Diane Madden

I have lived in Maine my entire life. I grew up in South Portland and raised my daughters, Kate and Molly, in Portland. I now live in Harrison with my husband, Ed, Rusty, an orange tabby cat, and “Neeps” our newest family member - a young Hermann tortoise.

Like other parents, I read to my children often. Also like other parents, I swore my oldest daughter could read Goodnight Moon at an early age – when really she just had it memorized. My youngest daughter’s favorite book was Then the Troll Heard the Squeak by Maine author Kevin Hawkes, which she also knew by heart. Copies of these old, well-loved books still reside in our family library.

For almost ten years, I had the honor of directing a statewide health and literacy program in Maine called Raising Readers. During this time, I had the opportunity to read many, many wonderful children’s books and secretly dreamed of someday becoming a children’s book author!

Traveling to Scotland with my husband Ed in fall 2019 was the trip of lifetime. We were joined by Amy (my co-author) and her husband, Kevin, who are like our extended family. Scotland is an amazing and beautiful county and we were all so impressed with how friendly and warm the Scottish people are. It was obvious in speaking with them how much their Scottish culture means to them and how much they like to share it with foreigners. Amy and I traveled to Scotland as tourists and came home co-authors of a story about Neeps and Tattie, two sweet, rescued tortoises, who spend their winters in Annie McKay’s refrigerator.

As a new grandmother, reading The Story of Neeps and Tattie to each of my granddaughters, Leah and Sophie, was one of the best moments in my life and brought much of my life’s journey full circle. Amy and I have many more adventures planned for Neeps and Tattie!