Ep. 205: Inside the Minnesota Kingstons: Susan May Warren on Faith, Family, and Writing Binge-Worthy Christian Fiction

About This Episode

Inside the Minnesota Kingstons: Susan May Warren on Faith, Family, and Writing Binge-Worthy Christian Fiction

If you have ever started a book series and stayed up until 2 a.m. finishing the whole thing, you know exactly how LiteraryScape’s book club felt about Susan May Warren’s Minnesota Kingstons. In our latest episode, Melissa sat down with Susan — affectionately known as Susie May — for a deep-dive conversation covering all five books in the series. The result? One of the most entertaining and inspiring interviews yet.

A Series Built to Be Binged — Christian Romance Suspense Done Right

One of the first things that comes up in the conversation is just how fast readers fly through these novels. LiteraryScape’s own book club members, including mothers of young children, wrapped the entire five-book series in one to two weeks. That pace is no accident.

Susan is intentional about creating what she calls “bait” between books. She wants readers to care deeply about the next character before their story even begins. The transition from book one, Jack, to book two is a perfect example. By the end of Jack’s story, readers already know enough about Conrad and Penny to feel the pull toward the next chapter.

“I really tried to write it so that it was almost a continuation of the first book,” Susan explains. “We finished the first problem, but we raised a new problem.”

She also plots her full series before she begins writing, comparing the experience to producing a limited-run television show. A large-scale mystery thread develops across all five books, with smaller romantic arcs woven into each individual story.

How Susan May Warren Builds Faith Into Fiction Without Feeling Preachy

One of the most asked questions about Christian fiction is how authors weave spiritual truth into the story without it feeling forced. Susan has a clear and compelling answer.

Every character she writes begins with a lie — a false belief they have built their life around. That internal wound drives the conflict. Then Susan introduces truth tellers: parents, mentors, friends, and occasionally a mysterious stranger named Judah Lyon, a recurring character she describes as her “miraculous Jesus figure.”

“I’m always praying about what is the truth for this character,” she shares. “It just merges together really well when you’re saturating yourself with scripture and good teaching.”

Judah Lyon has appeared across many of Susan’s books. He shows up at key moments to speak a word of truth into a broken character’s life. Readers who have followed Susan’s work for years recognize him immediately — and that recognition is part of the joy.

The Covers, the Characters, and the Creative Process

Before Susan writes a single word of a family series, she already knows what every character looks like. She works with photographers to license portraits, then selects images for each sibling before the first chapter exists. That visual clarity helps her write characters who feel “fully formed” from the moment they walk onto the page.

It’s a detail that listeners will love: the Kingston siblings weren’t invented at a keyboard. They had faces first.

Book-by-Book Highlights from the Minnesota Kingstons

Jack — The One That Hooks You

Jack is the Kingston who set the whole series in motion. Quiet, steady, and deeply protective, he carries a woodshop conversation with his father that left LiteraryScape’s readers texting each other in all caps. His journey toward accepting love — and the now-legendary “Nobody touches my woman” moment — earned him a devoted fan base immediately.

Conrad — Mystery, Romance, and Momentum

Conrad and Penny’s story picks up the mystery thread Susan planted at the end of book one. Readers who were already invested in Penny got exactly the payoff they were looking for, while a new set of questions kept the pages turning.

Doyle — The Quiet Hero with the Deepest Wounds

Doyle is the Kingston who surprised everyone. On the surface he appears understated — calm where his brothers are bold, nurturing where they are action-driven. But that steadiness is what makes him the perfect match for Tiana, a take-charge heroine who has to learn when to let someone else lead.

Their story unfolds on a fictional Caribbean island based on a real volcanic island near St. Kitts. Susan built the geography using satellite images, video blogs, and extensive research into sulfur caves and mine systems. When an earthquake traps multiple characters simultaneously, she used salt shakers and silverware on her kitchen table to choreograph who was where and what the timeline looked like.

Yes, really. And yes, it worked.

Austin — A Fan Favorite with Caribbean Drama and a Billionaire

Austin’s book earned four and five lasso ratings from every LiteraryScape book club member — an unprecedented response. Her story involves diving instruction, a shipwreck treasure hunt, open-water survival, a trip to Cuba, and a billionaire named Declan who is either a criminal or a hero depending on whose perspective you trust.

Susan researched shark behavior by following ocean conservationist Ocean Ramsay on Instagram and watching her documentary. She calculated boat speeds to make Declan’s rescue of Austin mathematically plausible. She also took an online class in the “Dirty Dancing” lift so she could accurately describe the wedding scene in Jack’s book.

These details matter. They are why Susan’s fiction feels grounded even when it is gloriously over-the-top.

Steinbeck — Worth Every Page of the Wait

The final book in the series brings Emberly Phoenix’s story to the surface — the mysterious subplot readers had been tracking since page one of book one. By the time Steinbeck’s story begins, the investment is enormous. Susan delivers.

Emberly is a pickpocket with a complicated past, a sister named Nimwe, and a stubborn sense of self built on shaky ground. The cave scene near the beginning of her arc — where she is taken somewhere darker than expected, then discovers she is not alone — is the moment Susan says she worked hardest on and is most proud of.

What’s Next: The Hunt for Alan Martin

If you loved the Kingstons, Susan’s next adventure series is already calling your name. The Hunt for Alan Martin follows four operatives — North, East (Skeet), South (Dakota), and West — as they pursue the villain who has haunted Susan’s extended fictional universe for years.

Books one and two are available now. Book three releases in August and book four arrives in October.

The best news? You do not need to have read any previous Susan May Warren series to enjoy it. Each book builds Alan Martin’s backstory from the ground up, so new readers can jump in without being lost.

Where to Find Susan May Warren

Explore the full Minnesota Kingstons series at Susan May Warren’s website. Sign up for her newsletter and receive a free starter novella — her recommended first step into her entire extended universe.

And if you prefer audiobooks, the complete Kingston series audio edition is available now through her store.

Listen to the Full Episode

Catch the full conversation above.

If you want even more Kingston content, episode through 204 digs into each book of the Minnesota Kingston series.