Becky Clark, Behind the Book

Behind the Books: Becky’s Crossword Puzzle Mysteries and a Giveaway

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 Books 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?

Every comment before noon on Sunday earns a random chance to win a paperback copy of FATAL SOLUTIONS! (US addresses only. Sorry.)

33 thoughts on “Behind the Books: Becky’s Crossword Puzzle Mysteries and a Giveaway”

  2. Cheers to you for taking on such a challenge, Becky. Putting together a crossword puzzle boggles my mind, and then weaving it into a book? Wow!

    I’m more a fan of word search puzzles. To me, they’re a challenge yet easy enough to solve. I don’t want to work too hard!

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    1. Thanks, JC! Raquel Reyes turned me on to the free NYT puzzle app so I’m broadening my puzzling horizons. They’re all word-related, so right up my alley. There’s a mini-crossword, which is easy and makes me feel smart. But the other ones are kind of challenging! Luckily, because it’s the free version, you can only play each game once per day. More than that might make me pull out my hair. Give it a try and see if you like it!

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  3. I love crosswords, so I truly love your crossword series, as well! Though I am certainly not the experts you and Quinn are: it takes me most of the week (only doing it while I eat my morning yogurt and afternoon salad, albeit) to finish the Sunday NYT puzzle.

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    1. Thanks, Leslie! I sometimes have trouble walking away from the crossword … “just one more pass.” I will say, however, that it’s much easier to walk away from the crossword than it is a jigsaw puzzle on my ipad!

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  4. BECKY: Yes, I love word puzzles (word searches, NYTimes Spelling Bee) and I enjoyed reading your crossword puzzle mysteries. Sorry that the series ended.

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    1. Aw, thanks, Grace. Since I do the free version of the Spelling Bee it sometimes lets me do a ton of words, and other times maybe three. I haven’t quite figured out their protocols!

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  5. Congrats, Becky! It’s wonderful all the research you put into this book. Also glad that there will be a museum built to educate about the incarceration of Japanese Americans.

    As for crosswords, I’m not very good at them, but I sometimes help the kids with the NYT mini ones.

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    1. The mini ones are such a great way to get started!

      And thanks for your kind words … I wonder how long it will be before the museum is done.

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  6. Becky, I am in awe of all you pulled off in this series – and managed to make entertaining!

    I don’t do puzzles or games of any kind. No crosswords, word searches, Wordle, Sudoku. My ADHD-addled brain can’t even figure out how you play the last two and people have tried explaining countless times.

    But I did create word searches for a couple of my mysteries. I was so proud of myself! Until a couple of readers pointed out I’d also created the word “boob.” In two places. In both searches.

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    1. Thanks, Ellen! I’m with you about Sudoku. It makes absolutely no sense to me. I think it’s just a prank. As far as your word searches … 1) boob is a perfectly acceptable word, and 2) just say you did it on purpose to see if anyone noticed. You’re welcome!

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    1. You are clearly above average to do the crossword AND the sudoku. And it is interesting that you do both, because quite often for people it’s adamantly one or the other. I find that fascinating.

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  8. Becky, you are a genius! I so admire this series–very cool. My favorite crossword experiences lean toward the People Magazine celebrity crosswords–especially when I’m on a plane. I’m so engrossed I don’t notice the turbulence. (What am I really bad at? Jumble.)

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  9. My favorite word game is a word search. I find them relaxing. Crosswords can be fun as long as they are kept simple enough.

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  10. Becky, I continually marvel at your ability to not only write multiple, amazing series, but the intricacies, thoughtfulness, and ingenuity that goes into your Crossword Puzzle Mysteries. ❤

    Like Lisa, I love People magazine’s crossword puzzles and I’m starting to take a shine to the “mini” offered through the NYT app. I also enjoy the crosswords my dad cuts out of the newspaper and sends to me through the good ol’ US Mail!

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    1. that’s so funny! I was just thinking about my dad yesterday. He’d send some article or something through the mail with no letter or note or anything. Occasionally there’d be a sticky note with my name on it, but it was always a brain exercise trying to figure out why he thought I needed to see this. Were we talking about it three weeks earlier? Does he think I have an unvoiced interest in the topic? Has he confused me with one of my siblings? Was it a trick to get me to call him? Really, it could be anything. He’d never send me a puzzle though, because he did them. I still remember his withering glare when I asked if I could take that section of the paper before he’d done the puzzles.

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      1. Awwww. I love it. Maybe it’s a parent thing. My mom used to send articles with sticky notes, too, sometimes with instructions: “Think about it!”

        My dad photocopies the puzzles from the paper and mails them to me! I tease a bit, but I think it’s so sweet and I love it.

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  11. Wow. I am in awe. Kudos to you for not only designing your own puzzles but also fully integrating them into the plot!

    The first book is now on its way to me!

    I love crossword puzzles but find it difficult to find those at the perfect level, challenging and puzzling (!) but not frustrating. Otherwise, I enjoy doing the word puzzles called Puzzlesnacks. They’re fabulous.

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    1. Oh, sweet! I hope you love it! It’s interesting you say that, about finding the perfect level of puzzling. I’m in the middle of a RIDICULOUSLY hard NYT online puzzle. I almost gave up, but didn’t. I keep going back to it and little by little, I’m getting more of it done. I’m not all the way through the tunnel yet, but I can see the light. The thing about crosswords, I’ve found, is that every time you make a pass through the clues, you see them in a different light. I’ve vowed to get all the way through this one!

      And Puzzlesnacks sound delicious!

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