Title: Blood Lines
Prompt: The meta answer is a novel.
Answer: Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
Explanation: four rows in the finished grid have a synonym for the word INTERVIEW next to a famous VAMPIRE, indicating the contest answer. Like so:
20A CHAT with 21A THECOUNT
26A MEETING with 29A SPIKE
44A SESSION with 46A VIAGO
52A TALK with 55A CARMILLA
There were 74 correct answers and only 2 incorrect submissions this month, a new record on both counts! I counted both “Interview with the Vampire” (64 submissions) and “Interview with a Vampire (10 submissions) as correct, but just to officially set the record straight, the actual title uses “the.” I recently found the notebook where I brainstormed this idea last May (fun fact, this was the first ACL puzzle I wrote, even though it’s the third one published), and at the top of the page is written INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE, and then “A” is crossed out and “THE” is written above it. So it seemed only fair.
Congratulations to this month’s randomly chosen winner: Lindsey Shultz of Pittsbugh, PA! The prize this month (as it is every month) is a copy of a thematically apt novel embossed with FROM THE LIBRARY OF ARIADNE. This month I’m going with Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu, which of course was one of the theme answers. When one is presented with an opportunity to send lesbian vampire erotica through the mail, the only responsible thing to do is take it. And you can quote me on that. Congratulations, Lindsey!
You can read Ben Chenoweth’s blog post about this month’s contest over at Crossword Fiend, where you can also rate the puzzle or leave a comment.
Dubious Honors
This month’s Tick-Tock Award, which is awarded to the solver whose submission I received first, goes to Adam D., whose answer came in at 9:42 AM EST on March 1. The White Rabbit Award, which is awarded to the solver whose submission I received last, goes to Stephen P., whose answer came in at 8:44 PM EST on March 8. I have no actual prizes to hand out to these solvers, they just get the satisfaction of BOOKending this month’s contest. Well done!
Can you beat their times next month??
Thank you to everyone who submitted an answer to this month’s contest! And thank you for the nice comments many of you emailed along with your answer. I do read every email, even if I don’t respond, and it’s always nice to hear that people are enjoying these puzzles.
See you next month!
Ex libris Ariadne
Ariadne's Crossword Library 