"What's the Dealio?"
Difficulty ● ● ◐ ○ ○
Puzzle Notes
Dear Crossword Nation Friends,
Happy June! An interesting thing happened recently. I received an anonymous email from a person who'd written to me almost two years ago. I'll refer to him or her as "Word Warrior" because the original email was a blistering critique of my work. Word Warrior didn't hold back -- my syndicated work was "horrendous, awful and tragic."
Well . . .
I'm less-than-thrilled when someone abases my work in a personal letter (it's happened a handful of times in my career), but in Word Warrior's case, I was intrigued. This critic never attacked me personally -- it was solely about the work. For that reason, I was impressed that we could discuss issues without getting personal. I wrote back with a "thank you" and an explanation of my side of story -- our target audience, the approach to wordplay, the role of a syndicated crossword. But secretly, I thought I'd lost a customer; it was best to allow Word Warrior to move on to other puzzle markets that would spark joy. I thought that was the end of it.
Well, last week, Word Warrior wrote in again -- almost two years after the initial correspondence. Word Warrior apologized for the original email, saying that they solve my puzzles often and encouraged me to "keep up the amazing work."
Well, that just blew me away. So I guess Word Warrior kept solving after all and -- for good or for ill -- became accustomed to the sometimes-corny humor and wordplay. I'm elated when folks write in to say that, after a bumpy start, the puzzles have "grown" on them!
Welcome to Week 679 of Crossword Nation. We invite you to solve "What's the Dealio?" as your diversion of the week. Happy solving!
Thank you for subscribing to our little shop of puzzles. If you enjoy this crossword, please give it a good rating on Amy Reynaldo's site. Your positive ratings help us stay strong and independent!
Cruciverbally yours and with respect,
Liz
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If you enjoy our 'indie' Crossword Nation puzzles, please give them a positive rating on Amy Reynaldo's blog, Diary of a Crossword Fiend. Your ratings help keep our little puzzle shop independent and strong!
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Happy solving and be well!
Liz Gorski