L | A | B | T | A | D | A | G | A | M | B | L | E | ||
O | D | E | I | N | I | T | R | O | I | L | E | D | ||
O | M | G | L | A | M | A | A | L | T | O | I | D | ||
F | A | U | L | T | L | I | N | E | S | S | A | Y | ||
A | N | N | E | E | T | E | A | S | E | R | S | |||
A | D | O | R | N | S | G | E | O | D | E | ||||
G | U | T | V | I | D | E | O | G | A | M | E | S | ||
O | H | I | S | E | E | A | S | L | E | E | P | |||
D | U | M | P | T | R | U | C | K | S | D | R | Y | ||
S | H | E | A | R | T | O | E | T | A | P | ||||
P | R | E | S | A | L | E | S | H | E | A | F | |||
A | P | I | C | H | O | P | S | T | I | C | K | S | ||
S | H | E | I | L | A | G | O | A | L | H | I | T | ||
P | I | C | K | U | P | N | U | K | E | O | T | O | ||
S | L | E | E | V | E | E | T | S | Y | S | A | P |
I'm Rachel, a writer and editor from Raleigh, NC, whose book Pickleball For All (HarperCollins) is out this August. While I've written stories for The New York Times (among many other outlets) before, this is my first puzzle in the paper and my first published puzzle anywhere!
I'm so grateful for the opportunity, and I owe Robyn Weintraub, crossword constructor extraordinaire and my hometown next-door neighbor, a huge thank you for helping me hone my idea and rooting me on.
I hope you all have fun "picking up" on the theme and that this puzzle is the first of many I publish in the NYT!