Chase The Light
National Park Summer Series Book 2
Suzanne Woods Fisher
Revell Pub
May 2025
Chase The Light by Suzanne Woods Fisher intertwines romance with some mystery, treasure hunting, and adventure.
Acadia National Park ranger Scout Johnson has wanted to work in Acadia National Park for years, especially to escape her meddling mother. But along with the opportunity comes the responsibility of supervising Frankie, a 19-year-old intern. When he accidentally leaves her stranded on an island, Scout discovers old papers hidden in a lighthouse detailing a centuries-old shipwreck and missing gold. The cryptic message points to a forgotten shipwreck, a vanished treasure, and a lighthouse keeper’s suspicious death. Seeking answers, she gets her supervisor’s blessing to team up with Naki Dana, a representative of the Penobscot Nation. He helps her to decipher clues leading to the hidden gold caches. As they work together, Scout finds herself falling for the handsome, mysterious man, though opening her heart may be the bigger challenge.
Journalist Chase Fletcher is also searching for the treasure. He is desperate to save his family’s generational local newspaper from bankruptcy, and the treasure hunt story could be the scoop needed. Chase negotiates a spot on Naki and Scout’s investigative team in return for delaying the story’s publication.
There is a brewing love triangle, where Chase seems convinced that Scout is interested in him. Yet, Scout seems to have eyes for Naki. Readers wonder if Chase is competing with Naki for Scout’s interest, rather than really being interested in her.
This story is complex, realistic, and has relatable characters. A bonus is Naki explaining to Scout about the park’s Native American history that helps to give emotional depth to the storyline.
Elise Cooper: Idea for the story?
Suzanne Woods Fisher: I was part of a library event and the librarian mentioned that everybody loved shipwrecks. I knew I wanted to set a novel in Maine, which is famous for shipwrecks along its rocky coast. And that was the spark.
EC: Why Arcadia National Park setting?
SWF: Acadia National Park is one of the main characters in this story. I chose this park for its remarkable diversity: ocean, forests, granite cliffs, the charming town of Bar Harbor. That variety gave me so much to work with, because treasure from a shipwreck is hidden in caches throughout the park, and Scout is racing to find them before the public gets wind of it. Fourth of July weekend is bearing down on her, which means crowds, chaos, and a ticking clock. Every corner of the park becomes a clue, a hiding place, an obstacle. By the time you finish the book, you’ll feel like you know Acadia, whether you’ve ever been there or not.
EC: What role does the lighthouse play in the story? I
SWF: t’s the source of all the trouble that unfolds in this shipwreck story. The keeper, especially.
EC: There is hidden treasure, but who would you consider the pirate in the story? T
SWF: This is a tough one to answer without giving too much away! What I can say is that the person who complicates Scout’s life isn’t a true pirate—at least not at first. He loves his work deeply, and the legacy he’s inherited. In many ways, he and Scout are alike. But where Scout’s devotion to her work is about protecting the park for visitors, his is about something else entirely.
EC: What is the theme in the story?
SWF: There are obvious themes, like second chances forgiveness, redemption. But there’s another more subtle theme—about how to respond to choices that have been made for you by others (like Scout’s parents, for example. Or Chase trying to keep his family newspaper from going under, for another).
EC: Ranger Tim Rivers, Frankie and Maisie are from Capture the Moment why did you bring them back and what role do they play in the story?
SWF: They are the supporting cast to these novels! They add lightheartedness, continuity and, at least from Tim Rivers, some wisdom.
EC: How would you describe Scout Johnson and why the name Scout for a girl?
SWF: Oh, you must meet Scout’s Southern mama! Her mother is constantly trying to matchmake, pushing men who check all the right boxes on her list: Southern, well-educated, professional, with a family legacy she approves of. Scout wants no part of it. She’s looking for butterflies, for someone who makes her genuinely happy and who puts her first, something her father never did. But here’s where it gets complicated: when Scout finally meets someone who gives her those butterflies, she still catches herself wondering whether she can bring him home to her mother. She can’t fully escape that voice, no matter how hard she tries. And that dichotomy describes Ranger Scout Johnson—she’s earnest, loyal, dedicated to the NPS…and she’s always got a pink ribbon in her hair.
EC: Did divorce and abandonment play an important role?
SWF: When Scout Johnson’s parents split up, her mother told her that her father had divorced them both. Scout, then fifteen years old, had no reason not to believe it. The evidence spoke for itself: the dad she adored, who gave her the nickname Scout (her mother named her Magnolia Pearl, a name she refuses to answer to), who handed her a pair of hiking boots and introduced her to Acadia National Park, who shaped everything she loved about life, simply left his family and never looked back.
EC: How would you describe Naki Dana?
SWF: Naki is a Penobscot policy maker, the son of a chief, a Harvard-trained lawyer standing at least six foot six and deeply committed to helping his people reach their potential. Some call him swoon worthy. He’s also rather smitten by Ranger Scout Johnson.
EC: Do you think that he represents how people should be culturally aware and share traditions?
SWF: I took Naki’s role as a Native American very seriously, wrote him carefully, and made the deliberate choice never to put the reader inside his point of view. My editor loved the story but wisely suggested sending the manuscript to a sensitivity reader, just to make sure I had represented him and his culture with the respect they deserved. When it came back, there were only a few small changes to make. That meant the world to me. So yes, I think Naki’s character does point out the importance of being culturally aware and sensitive.
EC: How would you describe Chase Fletcher?
SWF: Now this is the man whom Scout’s mama would approve of for her only daughter. His only flaw is that he’s a Mainer, not a Southerner. Handsome, well educated, a good pedigree. What’s not to like?
EC: Is there a love triangle in the story and what is the relationship between each of the characters?
SWF: Let’s just say…Naki and Chase are both chasing Scout. She’s…not so sure about either man.
EC: Next books?
SWF: Coming in October, a final book about Dok Stoltzfus, doctor to the Amish, called “A Plain Confession.” And after that comes the third book in the National Parks Summers series. No title or cover yet, but I will let you in on a secret: It’s set in Yosemite National Park!
THANK YOU!!!
