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Gina Holder is a Christian award-winning author of romantic suspense and cozy mysteries filled with faith, intrigue, danger, romance, and epic twists you’ll never see coming.
She’s had an infatuation with books for as long as she can remember. She loves sharing uplifting messages from God’s Word and introducing readers to new and new-to-them authors on her blog. When she’s not writing, Gina enjoys playing the piano, cooking, reading, watching Hallmark mysteries, and solving “escape room” puzzles. She loves growing in her craft as an author. She published her debut novel in 2017. Gina lives in Wyoming with her husband and daughter.
Connect with Gina:
Website | Instagram | Facebook
Welcome to another featured author spotlight here at Heartbeats & Hideaways! To celebrate her visit, our guest is generously giving away a $5 Amazon gift card to one lucky reader. Simply leave a comment on today’s post to enter the giveaway. A winner will be selected from the comments, so jump into the discussion below!
Thanks for joining us today, Gina. I’m looking forward to getting to know you better.
You debuted in 2017 with the historical romance Whither Shall I Go?; what prompted your transition into writing contemporary puzzle-driven suspense like The Game Masters series?
1) Writing historicals is hard! LOL! It was easy for me to get bogged down in research and checking the accuracy of every little detail.
2) My second book, No Greater Love, had a law enforcement hero. I figured he should be solving crimes and then suddenly someone threatened the mayor, and as they say, the rest was history.
3) I love escape rooms, and I asked the what if question, what if a villain kidnapped a girl from an escape room and then moved the escape room into the real world. The Puzzle Within, book 1 of this series was born.
As someone who enjoys solving real-life escape room puzzles, how much of your own hobby influenced the lethal challenges found inside the Ives Mansion?
Many of the challenges are based on puzzles we’ve encountered in real-life escape rooms, without the deadly elements for obvious reasons. We’ve had numbers hidden inside paintings, a slider maze to release a key, transportation that stuck to a map, a slide into the next room, book ciphers, A1Z26 ciphers…
Other elements stemmed from my wacky imagination or locks and puzzle ideas I found on Pinterest.
Demi Kayne has spent twenty years waiting for her enigmatologist father; how did you approach writing the emotional weight of that long-term ambiguous loss?
I took my own personal experiences with loss and grief combined with my gift of empathy and magnified it. Loss is synonymous with the human experience. I knew people would be able to relate because it’s something we’ve all faced and in our own eyes—every loss feels big to us, even if others might not see it that way.
Liam Shepherd is both a missionary and an escape-room enthusiast; what inspired you to combine these distinct traits for a hero searching for his missing sister?
Liam is my favorite hero I’ve ever created. And he walked onto the page complaining how his missing sister was keeping him from a trip to Myanmar. I wanted him to be spiritually mature and able to show Demi the way to Christ, so I got the idea to make him a missionary. But I also wanted him to be Demi’s equal in the Ives Mystery House, so I made him an escape-room enthusiast. When I realized that the escape room “cover” would allow him into countries closed to the Gospel, I got excited, and his story unfolded.
Crafting a story around a cipher and a hidden journal requires meticulous planning; what was your process for designing the riddles so they remain challenging but logical for the reader?
This element of the story was tricky. Demi is a literal genius; so how do I make the puzzles challenging enough for her but also simple enough that I could create them, and my readers would understand them? Enter Professor Kayne—Demi’s dad. I realized that if Demi’s dad had taught her much about puzzles and ciphers before he disappeared, she could recall his wisdom while solving the game and this would add an emotional connection to the challenges rather than just an intellectual.
The Escape Game traps the protagonists in a real-life mystery game with a twelve-hour time limit; what was the most difficult aspect of pacing that countdown within the narrative?
The most difficult part was keeping the pacing believable. I didn’t want Liam and Demi to solve the puzzles too fast, but fast enough that coincided with Liam’s experience and Demi’s intelligence. And then I added the consequences of lost time. After which point, the clock and “real time” were not running at the same pace. And then you throw in the scenes happening outside the mansion … it was a lot. I just checked and rechecked that it was staying logical and consistent.
Your previous works, like the Shadows Over Whitman series, deal heavily with redemption and forgiveness; what core biblical principles must Demi and Liam rely on to survive their ordeal?
Redemption and forgiveness! Our dear Demi is under the impression she can work hard enough to earn favor with God, and poor Liam made a tragic decision in the past for which that he’s never been able to accept God’s forgiveness. This story shows us two sides—forgiveness necessary for salvation through Jesus Christ, and Christians letting go of shame related to our past sins and learning to dwell in God’s “forgetfulness.”
How do you balance writing a fast-paced, high-stakes thriller while ensuring the spiritual and romantic arcs develop authentically?
Everyone needs a chance to breathe, even story characters. I used these quieter moments to build on the spiritual thread or the romantic arc.
You actively support other Christian authors through blog tours and book reviews; how has being so involved in the writing community impacted your own craft?
The biggest impact is that it’s been a way for me to give back and pay forward the support I’ve received over the years by these and other Christian authors. Specifically impacting my craft, I would say that I’ve learned from others new ways to construct plot or how to word descriptions.
With The Escape Game having released on May 5, what is one specific, non-spoilery element or scene you are most eager for your readers to discover?
I’m really excited for readers to encounter a moment where the game turns personal. Up until then, it feels like a challenge—but there’s a point where the stakes become deeply emotional, and the characters are forced to make a choice that goes beyond just solving a puzzle.
The Escape Game by Gina Holder:
Twenty years ago, the world’s leading enigmatologist disappeared, leaving behind a cipher no one could solve… not without his journal.
Puzzle shop owner Demi Kayne has spent twenty years hoping her father would return home. When she discovers his hidden journal, she finally uncovers the clue she’s been waiting for—but it leads somewhere far more dangerous than she imagined.
Liam Shepherd, a missionary and escape-room enthusiast, is searching for answers of his own. His sister has vanished without a trace, and the trail of clues leads him straight to Demi—and the secrets hidden in her father’s journal.
Their search brings them to the eerie Ives Mansion, where its brilliant and reclusive owner has designed a deadly challenge. Once inside, Demi and Liam realize they’re no longer guests.
They’re players.
Trapped inside a twisted real-life mystery game, they must solve a series of lethal riddles before time runs out. Each puzzle brings them closer to the truth about Demi’s missing father and Liam’s sister—but also deeper into a carefully crafted game where the stakes are far higher than they’re ready to face.
With the clock ticking and lives hanging in the balance, Demi and Liam must confront their fears, their pasts, and the faith that may be their only hope of escape.
In this gripping Christian suspense novel, every clue matters—and every mistake could be fatal.
Can Demi and Liam solve the final puzzle before the game ends…or will the escape room become their tomb?
Elle’s review:
The Escape Game features a genuinely fresh premise and suspense that earns every twist, making it an exciting read I simply couldn’t put down. The tension never lets up, but it is the compelling protagonists and their realistic faith journey that truly make the story memorable. This is the kind of thriller that follows you around for days after you finish it.
I received an early endorsement copy of this book, but all thoughts are my own.
