I’ve always been in awe of the extraordinary, multi-faceted talent of my lovely friend and fellow creator Lorena Carrington, with whom I’ve been lucky enough to collaborate on several works, including picture books (Satin and The Giant) two collections (French Fairy Tales and Magical Tales from French Camelot) and three productions in our joint Pardalote Press imprint (two books, Bird’s Eye View and Secrets of the Good-Fairy House and Wayfarer, a pack of myriorama storytelling cards). As well, in 2024 I was proud to have been involved in publishing Lorena’s first junior fiction title, Leaf Letters. And now, I’m thrilled to see Lorena’s new book, A Puzzling Pursuit (Penguin), which was officially released last week. A fabulous combination of mystery, puzzles and travel, the book features ten baffling cases around an overarching mystery, accompanied by a hundred illustrated puzzles to help you crack the cases, all within a breakneck race around Australia. It’s a fabulous book and a fabulous concept and I caught up with Lorena to find out more about it.

1.First of all, Lorena, congratulations on the publication of A Puzzling Pursuit! Can you tell us a bit about how it all came about?

Thank you! Like so many of my books and projects, I fell into working on this book from a bit of a sideways angle. It all started with Leaf Letters actually! I had heard that cryptic crossword writer Liam Runnalls had moved to town, and messaged him to ask if he’d like a copy of the book. I had name-checked him and David Astle in it very briefly. We caught up for coffee a couple times, and then he asked me to proofread (proof-solve?!) the puzzles in his book Birdle (https://www.penguin.com.au/books/birdle-9781761350429). That put me in contact with the delightful Ashwin Khurana at Penguin, and I’m afraid I harassed him until he suggested an Australian themed murder mystery puzzle book. I put together a proposal for them early last year, then spent six months frantically attempting to ‘walk the talk’ of all I had promised!

2. I know that you are a dedicated crossword and puzzle fan, not just as a reader/completer (if that’s a word! ) but also as a creator of them. What first drew you to them?

I’ve always loved puzzles, especially book related ones. As a kid I was obsessed with Graeme Base’s The Eleventh Hour (https://www.penguin.com.au/books/the-eleventh-hour-a-curious-mystery-9780140541489), so much so that I’d start seeing little hidden mice in real life. And also Masquerade by Kit Williams. I also loved Rolf Heiman’s Maze books. As a adult, I fell in love with cryptic crosswords, and of course joined the Wordle craze along with everyone else in 2020. It’s still the first thing I do every morning – I currently have a 1223 day streak to uphold!

3.Did you have the whole concept for the book in mind from the beginning—the structure, characters, places etc?

This is the book that taught me I’m a plotter at heart. Everything had to be laid out carefully before I began. I wasn’t just plotting a (fictional) murder. I also had to plan out a realistic road trip that covered every single state and territory, create ten themed cases within that trip, and try and pack in as many Australian motifs and icons as I could. I created a very strict scaffolding for the whole book to fit in. Essentially one whole narrative, containing ten cases, each of which contain ten puzzles. They all had to flow together but also stand-alone. I was very grateful for all that planning work when it came to writing the story and creating the puzzles.

4. What was the process like—creating not only the stories but also the puzzles, and fitting everything together? What were the challenges, and high points? And did you work closely with editors from the start or create it all and then submit it for editing?

Once I finished all that plotting, all I had to do was to weave it together into a narrative that was interesting, made sense, and tied in with the 100 puzzles that I also then had to create and illustrate. Easy, right? 🙂 I had previously created a first chapter and outline for the book proposal, which was a great foundation to start from when it got the green light. With a pretty tight turn-around, I worked every single day without a break for about 5 months. I tried to keep up with creating the puzzles alongside the story as I wrote it, which meant I didn’t feel as overwhelmed by the work to come.

I’d say the biggest challenge was creating a good variety of puzzles that also fit into the story. I also didn’t do myself any favours by writing it in second person! Or by making sure the protagonist (you) and the antagonist (X) were free of any gender indicators. I wanted to make sure that ‘you’ were always you the reader. No only did I have to think about the actions of ‘you’ the character, but also everyone else’s reactions to them. Oh what a tangled web I wove for myself…

The upshot of all the previous planning is that I didn’t need a structural edit. After I handed in the manuscript, we went straight to a copy edit, which was such an incredibly joyful process. My brilliant editor picked up on so many things I hadn’t thought of, and whipped my timeline into shape. After that, Penguin brought in someone to check the puzzles, and then we did a couple of proofreads, and a little bit of revision on the layout, and we were done. There were way fewer tears than I expected with a project of this complexity!

Typing ‘The End’ was certainly a highpoint! I had taken myself away on a mini retreat to Ballarat, while my partner was there working on an exhibition. While he was off working hard, I sat on the B&B couch, drank copious amounts of tea and wrote for two days straight. Finishing a project is always satisfying, but this one felt particularly so! I loved every minute of working on it, but there were certainly times I wondered if I could pull it off.

5. Browsing in bookshops after I picked up my copy of your book, I noticed that there are quite a few popular titles around that combine mystery and puzzle types (such as Murdle etc). How do you think your book fits into that genre, and how does it differ from them?

Yes, Murdle is a real phenomenon isn’t it! My hope is that this book will capture that puzzle audience, and then hook them in with a story too. I think a big difference is that A Puzzling Pursuit is very narrative focused. Yes, the text carries you from puzzle to puzzle, but it’s not its only purpose. There’s a rollicking adventure in there, with side quests, drama, and hopefully plenty of humour. I intentionally created the book to appeal to a range of readers: the ones who are only there for the puzzles, those who would rather get involved in the story, and those who are in it for the whole experience! I hope everyone finds it a happy distraction.

6.I know it might be a bit early to ask—but I’ll ask it anyway 😊 What has been the response of readers to your book?

It’s a tiny bit early! 😁 Most of the responses have been ‘look I found it in a bookshop!’, with accompanying face-out photo which is always so exciting! Not many people have had the chance to start it yet, let alone finish it. Though I have already received my first ‘correction’ – and it probably won’t be the last. The great thing about puzzle people is their attention to detail!

7. Are you planning to write more in this genre? And what else are you working on?

I would love to create more books like this! I’m playing with a couple of puzzle book ideas, including a possible sequel to A Puzzling Pursuit. But I’m also diving back into kids’ books with a middle grade novel I’ve been working on for a while. I’m on the home stretch, so having a great time writing the final scenes full of drama – and sea monsters! There’s a good chance I’ll sneak a few puzzles in there too. 🙂