MADISON – Longtime Madison resident Joan Diehl has released her third children’s book, “Don’t Call Me Bunny.”

The title bunny is Harper, “a smart, sassy and self-confident hare who lives in the Arctic tundra. He has few worries but is always on the lookout for his worst enemy, the arctic wolf,” Diehl said.

Diehl said that the reader might think of Harper as “a polar rabbit if you wish but don’t confuse him with someone’s cute pet bunny. Parents, teachers and others with children in their lives will appreciate this story written especially for ages 6 to 10.”

Alex Ray designed illustrations for “Don’t Call Me Bunny.” (alexrayart.com)

“The seed for my love of writing was planted in a high school journalism class,” Diehl said. “However, I didn’t write a lot for several years. Most of my time was spent in frequent moves with my Air Force husband, Glen, while raising five children.”

The moves were so frequent that each of the Diehls’ five children has a different birthplace. “When Glen retired from the Air Force and became part of the civilian workforce, we eventually moved to Madison as a result of his job with Intergraph.”

As an ’empty-nester,’ Joan Diehl was motivated to seek employment with “The Madison County Record,” where she eventually became editor. Diehl retired from that position, and her daughter Alison encouraged her to write “Once Upon a War – The Diary of a Waiting Wife.” “This Vietnam memoir chronicles the lives of our family and others during the country’s most divisive war of the 20th century,” Diehl said.

‘Writer’s block’ doesn’t bother Diehl. “Whatever that is,” she said. “I keep hearing that one must write at a regular time every day. Some even go so far as to say a writer must produce a certain number of words. That may be true for some, but I don’t adhere to any kind of schedule.”

Diehl’s primary hobbies are writing and reading. She also participates in two book clubs.

“Don’t Call Me Bunny” is available from Amazon or sales@palomabooks.com. For more information, visit Facebook/Books by Joan Diehl, amazon.com/authorjoandiehl or plus.google.com/+OhMyBookness/posts.