Blood Fortune follows five individuals who discover a 500-year-old treasure in a West Texas cave putting their lives in grave danger. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

It started with the thought of Aztec gold. I liked the idea that if the Spanish never found much gold, maybe it was because it had already been moved. The Aztec storyline was originally just intended to be the opening chapter of the book. It flowed so easily, and I really enjoyed writing it, so I ending up going with the dual timelines.

Your novel is a genre-crossing with elements of Science Fiction, Historical Fiction, suspense, and adventure as well. Did you start writing with this in mind, or did this happen organically as you were writing?

I didn’t start with it in mind. I was inexperienced, and didn’t know any better! I was planning more of an action story. Then it needed the historical fiction elements with the Aztecs. I was pretty far into a draft, when I realized it would be more exciting if the second timeline was in the future. The odds of finding the gold with no consequences seemed to drop significantly in the future that I described. This opened up a lot of Science Fiction possibilities. It was my first book, and I didn’t know how difficult crossing genres could be.

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

I suppose that the Aztec’s complete devotion to a cause, was an important one for me. Time marches forward, no matter who you are. No matter when you are. They took something to protect, something so important to their people. This did take much more research than I had any idea that it would, but it was well worth it.

Is this the first book in the series? If so, when is the next book coming out and what can your fans expect in the next story?

My next book follows a few of the characters from Blood Fortune in the years that follow. I wouldn’t say that it’s a direct sequel, but it would be considered the next in a series. I’m planning to launch the next book in May, 2024.

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