I'm Elly. I live in Maryland with some humans and some cats (and some stinkbugs and ants... They have been served eviction papers). I am an artist, designer, and writer (often as "Elly ZK"), and I'm new to puzzle construction. My first published puzzles are coming out in August and November this year in Universal and Fireball respectively. I'm a bit worn down by the submission/rejection cycle, so I'm sharing some of my work here for free. I call these puzzles "hot porridge" because they don't meet the "Goldilocks" standards of the major outlets. Feel free to throw something in the tip jar if you like what I do!
Note: puzzles have not been play-tested or professionally edited. Don't hesitate to leave a comment if you find a mistake or other issue. Just be nice. :) (I already know you're nice.)
"Just put your pickle on everybody's plate, college boy"
◆ · Pubblicato 2024-08-15T15:47:14.674Z
In honor of the late, great Patrick Swayze, born August 18th, 1952
Grueling Themeless #1
◆ · Pubblicato 2024-07-24T17:35:53.143Z
Calculator Words #2
◆ · Pubblicato 2024-07-24T15:12:59.416Z
This one is an NYT reject. I really like this theme and grid, but realized it would be hard to find a home for it in a mainstream publication because it contains one number. I prefilled that digit to alleviate any confusion. It has some tough fill…
Look, Mom!
◆ · Pubblicato 2024-07-20T23:45:50.354Z
This one was rejected because although it had "impressive construction," it "solves like a themeless" and the "aha moment" isn't satisfying enough. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
Not publishable because it is asymmetrical. ¯_(ツ)_/¯ And probably because a few of the theme entries are too obscure.