Caryn L. Robbins author page
2 puzzles by Caryn L. Robbins
with Constructor comments
See the 7 answer words debuted by Caryn L. Robbins.
| R | A | S | P | C | H | A | D | L | E | T | O | N | ||
| B | A | L | E | A | E | R | O | E | V | I | T | E | ||
| G | H | O | S | T | L | Y | P | R | E | S | E | N | T | S |
| S | T | A | R | Z | E | L | O | S | O | S | ||||
| C | E | O | S | M | A | T | T | E | ||||||
| N | O | C | H | A | N | T | S | I | N | H | E | L | L | |
| A | N | A | T | E | A | T | O | R | T | I | Z | |||
| P | E | R | K | S | T | R | A | P | M | O | M | A | ||
| S | A | T | I | N | I | T | I | S | W | I | G | |||
| L | O | S | I | N | G | P | A | T | I | E | N | T | S | |
| O | S | C | A | R | D | A | N | G | ||||||
| R | A | N | E | G | O | C | A | R | O | M | ||||
| P | R | I | N | T | S | O | F | T | H | I | E | V | E | S |
| M | I | N | O | R | M | A | U | I | T | A | M | E | ||
| S | A | G | G | Y | S | T | E | P | S | L | E | W |
CARYN: My original idea for this puzzle was to put a spin on iconic lines spoken by fairytale princesses. For example, [Wistful words from Snow White as she awaited her Shutterfly photos]: SOMEDAY MY PRINTS WILL COME. While this plan quickly hit a roadblock, it led me to the idea of homophones which featured the NCE/NTS ending pattern.
While my first puzzle submission was rejected by the Times, the editor's feedback was very encouraging. It was at this point that I reached out to Matthew Stock who had been such a supportive mentor to me on my past puzzle endeavors. Matthew loved the theme idea and I was thrilled to tag team with him on today's puzzle. I hope you enjoy!
MATTHEW: It was a pleasure to work with Caryn on this puzzle! If you're a new constructor and want to talk shop and/or collaborate, feel free to contact me via Twitter (@1MatthewStock) or my website, happylittlepuzzles.com.
| A | B | E | L | E | V | I | L | A | W | A | K | E | ||
| T | O | D | O | D | A | N | A | L | E | G | I | T | ||
| B | U | G | S | B | U | N | N | Y | A | L | O | N | E | |
| A | G | I | T | A | M | A | R | C | ||||||
| T | I | E | M | I | C | K | E | Y | M | O | U | S | E | |
| S | E | R | B | D | O | N | N | E | M | C | E | D | ||
| U | T | I | L | E | R | E | L | A | Y | |||||
| A | L | F | R | E | D | E | N | E | U | M | A | N | ||
| S | N | A | F | U | C | A | R | T | A | |||||
| I | T | M | E | C | O | A | T | I | T | R | A | P | ||
| M | I | S | T | E | R | S | P | O | C | K | E | V | E | |
| M | A | Y | S | A | N | G | E | R | ||||||
| R | E | F | E | R | I | M | A | L | L | E | A | R | S | |
| A | G | E | N | T | F | O | R | E | A | L | S | O | ||
| N | O | D | U | H | Y | M | C | A | T | E | E | N |
I've been an avid puzzle solver for as long as I can remember. During the pandemic, I decided to use the extra time at home to tackle the #1 item on my bucket list; getting a puzzle published in the New York Times. I signed up for an online puzzle construction course and began my foray into constructing soon after.
The inspiration for this theme came to me as I was about to tell a story to a friend, and she remarked, "Go ahead — I'm all ears!" Suddenly an image popped into my head of a person whose ears were the dominant feature of their face. This led to a brainstorming session in which I came up with both real and fictional candidates who fit the bill. Ultimately I decided to stick with fictional characters to not insult any actual people.
I'd like to give a shout out to my puzzle mentors, Matthew Stock and Rich Proulx, as well as a special thank you to my daughters, my husband, and finally, my dad, who instilled in me my love of puzzling. I hope you enjoy!