22 West Books
Press Release
For Release November 1, 2006
Of interest to editors and journalists covering: Publishing, entertainment, literature
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Contest proves tough for code breakers
SHELDONVILLE, MA – November 1, 2006 --- Many newspaper readers enjoy the challenge of the daily crossword or crypto-quote. Recently, this interest has ballooned into a national obsession with soduku, jumbles and other puzzles. It may be the pervasiveness of computers that spurred more of us to crave an analytical challenge, but puzzles are making appearances in other media. The Rule of Four, by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason spotlighted an ancient text riddled with codes that hypnotized researchers yearning to unlock its secrets.
Sin and Vengeance, by CJ West keeps readers off-balance with plot twists, but the real mystery is hidden in the text itself. Null ciphers disguise two hidden messages, challenging the serious cryptographer and novice puzzle enthusiast alike. A null cipher includes all the letters of its message exactly as they appear. Many school children have constructed these codes for Mother’s Day, listing: Marvelous, Omniscient, Terrific, Heavenly, Extra-special, Radiant. The first letter of each word forms MOTHER. The book's ciphers employ far more complex intervals between message letters. The author frequently leaves clues at book signings and on his website to help readers unravel the mystery. Even this article includes a null cipher which just ended. The code in this article doubles as a strong hint to the Hidden Code Contest within Sin and Vengeance.
22 West Books, the publisher, is offering twenty-two cents for each book sold or a minimum of $500.00 to the first person who accurately decodes both messages. As of today, the Hidden Code Contest has been running for one year and, as yet, neither of the messages within the book has been found. To learn more about the contest, visit www.22wb.com/contest.htm. If you're serious about the contest, the publisher recommends scouring the website, attending a book signing, and registering for the newsletter to get all the clues you can.
Astute readers will discover a hint to the Hidden Code Contest has been enciphered into this article. The key to solving this simple code is that this article commemorates the one year anniversary of the Hidden Code Contest. Good Luck!
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Note: The above release includes a cipher within the text. Changing anything in the first two paragraphs is likely to invalidate the cipher. If you choose to edit the release, please also remove the last paragraph and the last two sentences in paragraph two that inform readers of the embedded cipher. If you’d like to make changes that do not impact the cipher, you can change anything outside paragraphs one and two. We would be glad to help if you have questions.
Can you solve the cipher?
Media contact
CJ West
Journalists interested in reviewing Sin and Vengeance, are encouraged to request a review copy via email.
© 22 West Books 2006
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