Behind the Books: Crossword Puzzle Mysteries

My Crossword Puzzle mystery series has a lot of moving parts.

It has the crossword puzzles, for one thing. I got my love of crosswords from my dad—and made him so proud when I began doing them in ink. I learned how to construct them before I wrote these books which was as fun as it was maddening. I won’t go into all the rules about crosswords, but even though I’d done them most of my life, I hadn’t really digested all of them. So many rules!

The crosswords are woven into the story, which can become quite complicated. Quinn Carr, my sleuth, secretly constructs the puzzles so she’s able to drop subliminal clues in there to send the chief of police—an avid cruciverbalist, but lazy at his job—investigating in the way Quinn thinks he should.

I had to change one of my suspect’s names in one of the books because I simply could not make it work in the crossword. So frustrating!

In the first book, PUZZLING INK, Quinn was diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). That was complicated as well because while it’s not funny, and can cause serious challenges, it’s also not the only thing that defines a person, real or fictional. I interviewed many people to make sure I understood the nuances and the humor they’ve found in various situations.

There are also recipes in each book that I created. I refuse to call these books “culinary cozies” like some of my fellow Chicks write because nobody should eat any of the recipes from my books. Don’t get me wrong, they’re all perfectly edible, but they began as a joke.

Quinn’s mom, Georgeanne, is making cupcakes at the beginning of PUZZLING INK for a July 4th event. The white frosting is miso, the red is smoked paprika, and the blue is “just food coloring I added to a can of cream of mushroom soup.”

Georgeanne uses the kitchen as her main artistic medium. So, because I’m me, as a joke for my editor, I put a few other funny culinary abominations in the book and even wrote recipes to go with. She thought it was so funny, she told me I had to have similar recipes in each book. PUZZLING INK has Pretzel Pancakes and Redneck Ravioli. PUNNING WITH SCISSORS has Chicken Pad Thai with Grandma’s Dumplings and Black Bean Brownies (which I actually make and eat on the regular). FATAL SOLUTIONS has Funfetti Casserole and Pineapple Potpie.

Fun and ridiculous to make and eat.

I did some other interesting research for FATAL SOLUTIONS, the third book. The story involves Quinn stumbling on a skeleton near a WWII Japanese internment camp that has since been turned into a museum. You might know that Colorado, where my books are set, was the site of the Granada Relocation Center, or Camp Amache, a part of this shameful chapter of American history. I fictionalized the area by building an interpretive museum in my book, but I’m happy to say that after years of effort, Camp Amache is now finally designated as an official national historic site with plans to add a museum in the future.

If you want to read more about the site, here’s the link … https://www.nps.gov/amch/index.htm

But neither Quinn nor I had any experience with a skeleton. Luckily, my Sisters in Crime chapter here in Colorado has some captivating speakers come to educate us at our events, one of whom was Diane France, a forensic anthropologist who started up the Human Identification Laboratory of Colorado. We had a fascinating conversation about what this skeleton would look like, how the bones might be scattered and why, and I talked to her about some of the other clues that might be in the area. A truly absorbing conversation that led to a realistic portrayal of what Quinn stumbled upon in that field.

I’m so proud of these books, but they were the most challenging undertakings I’ve ever attempted, so I made the difficult decision to end the series after these three books. If you’ve read them, I hope you loved them, and if you haven’t, maybe this peek Behind the Book whets your appetite!

Remember that game and song on Sesame Street? “One of these things is not like the other, one of these things just doesn’t belong.” Wanna play that with my book covers? Are you a fan of crosswords? What’s your favorite type of word game?

4 thoughts on “Behind the Books: Crossword Puzzle Mysteries”

  1. I would live to sit down also with coffee or wine. These books sound so exciting can’t wait to get them. Have a blessed day. I am more of a search a word then crossword but this sounds fun.

  2. How did I not know of these books? Aaron’s Bookstore is getting a call today to order them!

    As to what doesn’t belong on the covers… I don’t know what you are looking for, but two of the titles include gerunds and one doesn’t. Two of the titles are below you name, and one is above.

    1. All true, but that’s not what I was hinting at. Look at the characters … the third one looks like a spin-off with her kid sister! LOL

      And thanks so much for ordering! I hope you love them!

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