In 2012, my daughter and I collaborated on a unique book
which was both a collection of short stories and a puzzle to be solved with a prize the value of 100 dollars.
The book itself was whimsical anthology of original parodies, allegories and poetry. As part of the puzzle people had to check in on the website to receive a final clue in order to solve the mystery. Because of this, once the contest was completed (congratulations again Christen Catlin!) I never promoted or intended to really continue to sell the book. Somehow I never took it down and people kept buying it. I put a notice on it that indicated the puzzle had already been solved and I lowered the price because I felt slightly guilty that they were missing part of the puzzle without the website. I left the page up and tried to point people to it, but I figured people weren’t really finding it.
Still, people kept buying the book. Keep buying the book to this day. So, I decided to go with it.
I’ve updated the Christmas Puzzle to include the information which used to be only available on the website. Everything you need to solve the puzzle is within the book itself. There is a mystery email address you have to figure out and that email still exists and I still am capable of receiving email so for those who want to play you can now fully participate in the contest. Instead of the 100 dollar prize, I will now send everyone who wins a genuine bona-fide Certificate of Authenticity verifying your intellectual superiority!
For those who just want to read the book and not play, I’ve also included (at the end of the book) the link to Christen Catlin’s denouement post, explaining how she solved the puzzle. Her explanation is both succinct and entertaining.
It’s not Christmas and thee prize is possibly less valuable than 100 dollars, but it is whimsical, mysterious, entertaining, and a challenging but completely solvable puzzle worth at least bragging rights (and the certificate to prove it).
Check it out! Why not?
