Where do you currently reside?

New York City, N.Y.

Where and when was your first puzzle published?

August 22, 2016 in The New York Times

How did you get into puzzling? What is your first memory of solving?

When I was growing up, my parents always did the crossword and I remember solving the puzzle in the New Haven Register before school at the breakfast table. Then, in college, there were free copies of The New York Times in the library, so that’s when I started doing The Times’s puzzle every day.

What made you decide to try your hand at making a crossword puzzle?

There wasn’t one specific catalyst. The more puzzles I solved, the more I moved past liking or disliking a puzzle based on whether or not I could finish it. Eventually, I paid more attention to the technical aspects of the puzzle, such as if the fill was interesting, or if it contained a lot of crosswordese.

[How well do you know your crosswordese? Take the quiz]

I also started to read crossword blogs — and eventually Patrick Berry’s book on constructing — and decided to just go for it.



[Purchase Mr. Berry’s book on constructing from his website]

Why do you do this to yourself?

It’s pretty cool to create something and share it with so many people. It’s fun to think about complete strangers solving and, hopefully, enjoying something I’ve made.