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About me

There comes a time in every man’s life when he has to condense his entire existence into a few paragraphs. For me that time is now, and the results are below. The names of the innocent have been changed, while the names of the guilty have been left intact. If I accumulate any FAQs I’ll emend this page accordingly. Now — let's take a trip down my memory lane ...

 

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A Brief History of Me

I was born on the 4th of July, 1976, and I grew up mostly in North Dakota; my folks were in the military so we moved around a bit. I've had a lifelong love of puzzles, from the time my mom bought me "Mr. Light" when I was little and my dad shared his Games magazines when I got older. I caught the theatre bug in junior high and studied acting at Webster University in St. Louis, MO. Go Gorloks!

I moved to NYC in 1998, had a few successes in acting ("Strangers with Candy" and "A Beautiful Mind") and transitioned to music direction. The piano lessons finally paid off as I traveled the country teaching scores of scores and leading pit orchestras. I was temping between gigs when I got the chance to assist Peter Gordon in his office. Luckily, his office makes puzzle books, so it was a match made in heaven. I’ve been there for over five years now, and I’ve learned a ton about puzzles and publishing. Peter and Francis Heaney really showed me the ropes, and now I edit over a dozen puzzle books a year.

I recently got married outside of St. Louis, Missouri. We're also moved to St. Louis where my wife now teaches 5th grade and I continue to work for Sterling remotely. My current writing project is "Wide Screen Crosswords" and I'm on the writing team for the upcoming MIT Mystery Hunt, too. No rest for the wicked!

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My NYTimes Puzzles:

Click here and scroll down to my name (subscription required).

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My NYTimes Answers:

Click here for my answer grids (no subscription required).

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PODCAST:

Click here for the "Fill Me In" episode that contains my phone interview (adjust volume to low before clicking).