The good news is Wyoming author C.J. Box didn’t explode in a barbecue accident earlier this summer.
The bad news is he did suffer third degree burns following the barbecue incident but he’s mostly recovered.
Box told Cowboy State Daily that the mishap occurred right after hosting some friends on a “fishing float” in June and they were making dinner.
“They (over) filled an aluminum roaster pan with ribs and liquid and when we went to take it off the grill it poured all over my right foot, resulting in 3rd degree burns,” Box said.
Following two surgeries and multiple visits to the Burn Unit at the CU/Anschutz Hospital in Denver, Box said he’s back on his feet and “all but fully recovered.”
Box said he had been unable to fish, golf or enjoy outdoor activities during the recovery period, which is a tough sentence in Wyoming’s short summers.
But what he could do is write. And write he did.
“In the meanwhile, I worked on the next Joe Pickett book called STORM WATCH. It’s a doozy. Yesterday, I wrote the best two words a novelist can ever write: THE END,” he announced on Twitter.
Box said the book, his 23rd Joe Picket novel, will take place during a series of spring blizzards and will involve a murder, a cover-up, shed hunting, and a rogue group of instigators.
The book will be out in March, 2023, he said.
Good news for Box fans who don’t want to wait that long. His book “Treasure State” will be released on September 27 and has already received rave reviews.
For those who are planning on joining the author at his annual Joe Pickett trivia contest, that’s still on. That’s planned for August 26 in Saratoga.
