Puzzle Notes

Dear subscribers,

We interrupt our regularly scheduled puzzling to bring you Katja Brinck's latest invention, a Women's World Cup tribute titled "Gooooooooooooal!!!!!!" that we think you'll find lightly challenging. Are you game?

Katja grew up on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire, attended college in upstate New York, ended up in San Francisco (working in IT), and has just recently moved with her husband to Healdsburg, CA (wine country!). She is a long-time solver who describes herself as a medium crossword tournament competitor just getting started in the world of crossword construction. In her non-crossword time, Katja loves to travel, play classical piano (having taken lessons since she was 6), and enjoys getting outdoors in northern California, especially skiing and hiking.

In her own words: "I had been thinking about creating crosswords for years, playing around by making grids in Excel, but did not really know how to start until I found the Crossword Puzzle Collaboration Directory on Facebook in January 2018, where I connected with several amazing mentors online and in person in San Francisco and at the ACPT. This led to my puzzle debut (a collaboration with Andrea Carla Michaels) in the Puzzle Society Crossword (edited by David Steinberg) last November. I am thrilled to now be part of the Inkubator community, and excited for this puzzle to be published."

Find Katja on Twitter at @katjabrinck.

When you're done solving, check out Diary of a Crossword Fiend for a write-up and discussion, every Friday after an Inkubator puzzle is published. For general updates, follow us on twitter at @InkubatorXWords, and visit our website. Thanks to all of our subscribers for your continuing support, feedback, and kindness!

Next week, Stella Zawistowski receives the give-and-go pass from Katja, delivering a power-packed themeless for Team Inkubator.

Until then, we'll see you on the pitch!

Laura and Tracy