Many Pieces of the Puzzle

By: Dave Astor Editor's note: More columnists and cartoonists are multitasking on projects ranging from TV shows to restaurants. Please read Syndicated Creators Branch Into TV, Books and TV Stars Try Penning Newspaper Columns.

If "Timothy Parker" was the answer for a crossword-puzzle space, the clue might be: "The hardest-working man in syndication."

Parker just created his 15th puzzle or game for Universal Press Syndicate and its uclick online sibling -- and all but two of the 15 features are daily! He came out with his first book, Universal Crosswords: 100 Editors' Favorite Puzzles, in October. He did the first-ever crossword for Reader's Digest in its December issue. He answers several hundred of the 10,000 or so e-mail messages that pour in each week from puzzle fans (assistants handle the rest). And he's helping to develop a pair of TV game shows.

Not bad for someone who was a corporate marketing executive until 1996.

Parker -- named the "World's Most-Syndicated Puzzle Compiler" by Guinness World Records -- got interested in crosswords as a preteen. He recalled that his mother had trouble finishing difficult puzzles in The New York Times, but she still enjoyed doing them. "I thought, 'There must be something to this,'" said Parker.

But he was "pretty casual" about puzzles while pursuing his marketing career. Then, as the Internet caught on in the mid-1990s, Parker looked at newspaper Web sites to see if they offered interactive crosswords. He couldn't find any.

"That's the business model!" Parker remembered thinking. "So I locked myself in my room like a mad scientist for two weeks." He learned Java, developed an online puzzle that worked, and offered it to seven newspapers and CNN. All eight purchased it.

Then, in 1997, a Universal salesperson visiting the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times heard an editor there praise Parker's work -- and the syndicate soon signed him.

Now, Parker has about 800 clients -- roughly 150 in print via Universal and 650 online via uclick. All 15 features are available online, with four of them also sold in print form. The newest offering is "Family Time Puzzle," which contains clues for both kids and adults.

Parker creates many of his puzzles and games, but also uses 110 freelance crossword constructors. He heavily edits the work of these constructors, often changing more than 70% of the clues.

The 42-year-old Parker -- who majored in economics at the University of Maryland -- is a new-school puzzle person, using clues from pop culture and current events rather than just dictionary definitions. And he strives to make his creations not too easy and not too hard. "If a person does my puzzles seven days a week, my goal is for them to complete them four times," Parker says. "That keeps them coming back every day."

As if he weren't busy enough, Parker also writes short stories, is one of 10 finalists from among 440 entrants in a movie-script contest, and serves as an assistant pastor at his church in Baltimore.

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Four Finalists for Reuben

Cartoonists Also Elect New Board

The National Cartoonists Society (NCS) named four finalists for its Reuben Award for "Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year."

They are "Rose Is Rose" creator Pat Brady of United Feature Syndicate, "Luann" creator Greg Evans of United, "Bizarro" creator Dan Piraro of King Features Syndicate, and The Simpsons creator Matt Groening -- whose TV show has a comic-strip version distributed by Universal Press Syndicate.

The winner will be announced May 24 during the annual NCS weekend in San Francisco.

Also, NCS elected a new slate of officers who will begin two-year terms at the May meeting.

Steve McGarry, who does features such as the United-distributed "KidCity," will be the third cartoonist in NCS' 57-year history to serve a second term as president.

Other board members include First Vice President Jeff Keane ("The Family Circus"/King), Second Vice President Dave Coverly ("Speed Bump"/Creators Syndicate), Third Vice President Bill Hinds ("Tank McNamara" and "Cleats"/Universal), Membership Chairman Rick Stromoski ("Soup to Nutz"/Newspaper Enterprise Association), Secretary Rick Kirkman ("Baby Blues"/King), Treasurer Bud Grace ("The Piranha Club"/King), and National Representative Greg Evans ("Luann"/United).

Et cetera ...

Copley News Service is syndicating Marsha Kay Seff's semimonthly "Parent Care" column, which focuses on caring for aging parents. Seff was already writing a feature on the subject for The San Diego Union-Tribune. ...

Inman News Features (http://www.inman.com
) is syndicating real-estate columnist Robert Bruss, who was formerly with Tribune Media Services. ...

Paul Niemann is self-syndicating "Invention Mysteries" (http://www.inventionmysteries.com). The weekly column, which runs in 16 papers, "focuses on the little-known stories behind well-known inventions."