I live in Ōtepoti Dunedin, New Zealand. I work as a software developer, and am married with two children, one an artist at Takapuna Grammar school, the other a mathematician at the University of Auckland.
Comments on my crosswords
“Well Maya, I thoroughly enjoyed your puzzle. Some wonderfully devious surfaces and great constructions, lots of why-didn’t-I-think-of-thats, a few that had me thoroughly stumped for far too long. I would nitpick a couple of clues, but certainly less than my checkers do with my clues. I will be coming back for more.”
David Tossman, cryptic crossword setter for the New Zealand Listener
“Many thanks. Last month’s was a real brain teaser!”
Heather Vermeer, editor of Channel Magazine
“I already did it. I was stunned.”
Anthony Horowitz, author, playwright and screenwriter, on a crossword themed around his work.
“Māyā, for ages I have been meaning to get on the blog and comment on your fantastic crosswords. This one has pushed me over the edge! Thank you for such clever cluing. I love the local-isms, use of te reo Māori, local people and places. Thank you!”
Dr Ocean Mercier of Victoria University, Wellington
“Congratulations. You have a convoluted, tricky and extraordinarily devious mind. I promise not to disclose this to another soul.”
Kevin Ireland, poet and author.
“Getting some good feedback.”
Geoff Adlam, managing editor of “LawTalk” (the magazine of the New Zealand Law Society)
“I’m assured by readers who are good at this sort of thing that they are excellent, suitably challenging puzzles.”
Kirsty Cameron, Editor and Publisher of “The Hobson” (an Auckland based lifestyle magazine)
“Best. Crossword. Ever.”
Tara Eastwood of The Androzani Team.
My crosswords appear in…
The Hobson magazine (and on a blog).
LawTalk (the magazine of the New Zealand Law Society) (and on a blog).
Verve magazine (and on a blog).
Forest and Bird magazine (and on a blog).
Channel magazine (and on a blog)
Debate (the AUT student magazine) (and on a blog)
They can also be solved on your phone!
Thanks to the Alphacross app. See —> HERE <— for a selection for PCs and Macs, just download the Across Lite app to play (PDF versions also supplied).
And some written for the website of the Crickle wordgame are available here
And a few miscellaneous ones such as “Science, Miss Hawthorne!”, “Thisbe the verse” and “A crossword jigsaw!” are available here
About “Māyā”
Māyā (Sanskrit माया), literally means “illusion” and “magic”. However, the term has multiple meanings depending on the context … in later Vedic texts and modern literature dedicated to Indian traditions, Māyā connotes a “magic show, an illusion where things appear to be present but are not what they seem” (From Wikipedia).
Why do I do it?
Apart from the fame and riches, you mean? In my opinion, compiling cryptic crosswords is stand-up comedy for introverts. If I can get a laugh (or groan) when someone solves a clue, I feel my work has been worthwhile. 😀
If you are interested in featuring a quirky, original cryptic crossword, tailored to current events and/or content in a publication, please get in touch.
Credit for the image above “Autumn leaves and lake in Kyoto”.
About Māyā 
