Puzzling Occurrences · Issue 03

Oliver isn’t much of a horticulturist, but after years of consecutive flower show wins, his fellow competitors are sure of one thing: he will win again, through some fluke, unless someone is willing to get their hands a little dirty.

This large print puzzle set includes:
·  a logic grid puzzle
·  a word search
·  a logic timeline puzzle
·  a maze

Ready to Puzzle!
    Open Puzzle Set
Need a Hint? 
    View the Solutions

The links above open printable PDFs that also work well on write-on e-ink readers.

Looking Ahead to June…

If you enjoy flowers, you might like my Floriography Word Search book. Learn how the Victorians used flowers to convey unspoken sentiments. Formatted for 8.5×11 printing and e-ink tablets. Available on Etsy.

This month’s puzzle set explores a familiar film noir problem: too many witnesses, too many stories, and an investigation that slowly goes astray.

Puzzling Occurrences · Issue 02

Rumors multiply, sightings pile up, and a few enthusiastic accusations fail to hold up. In the end, one verified fact forces the whole story to straighten itself out.

You are not solving the crime here, only sorting the facts from the unreliable accounts.

This large print puzzle set includes:
·  a word search
·  word ladder 
·  light logic puzzle
·  a mix-and-match puzzle

Ready to Puzzle!
    Open Puzzle Set
Need a Hint? 
    View the Solutions

The links above open printable PDFs that also work well on write-on e-ink readers.

Cast Your Vote

The first day of spring is later this month, and I’m thinking next month’s puzzle set might center around a flower show. Let me ask…

For puzzlers who enjoy mysteries without clear heroes or clean answers, my Film Noir Word Search draws on 42 classic films from the genre. It is formatted for 8.5×11 printing and e-ink tablets. Available on Etsy.

Puzzling Occurrences · Issue 01

I’m excited to share my first murder mystery puzzle set, in large print and featuring a word search, unscramble, cipher, and light logic puzzle.

Ready to Puzzle!
    Open A Most Agreeable Murder
Need a Hint? 
    View the Solutions

Click the links above to open the PDFs for printing at home or uploading to your write-on e-ink reader.

On the New Puzzle Format

If you’ve been with me since the Lantern and Lens Society days, this month marks my first real step into a more sustainable format.

Previously, each puzzle set followed a small narrative that unfolded as you moved from one puzzle to the next. That structure has now been set aside. These puzzles are no longer narrative-driven and can be solved in any order.

Instead, each set is built around a familiar mystery trope. You already know the scene, and the puzzles invite you to explore puzzling occurrences rather than solve a mystery.

If you love murder mystery as much as I do, you might enjoy my word search book featuring 42 classic tropes, formatted for 8.5×11 printing and e-ink tablets. Available for download on Etsy.

This month I experimented with creating a multi-page maze puzzle. I have been curious for quite some time about how a puzzle like this might work, so I was pleased to finally give it a proper try.

Last month’s poll ended in a tie between a secret rendezvous and a missing pet, and this puzzle set takes a little inspiration from both. It is also influenced by puzzle legend Lewis Carroll, best known for writing Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Beyond his stories, Carroll had a deep interest in logic, wordplay, and chess, and he created puzzles for children in his family, including a pencil maze published in his family magazine, Mischmasch.

Rather than steering solvers with dead ends, the paths in Carroll’s maze loop and reconnect, sometimes leading you back to where you began. There are multiple correct routes, with fewer immediate signals about whether a choice is leading you forward or simply around in circles.

In my puzzle set, I leaned into this idea. The maze pages include loops instead of dead ends, and the set also includes symbol matching, a sentence unscramble, and a classic Knight and Knave style logic puzzle, complete with talking animals, in true Lewis Carroll fashion.

Ready to Solve! 
Open Puzzle Set PDF
Show me the Answers. 
View the Solutions

32 Modern Pencil Maze, Plus More….

My newly released puzzle book includes 32 modern pencil mazes, along with word searches, kriss krosses, cryptograms, double puzzles, sudokus and riddles.

Keep Calm and Puzzle On, Volume 1 is a large print puzzle book for adults with 200 easy to medium puzzles, designed for relaxed, everyday solving. The variety makes it easy to dip in for a few minutes or settle in for a longer solve.

This sample includes one maze and two cryptograms, complementing last month’s preview, which is still available here.

Take a Peek. 
Open Sample Puzzle Pages PDF
Need a Hint? 
See the Solutions

For those who solve on e-ink, a Kindle Scribe edition will be released later this month.

It is a new year, and this newsletter looks a little different. Instead of a cozy mystery puzzle set, I am sharing puzzle pages from an upcoming large print book called Keep Calm and Puzzle On, a mixed puzzle book for adults. It is super cute if I do say so myself.

This is what I have been working on this month, and I wanted to give you an early look. Here are a few sample puzzle pages from the book, which features a wide mix of puzzle types such as word searches, kriss krosses, mazes, sudoku, double puzzles, cryptograms, and a few riddles.

