Blood and Treasure by debut author Ryan Pote
Author Interview + Book & Author Info!
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Blood and Treasure
The destruction of the International Space Station and the discovery of an ancient scroll are inextricably intertwined in this debut crossover thriller from a former Navy helicopter pilot.
The International Space Station suddenly loses contact with Earth. When a NASA tech devises a way to restore the feed, the images that come through are unfathomable: a scene of terrible violence, the crew unresponsive, droplets of blood hovering in zero gravity. But which of the astronauts on board would have done such a thing? And why?
Off the coast of Mozambique, former special ops pilot and current treasure hunter Ethan Cain sees something he can’t believe: an object shot out of the heavens plunging deep into the Indian Ocean. When he goes to investigate, it becomes even less intelligible. A space capsule has crashed into the sea, and inside is a woman—alone, unconscious, and injured. Ethan knows he must save her. What he doesn’t know is who she is, how she got there . . . or why she’s the only survivor of a killing spree conducted 254 miles up in the sky.
Praise for Blood and Treasure
—Mark Greaney, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Midnight Black“A superbly crafted story of action and secrets that is as imaginative as it is compelling. Take a breath, hang on, and enjoy.”
—Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author of The Medici Return“An adrenaline-fueled thriller of the first order, Blood and Treasure blazes with action and intrigue in a harrowing chase for history’s greatest artifact.”
—Dirk Cussler, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Clive Cussler The Corsican Shadow“Blood and Treasure has it all – tactical accuracy, globe-trotting locales, a touch of history, and a hero who’s a mix of Indiana Jones and Jason Bourne – it’s a sure-fire page turner that’ll keep you awake long after bedtime.”
—Brad Taylor, New York Times bestselling author of the Pike Logan Series“Blood and Treasure slams the throttle to the fire wall in this gut-punching, white-knuckled techno-thriller ride in a big adventure that catapults from the cold void of space to the deserts of the ancient prophets. Piloted by several fresh and original characters, Ryan Pote’s debut novel pushes the story’s airframe to its max in a series of rivet-busting plot twists more harrowing than an Immelmann turn in a helicopter. Strap in, hold on, and grit your teeth as you careen toward the sudden impact of the climactic ending.”
—Mike Maden, New York Times bestselling author of Clive Cussler Ghost Soldier
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Interview with Debut Author Ryan Pote
Blood and Treasure starts off with a killing spree in space. How did you come up with that opening event for your debut novel?
I read a lot of Michael Crichton growing up, which heavily influenced this kind of opening. I had this big, bold idea for an opening I’d never seen before—which is always a little writer’s gem—especially these days where it’s harder and harder to come up with something truly new and fresh. When I found the right story, it fit like a missing puzzle piece. I wanted to swing for the fences on the first page and drop the reader into the middle of a mysterious, disastrous situation, and let them learn what was going on along with everyone else. I couldn’t have written this book as my first book; I wasn’t good enough yet. To pull it off, I needed to write the three books before this that failed. They helped me grow into the writer I had to be to write this story the way I envisioned it.
Blood and Treasure features treasure hunter Ethan Cain. What would you like readers to know about him?
He’s not like any character you’ve read before. He is a disabled protagonist. He is the result of my trauma therapist urging me to journal my experiences while working through PTSD. I never wanted to write or be a writer. I couldn’t write about the classified operations and share them in a group setting, so she recommended I fictionalize them, create someone else, but keep the experiences and emotions true. The exercise helped me fight back from the pit of PTSD and gave me a new passion in life—writing. Ethan Cain is the result of my therapy. He is a memorial and a compilation, a remix tape, of me and two other friends. My helicopter was on fire and I very nearly burned to death, along with my entire crew. But I was lucky. My friends weren’t. One died in a V-22 crash in Hawaii and burned to death. Another friend was burned from the neck down in a crash during flight school. He was in body casts for 4 years. His injuries largely inspired Ethan Cain’s.
Blood and Treasure is a thriller. Your “day job” has seen you flying Navy helicopters for a joint interagency special operations task force and working as a scuba diving instructor. How has some of your real-world experiences helped you bring authenticity to your fiction?
It’s the basis of authenticity, period. By leaning into the scenes where I’m an expert (flying, diving, history), I learned to let my fingers fly, so to speak. I use those areas I know a lot about to build that trust with the reader, and it allows me to carefully pull off the magic trick with the things I don’t. Or, to manipulate the reader’s mind, expanding their suspension of disbelief—where needed.
In addition to your more action-filled pursuits, you also have a master’s in history from Ashland University. How does your interest in history fuel your fiction?
My formal training as a historian fuels the research and the plot building. I approach this very much like historical research. My plot is more of a hypothesis. “I’d like to do this.” Then I use targeted research to prove my hypothesis correct, or “make my plot work.” I’m very interested in history so it’s easy for me and fun. I’m always bookmarking things that would fit with a novel. Always. I love to learn about unsolved mysteries of our past. Those are the best to work with for the type of thrillers I write, and they age well, as proven by the late Grandmaster himself, Clive Cussler.
What can we find you doing when you aren’t penning thrillers, flying helicopters, or 100 feet below the surface of the sea?
Adventuring anywhere I can. Being a husband and father. I’m always spending time with my family and curating the next great family adventure.
What are you working on now?
I’m always writing a project. I turned in the second book of the series in February and it’s in production now, with a title (my title again, too, very proud of that). I did some screenwriting for William Morris Endeavor, I just finished an original audio drama, and I’m currently working on another secret project. Stay tuned.
Words of Wisdom for Aspiring Writers:
Don’t let genre define you. “They” say don’t look at the market. In my case, they were wrong—I studied the holes in the market and adapted to it. “They” say you must know where your book fits on the shelf or you’re not ready for a major publishing house like Penguin Random House. Again, they were wrong. If you write cross-genre, write cross-genre. Don’t worry about defining your work just make it the best piece of writing you can and make it your own. If a publisher loves your book, they will figure out how to sell it—that’s what they do. They sell books. I asked my editor Tom Colgan a question when Berkley bought my series. I was sitting in his office in New York, surrounded by military thrillers and spy novels. I said, “My book doesn’t look like any of these books on your shelves…so why did you buy my book?” He said, “Because it wasn’t like all these books.”
Blood and Treasure Author Ryan Pote
Ryan is a twelve-year veteran Navy helicopter pilot and mission commander who was part of a joint interagency special operations task force (JIATF). He did three deployments during Operation MARTILLO countering narcotics smuggling throughout Central and South America.
He was a search and rescue pilot and an instructor. Ryan currently works for the Department of Defense as a federal investigator for prototype aircraft development contracts.
Before the Navy, he lived and worked in Hawaii as a PADI SCUBA Instructor and lab tech researching algal-biofuels for Shell Oil.
Ryan’s been the director of an oil company, a bartender, and even a live musician. He attended college at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and earned a master’s degree in US History and Teaching from Ashland University.
Ryan volunteers his time as a judge for the Clive Cussler Adventure Writer’s Competition. He lives with his wife and two children in Maine.
Follow Ryan’s author journey: Website, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
Elena Hartwell/Elena Taylor
