After living in the US for ten years, DIANNE TOUCHELL now resides in Perth, Australia. Her first novel, Creepy & Maud (2012) was shortlisted for the Children’s Book Council of Australia’s Book of the Year Award. She has worked as a fish-and-chip-shop counter girl, nightclub singer, housekeeper and bookseller. She enjoys school visits and encouraging teenagers to consider reading and writing for pleasure as an outlet for the secret madness that is life on this planet. She has also published poetry and short stories and is a member of the Australian Society of Authors.