Article and Interview by Elise Cooper
A new series by Susan May Warren takes place in Alaska with the characters as rescue workers and law enforcement.
One Last Shot has country music star Oaken Fox joining a survivalist adventure show in the Alaskan wilderness to boost his fan base. But when tragedy strikes and Air One Rescue must save them, Oaken wants to quit. His producer decides to change the premise, signing him on with Air One Rescue as a recruit and making a reality show. EMT of Air One Rescue, Boo Kingston is tasked to train this celebrity. After five women go missing from a resort during a bachelorette weekend gone wrong, the Air One Rescue team will have to use all their skills and manpower—including Oaken—to find them before a blizzard settles in.
In One Last Chance the plot begins with Axel Mulligan going into the icy waters of the Bering Sea, trying to rescue a cruise group of tourists. But for the voice on the other end of the Ham radio, he might have given up, letting hypothermia win. She uses banter, pleading, and encouragement to keep him focused on rescuing himself.
The voice is Flynn Turnquist, a detective who tracks down serial killers. And she’s close enough to see his handiwork in the trail of bodies. She is afraid one of the killer’s victims is her sister Kennedy, who disappeared a few years ago. She and Axel work together to search for Kennedy and to find answers about what really happened.
Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for the series?
Susan May Warren: I wanted to write about a rescue team in Alaska. I created a team in a previous book, Sky King Rescue, to rescue a character. This is how I came up with this team. One Last Shot, the first book in the series, came about from the reality TV I watch. I wondered what happens to these everyday people who found themselves in the limelight but have left the big screen. I also like how rescue plays into the story, literally and figuratively. The heroine was a rescue worker but both she and the hero had to rescue their reputation, their dreams, and their souls, as well as they did physical rescues.
EC: Do you like reality TV?
SMW: Yes, especially adventure ones. But I am not a massive reality TV person. I am a total rescue TV show junkie. I am currently binge watching the show Trapper. I think I will write an upcoming book with a character who will be a trapper.
EC: What about the setting of Alaska?
SMW: My son Peter was born there, and we lived there for a time. I am enthralled with this setting. I did have some stories set here with my earlier books. It is an extremely wild and remote place. The terrain and the river in this story were like an antagonist. People have moose in their backyards. We have a good friend, Duane King, who is a Bush Pilot there and gives me information for my stories.
EC: How would you describe the hero, Oaken Fox in One Last Shot?
SMW: In another book, Flashpoint, Fox was a country music singer who wrote a soundtrack for a movie. Then I decided to put him in my rescue book. I am a total country music junkie. He is pampered, a want to be survivalist. Imagine the country music singer Brett Young. Oaken’s sister died after having a fight with him. His career came about after replacing his sister who was also a country music star.
EC: How would you describe the heroine, Boo Kingston, of One Last Shot?
SMW: I made her a reality TV star and described why she was called Boo. Her reputation was damaged on social media. She likes to improvise, is adaptable, spider-man type skills, brave, calm, fierce, and fearless. A loner with secrets. She feels betrayed by the reality show stuff. She is no-nonsense. She takes her privacy seriously. Because she is an ex-Marine, she has those skills of let’s get the job done, with a sense of loyalty and teamwork.
EC: What about the relationship?
SMW: She is guarded and cautious about it. They grow into deciding they want to watch each other’s back but do have trust issues. Oaken is sunshine, while Boo is grumpy. I had him learn about her secret early in the story. She is more protective of him. They find themselves working together.
EC: What about the second book in the series, One Last Chance?
SMW: I was watching a You-Tube video about the Coast Guard, and how the people on the ship were trying to survive after it went down. Someone had said ‘had it not been for the voice on the radio, I would have given up.” I wanted to write that scene of how someone encouraging and believing in the person could keep them alive. I wanted to try to figure out how the hero’s boat went underwater but he survived. Plus, I added a serial killer as part of the story.
EC: How would you describe the heroine in the story, Flynn Turnquist?
SMW: She comes to Alaska to find her missing sister, Kennedy. She is a detective who hunts serial killers. She feels trapped and is obsessed in finding out what happened to her sister. She is super driven. She is angry, focused, and meticulous because she is searching for answers. She is much more of a lone wolf.
EC: How would describe the hero, Axel?
SMW: He is happy-go-lucky and easy going. He is a team player. He is also responsible, funny, kind, and charming. He wants closure to find out what happened to his cousin.
EC: What about the relationship and how does the Titanic movie come into play?
SMW: She helps keep him focused. She is guarded. Both are driven by justice and redemption. The question in my mind, would Jack and Rose from Titanic really have made it with the obstacles set aside? In Flynn’s mind she is wondering if she, like Rose, is just sucked into a relationship versus a “real” long-lasting one.
EC: Kennedy versus her sister Flynn?
SMW: Kennedy had taken alcohol and drugs. She is a free spirit, selfishly independent. She has been described as the light with Flynn the darkness.
EC: Next books?
SMW: The third book in this series, One Last Promise, releases in August of this year featuring Moose and Tillie. The last book in the series, One Last Stand releases in October of this year will feature Shep and London, who has a secret identity.
I will also be writing books that will come out in 2025 about the Minnesota Kingstons, Boo’s family. There will be heists and prison breaks. It will start out with the wedding of Boo and Oaken.
There will also be a three-book series titled Call of the Wild, a K-9 branch out in 2026. This series will be about tracking people. Axel’s brother, Moose, will be featured.
EC: THANK YOU!!
