Alan Siegel lives in Rancho Palos Verdes California and is a soccer referee. In the off season, he volunteers at the local senior center with the AARP Tax-Aide program preparing tax returns. He has been a long time crossword solver and was inspired by a lecture given at the local library by David Steinberg. A high school student at the time, David explained the history of crosswords and the terminology used, what a rebus was, and also served Oreos — the favorite cookie of Cruciverbalists owing to their colors. Alan tucked away the idea of creating puzzles until time permitted — which came during the Covid-19 pandemic. His debut entry in The New York Times, was actually his first submission to The Times. He is indebted to the mentors and guides met on the Facebook groups Cruciverb and Crossword Puzzle Collaboration Directory.
