Diane Davies, award-winning author of Life in the Neck New Friends, Life in the Neck Squirrel Trouble, Life in the Neck Advent of Christmas, and Jeannie Ann's Grandma Has Breast Cancer, lives in the Neck right next to the animals making their home there. You'll find her in one of the Neck's two houses with Willy, the Rescue Pup. Her grandchildren, Elsie and Eli, live right next store with their mom and dad. The whole family enjoys Life on the St. Croix River near Hastings, Minnesota.