last couple of years I've talked to people who saw the series and have read all of the books to date because of that. And even if the series — and even if some of the episodes are goofy — there's always a little kernel of something in there that will interest somebody enough to try to figure out what the source material was, and they'll go find the books.

C&I: Well, and I'm sure they're overjoyed to know there's even more coming.

Box: More stories. Well, I hope so.

C&I: I wanted to talk for a second since we're on fans. Any thoughts or plans for a book tour after The Crossroads is released?

Box: Yep. It's being put together right now. It'll be nationwide. And last year's tour was unbelievable to me because there were several venues where there were over 1,500 people to come to a book signing. I couldn't believe it. In fact, some of the crowds were just limited by the space that they had. So, I'm kind of guessing that's going to be the case this year. And then later in March — after the book tour itself — I'll go to the Tucson Festival of Books, which is a great one for me because there's so many westerners and western readers that go to that.

C&I: And that begs the point: not only through this podcast, but I'm sure through your book tours and all of these book festivals, it's amazing to me how much new content is being put out about the West by western authors, and all of them so different. What are some of the things you're reading? What are some of the things you're seeing in western literature that give you hope that books aren't dead yet?

Box: Well, I think the biggest thing — the biggest change I've seen over the last maybe 10 years or so — I think it used to be that if the book was set in the West, whether it was contemporary or historical, it was pigeonholed into a western category. It wasn't considered a real book. Whereas I think now it's just simply a location within the mainstream, and the books are treated that way. And that's a great thing because when I first started out, the very first agent I ever had thought I had to write more western. They needed to be modern-day retellings of classic westerns, where now the western part of it is simply the setting and the culture, and it's not set off to itself aside.

C&I: Well, we recently spoke to Louis L'Amour's son, Beau, and he even talked about in the '70s, his father was trying to shirk the western genre because it had become almost inundated with copycats and it became a dirty word in the publishing industry. And like you mentioned, I think that western has almost taken on this new genre itself of being set in the West and not necessarily being what you expect when you open the story. And how much of that as an author has freed you up to explore new topics and ideas?

Box: I think, to answer that — I mean, that's one of the reasons I wrote some of the standalones that are not in the Joe Pickett series, was to kind of go outside of the Joe Pickett universe and set them in different places and have different subjects. But I've never felt constrained. Luckily, the books have been successful. Success means everything in publishing, and if the books are successful, you can do whatever you want.

C&I: Right. And I always love to talk about how when your name gets bigger than the title on the book cover, you know you've done a good job.

Box: And I'm lucky that my name is so short, so it can be very big.

C&I: Now, without spoiling anything, and I know we don't really know what happens or how Joe changes in The Crossroads, does this mark a directional shift at all, and what can we expect as we move forward in the series?

Box: One of the things I've tried to do — and I'll continue to do, and it will happen here — is I do try to address real... I mean, some series, the protagonist gets shot five times and the next book it's not even mentioned. He's just fine. There will be some aftereffects, and I'm writing that book now, but I don't want to give away what they are.

C&I: Well, of course not. You’ve got to come back to the podcast to give us those details. And speaking of book 27, you mentioned it a couple of times. It doesn't seem like you've taken too much of a breather between 26 and 27. One, how do you balance leaving one project, going to another, but also with book tours, book festivals, and obviously I'm sure you've got a family who'd like to see you between all of that?

Box: I am pretty disciplined as a writer. I try to get most of the book, if not all of it, done during the winter months when I'm home, when there's not a lot to do outside, so that I can take the summers off somewhat to fish and golf and do other grandkid things, and then dive back into it as the weather starts to turn. That's my work pattern.

C&I: Have you encountered recently any sort of block or anything? And if you did, how do you overcome that?

Box: I have never had writer's block. I kind of don't believe in it. I mean, I think you power your way through. I always think, does a plumber have plumber's block? They just don't feel like going to work that day. They probably don't. There are days, but they have to go. So that's what you do.

C&I: You mentioned also your standalone novels. We know you're working on the next Joe Pickett book. Are there any other non-Pickett projects simmering? And I know to revisit maybe Cassie or other characters as you've done before.

Box: There is. I'm about halfway through a — I don't want to say young adult novel, but a novel for 12- to 14-year-old kids about the West, about the Mountain Man era. It's a passion project. I don't even know if I'll ever finish it or if it'll be published, but I'm really enjoying it. I had to set it aside to then dive into the next Joe Pickett book.

C&I: Right. And I think that's a great generation. I'm a former teacher myself — high school. That 12 to 15, 16 is such a vital time to either give up reading altogether or to start a lifelong passion. How many young people have you seen at your fan engagement events, and why is that age an important age for you for that book?

Box: Well, I see a number of them. But here's the thing: there were a couple of big articles last year — one in The Wall Street Journal, one in The New York Times — about the fact that young men don't read anymore. They spend all their time on screens or not reading. And the exception to that in both articles — they reached out to me because the publishers and other people said his demographic includes a large contingent of younger men. Fishing guides, hunting guides, outdoor guides — they're listening to the books maybe, not reading them page by page. But that's true. And I see them at every signing, which says to me, men will read if they can find something that they like, that isn't the standard thing in the bookshelf. And I think boys will read, just like I did, if they can find things that appeal to them. So, this is kind of what I'm thinking about with this other book.

C&I: It kind of reminds me of Gary Paulsen and his series of Hatchet stories, and where they can really see themselves in those stories. And you mentioned a passion project. What about that has been a passion for you with that Mountain Man?

Box: I've always been fascinated with that era. And I can't say I've read every book, but every book I could ever find about that era, I've really gotten into. And part of it — because it takes place, most of it takes place where I live now, but also just that era is not explored that heavily in fiction.

C&I: Right. I think we saw The Revenant had its shining star and then nothing again. And I'm sure that's also a hard genre. It's kind of like the traditional western — it had its heyday and now it's a little bit more difficult. Has that played into it at all for you?

Box: Not so much, because I've always wanted to do this. And like I said, I don't even know if I'll finish it, but I'm enjoying the first half.

C&I: That's right. Well, in the meantime, there's a few others we could read until we get your version. So just to close: when readers finish The Crossroads, what feeling do you hope stays with them until book 27?

Box: Without doing any spoilers, I think that the feeling I want is that they know a lot more about Joe Pickett's family and the daughters than they ever did before, because now they're three very fully realized independent women with very interesting stories of their own.

C&I: And that's something we've seen again and again here in the last few years in western fiction, and we're eager to see how the Pickett girls react to a situation like this. And again, we will have an exclusive preview of the first chapter of The Crossroads in our February/March issue of Cowboys & Indians, which goes on sale January 13th. And I'm sure most people will be eager to pick up the full version of the book when it comes out on February 24th. You said you've got a book tour coming out pretty soon after that in March. And in the meantime, where can folks pre-order the book, and where can they find more info about your tour dates when those —

Box: The books can be pre-ordered, of course, on Amazon and all the online places now. And then, yeah, it'll be February 23rd will be the debut.

C&I: And for your tour dates, where can we find those? Do you have a website people can visit?

Box: www.cjbox.net. They will all be on there.

C&I: CJ, thank you so much again. We could talk about your books forever, and we will — when you get back from book tour and we're on to number 27. But in the meantime, we'll have to wait and enjoy The Crossroads. Thanks for having us.

Box: And thank you, and kudos to you and to Cowboys & Indians for featuring some fiction in a magazine. It hasn't been done in a while. What year is it? Great. Yeah.

C&I: We're eager to have it. Be sure you guys look for that on newsstands and obviously get your pre-order for the book in the meantime. Thanks for having us, CJ.

Box: Thank you.