Ready to Solve! Open Sample Puzzle Pages PDF
Show me the Answers. View the Solutions

If you are not familiar with them, kriss krosses are similar to crosswords, but without clues. You are given a list of words to fit into a crossword-style grid. I enjoy this format because traditional crosswords often rely on very specific trivia, which can feel excluding. I like puzzles that invite you in and let you practice focus and thinking without needing to know anything in advance.

Why Cozy Mystery Puzzles Matter to Me

I love the idea of solving puzzles as part of a mystery story. For me, combining puzzles with narrative creates a deeper level of engagement. It asks you to actively participate, which feels especially refreshing. I love reading too, but puzzles invite a different kind of focus that feels more restorative.

Over the past seven months, I have really enjoyed creating the cozy mystery puzzle sets I’ve shared with you, especially having you help choose what I create each month. They are also time-intensive to make, and I have found it hard to keep them up on a monthly schedule alongside regular life. For now, I am taking a pause from new cozy mystery puzzle sets while I figure out a more sustainable way to create them.

In the meantime, I will continue sending out large print puzzles each month and asking what you would like to solve next. You can also access the full Lantern and Lens Society puzzle archive and see how these puzzle sets have evolved over time. A ❤️ on your favorites helps guide my future decisions.

Lantern & Lens Society Puzzle Archive

1: The Lantern & Lens Society Invitation
2: The Secret Meeting
3: The Village with Two of Everything
4: An Afternoon of Storms
5: The Haunting of the Black Hart Inn
6: The Winter King and the Crone
7: The Toymaker's Riddles

One Last Note

I am currently pausing paid subscriptions while I work toward a more sustainable rhythm for this newsletter.

If you are currently a paid subscriber, thank you. Your support has meant a great deal to me, and you are always welcome to stay subscribed or switch to a free subscription at any time.

Whether you are a free subscriber, a paid subscriber, or simply puzzling along when you can, I am grateful to have you here.

A surprise delivery from Aunt Elsie pulls you into famed toymaker Otto Spieler’s legendary 1907 puzzle contest. What begins with a few curious treasures quickly leads to the discovery of old riddles, subtle clues, and a chance to retrace the path your great uncle Ned once followed to unlock his contest prize.

This month’s puzzle set includes letter unscramble, fill in the blank, a maze, missing vowel, and word search.

Ready to solve! Open Puzzle PDF
Need a clue? View the Solutions

A Real Rebus Puzzle Challenge from 1913

I learned two things while putting together this month’s puzzle set. First, puzzle contests were very popular in the early 1900s. Second, weekly rebus puzzles were commonly included in newspapers during that time. If you are not familiar with a rebus puzzle, it is a visual word riddle, and honestly, I find the historic ones quite tough.

Above is a rhymed rebus from the February 9, 1913 edition of The San Francisco Call. If you want the answer, it is here.

My New Word Search Book

I am excited to share that my new 8,000 Word Word Search book is out now. It features 200 large print, easy to read puzzles with a brand new set of 8,000 unique words to find. If you enjoyed the first volume, I think you will love this one. It is available in paperback and as an e-book for the Kindle Scribe.

Moving Into the New Year

Thank you to everyone who has supported my work this year. Your encouragement has meant a great deal to me. In the new year I will be taking a little break from the Lantern and Lens Society series, although I will continue to send out free printable puzzles.

As a small thank you to those who have offered paid support, I have created a special word search series based on the Twelve Days of Christmas carol. I hope you enjoy it.

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You are a proud member of Hidden Creek’s most curious secret, the Lantern & Lens Society, a discreet group devoted to unraveling the town’s long-forgotten puzzles. With access to the Society’s private archive, the Lost & Kept, you can search through old keepsakes, family ledgers, and village memorabilia that rarely see the light of day.

One of the Marrow brothers is missing in the season’s first snowstorm. The two had gone into Mayfaer Woods chasing a local fairy legend, but only one made it back, dazed and rambling. Now it’s a race to trace their steps and find the missing brother before it’s too late.

This month’s cozy mystery puzzle set includes a word search, cryptogram, mix and match, word scramble, fill in the blank, logic puzzle, maze, and crossword.

Ready to puzzle! Open Puzzle PDF
Need a hint? View the Solutions

Let’s Talk Puzzles!

You voted for November’s mystery in last month’s newsletter, and a Folklore Tale won by a wide margin. I loved researching old folklore for this puzzle set, and now every blustery wind makes me think of fairies.

When I put these cozy mysteries together, I try to make them engaging and just challenging enough to be rewarding. I like including a mix of puzzle types to keep things lively. They’re meant to be a fun little escape, so I’d love your feedback…

If you feel that this poll doesn’t allow you to express enough of your opinion, please reply to this email and let me know what you think.

In this month’s bonus content for paid supporters, learn a little more about Hidden Creek’s frost gardens.

