Want a sneak book peek into one of Clan Destine Press' newest books Nifty Fifty: 50 Cryptic Crosswords With an Aussie Flavour by dual-puzzle lovers Fin J Ross and Willsin Rowe and author interviews?
Great, we have you covered. Read on!
Some writers love penning cliffhangers but hate reading them, do you love doing tricky cryptic crosswords?
Fin: In my book, nothing beats a cliffhanger, so equally satisfying is creating a clever, devious cryptic clue that perplexes and confounds and maybe adds to a puzzler’s vocabulary.
WILLSIN: I love doing cryptic crosswords, and from as wide a range of setters as I can manage. In their own way they're like poetry or songwriting—they all use the same basic tools, yet no two setters would set the same puzzle, even with an identical grid!
What do you do when you're stuck on a clue, you're so stuck, no one has ever been this stuck?
WILLSIN: When I'm truly stuck, I distance myself from the puzzle (which sounds so much classier than "I toss the book across the room in a huff"). Seriously though, I do find that if I leave it and go on with another puzzle, or another activity, I can often come back and sort out whatever I was stuck on.
FIN: Same. If I’m so stuck, I set it aside for a while and come back to it. Sometimes the penny drops; sometimes it rolls away.
How was it working with your co-author?
WILLSIN: Working with Fin was a dream. She has more experience with puzzle setting than I do, but I have more experience with setting covers and book interiors, so our strengths really balanced out. Plus, she showed me some excellent resources for future puzzle setting.
FIN: Working in an on-line fashion with someone I didn’t know to start with was a pleasurable experience. Nothing was too much trouble for Willsin, and I was happy to defer to his design expertise in bringing the book to fruition.
Give us a tiny taste of the books Aussie flavour. Be………cryptic, if you wish.
FIN: Willsin and I speak and write Australian English (the best English), so there’s no curly Americanisms to annoy solvers. Look out for the occasional Aussie place name or slang term.