Cheyenne mystery writer C.J. "Chuck" Box was awarded the 2009 Edgar Award for best novel at the annual Mystery Writers of America gathering April 30 in New York City.Chuck's award-winning novel is "Blue Heaven." It spent four weeks on the extended New York Times bestseller list and has been optioned for film by producers Michael Besman ("About Schmidt") and Cameron Lamb.
"Blue Heaven" has been described by best-selling mystery writer Harlan Coben as "a non-stop thrill-ride…a provocative suspense novel that has you rooting for the characters every step of the way."
You can read an excerpt from the book at Check's web site at http://www.cjbox.net/. Here's a description from the web site:
A twelve-year-old girl and her younger brother go on the run in the woods of North Idaho, pursued by four men they have just watched commit murder—four men who know exactly who William and Annie are, and who know exactly where their desperate mother is waiting for news of her children’s fate. Retired cops from Los Angeles, the killers easily persuade the inexperienced sheriff to let them lead the search for the missing children.
William and Annie’s unexpected savior comes in the form of an old-school rancher teetering on the brink of foreclosure. But as one man against four who will stop at nothing to silence their witnesses, Jess Rawlins needs allies, and he knows that one word to the wrong person could seal the fate of the children or their mother. In a town where most of the ranches like his have turned into acres of ranchettes populated by strangers, finding someone to trust won’t be easy.
Chuck received a 1992 creative writing fellowship from the Wyoming Arts Council. He's the only Edgar Award winner among 23 years of fellowship recipients. For an application for the 2010 creative writing fellowships in poetry, go to http://wyoarts.state.wy.us/IndArtist/PDF/2009cwfellowshipappl.pdf
PHOTO: C.J. Box (guy in the black hat) talks with Mystery Writers of America "Grand Master" awardees Sue Grafton and James Lee Burke at the April 30 MWA award ceremony this past weekend in NYC.