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You are a proud member of Hidden Creek’s most curious secret, the Lantern & Lens Society, a discreet group devoted to unraveling the town’s long-forgotten puzzles. With access to the Society’s private archive, the Lost & Kept, you can search through old keepsakes, family ledgers, and village memorabilia that rarely see the light of day.

Like everyone else in Hidden Creek, you’ve heard the stories about the Black Hart Inn. The abandoned building is said to be thick with ghosts. This month’s story begins with the Society’s own paranormal investigators presenting proof that the old place really is haunted.

To understand the restless spirits of the Black Hart, you must first piece together its century-long history, from a tavern at the crossroads to a bootlegging inn on the edge of the village, where some of its patrons never really left, including one gambler who still plays to win.

Inside this cozy mystery, you’ll solve a variety of puzzles to find out for yourself — where did all these ghosts come from? It includes a crossword, word search, word scramble, fill-in-the-blank, cryptogram, and more.

Ready to solve! Open Puzzle PDF
Need a clue? View the Solutions

The Making of a Mystery

Thank you to everyone who voted in last month’s poll! “The History of a Haunted Inn” was the clear favorite, and I loved turning that idea into this cozy mystery for you to solve. I appreciated your input so much that I think we should do it again. Please tell me what you’d like next!

The Haunting of Black Hart Inn is the fifth installment of the Lantern & Lens Society Cozy Mysteries, and last month I welcomed my very first paid supporters! I take that as a sign that people are enjoying solving these mysteries and I’m so grateful.

As a thank-you, I’ve started creating extra puzzles just for paid supporters. This month’s bonus content includes newly unearthed Black Hart pages from a Ghost Hunter’s Journal (1893), straight from the Lost & Kept archive.

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Each tracing book features 40 original patterns to calm your mind and spark creativity. Trace, doodle, and personalize every page, turning simple lines into something uniquely yours.

Specially optimized for Kindle Scribe, these books include easy navigation, device-specific instructions, and helpful tips to make tracing smooth and intuitive. A single tap…

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You are a proud member of Hidden Creek’s most curious secret, the Lantern & Lens Society, a discreet group devoted to unraveling the town’s long-forgotten puzzles. With access to the Society’s private archive, the Lost & Kept, you can search through old keepsakes, family ledgers, and village memorabilia that rarely see the light of day.

This month, the i…

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You are a proud member of Hidden Creek’s most curious secret, the Lantern & Lens Society, a discreet group devoted to unraveling the town’s long-forgotten puzzles. With access to the Society’s private archive, the Lost & Kept, you can search through old keepsakes, family ledgers, and village memorabilia that rarely see the light of day.

This month, every…

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The Lantern & Lens Society has left another trail of clues and it’s time to follow them.

Last month, you discovered the existence of this secretive group devoted to exploring the untold history of Hidden Creek. After passing their curious challenge at Wren Hill Manor, they promised to send word of their next meeting. You've been keeping watch ever since…

…

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You’ve become something of a local legend — spotting patterns in crosswords no one else noticed, solving logic grids before the kettle boils, and uncovering the odd clue tucked inside the classifieds. You even cracked the mystery of the out-of-order library index cards (the librarian still talks about that).

Folks joke you’ve got the mind of a detective …

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Life has its surprises—this month in the Riddle Valentine puzzle world, you’ve been roped into helping the village herbalist!

The Apothecary’s Shop includes a word search, letter scramble, matching puzzle, and light logic challenge—all designed for a relaxing, feel-good break. This free printable puzzle set is my little gift to you, and I hope it brings …

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Have you ever heard someone say, 'I’m finally doing more of what I love'? Well, that’s exactly where I’m at this month! I’m so delighted by what I’ve created that I can’t stop giggling—always a good sign.

A New Free Puzzle Series

And if you love a good mystery, you’re in for a treat. This month, I’m launching a brand-new free puzzle series! The first inst…

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I started creating these large print, printable word search puzzle books for adults because I believe a word search should be more than just a time filler – it should spark curiosity, stir memories, or even inspire something new. Each book is designed with a specific theme, offering a fresh experience every time. With a variety of topics, there's always…

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My word search puzzle books are always large print and designed to feel spacious and readable. Inside each book, you’ll never search for the same word twice – all search words are unique. Solutions are included for stress-free solving.

If you’re interested in solving these word search puzzles on your Kindle Scribe, take a look at this post.

Try a Sample F…

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These interactive PDFs are designed for E-Ink devices like Kindle Scribe and reMarkable 2, featuring easy navigation with clickable menus, checklists, and solutions.

Each book has 42 puzzles with 24 words each—over 1000 unique words to find. Instantly download from Etsy and start solving digitally, or choose the printable 8.5x11 version for paper fans.

Ex…

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My Kindle Scribe puzzle books are sized to make the most of the screen and include extra navigation features, with each puzzle listed in the easy navigation menu, plus a hyperlinked checklist and hyperlinked full-size solutions for seamless solving. Just like the paperbacks versions of these books, they prioritize readability with spacious layouts, and …

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