Q: Introduce yourself! Where do you live, where have your puzzles been published, etc.?
A: I live in New York City. I’m a musician (viola) and tennis player (varsity tennis in high school and college). I love watching “Jeopardy!”
I started writing crosswords in the 1990s; they’ve been published in the New York Times, the New Yorker, the Wall Street Journal, Simon & Schuster books, USA Today, the Los Angeles Times, King Features, Crossword Nation.
Though I’ve held an olio of jobs over the years (tennis instructor, violist, proofreader, translator, paralegal, transcriber, digest writer, calligrapher), a strange thing happened about five years ago: I found myself working full time as a puzzle writer. I never expected to earn a living this way, and I love it. I’m under contract to make more than 620 puzzles per year of various sizes for a variety of clients. I also enjoy taking on commissioned work, when time permits.
Q: How did you first get into crossword construction?
A: When my father was in the military, he worked as a cryptologist. Games and code-breaking puzzles were a part of my childhood. He and I used to watch “Jeopardy!” together. I loved cracking codes, and eventually found crosswords, which, probably because of their connection with pattern recognition, are popular among musicians.
Q: Do you have a favorite clue you’ve written, whether in this puzzle or a different one, that immediately comes to mind?
A: Yes! This is from a New Yorker crossword (April 2023). The clue was:
[Coaches for benched players?]
In this case, sports terminology sneakily describes a musical term. It combines two favorite activities: music and sports.
Q: You’ve written many Sunday-size puzzles that feature grid art, like a connect-the-dots picture that you can draw from thematic letters in the grid. What was the inspiration for that?
A: When I moved to New York for college, I loved visiting art museums and looking at buildings. The crossword grid is, to my eyes, an architectural form. I’ve fallen flat on my face on the sidewalk because I’m always looking up in fascination at the tops of buildings.
Before writing puzzles, I’d taken classes in drawing and painting. Curiously, about three years ago, I started taking calligraphy classes, probably as a result of puzzle writing and an interest in letter forms.
Q: You’ve also written many holiday-themed puzzles. Do you have a favorite?
A: Definitely the “O Tannenbaum” puzzle for the Sunday New York Times in December 2003. It was my first connect-the-dot puzzle where the solver would draw — following the dots — a Christmas tree topped by a star. I received letters and emails from solvers who enclosed photos of the completed grids, sharing their connect-the-dot renditions of the Christmas tree. It was gratifying to see solvers putting their own spin on the drawing.
Q: Are there other puzzle activities or projects you’d like to promote?
A: Thank you for asking! I publish a weekly subscription puzzle under my own brand, Crossword Nation. It’s an easy-ish Tuesday-level 15x crossword. Folks can get more information on my website, crosswordnation.com.