My Biography

My Biography

I live with my husband Reuben M--a voiceover artist, entertainer and stand-up comedian--and our cat, Jezebel, in Shek O, a village on the southeastern corner of Hong Kong Island with two beaches, old homes, Buddhist and Confucian temples and several good restaurants. It’s packed with Chinese day-trippers on weekends, seeking an escape from crowded apartment blocks, but it’s blissfully quiet during the week.

I grew up in the U.S. I was born in New Jersey, lived there and in North Dakota briefly, but was mostly raised in Richmond, Virginia. I moved to Iowa in 1987 to attend Grinnell College. After I graduated in 1991, I left the U.S. on a one-way ticket out of the country with no plans to return for a long time...if ever.

Ireland was the first stop on my global adventures. I lived in Limerick for four months, working at the Irish Peace Institute at the University of Limerick in nearby Plassey. The internship was arranged by the Iowa Peace Institute in Grinnell, Iowa.

When it ended, I moved to a lovely coastal town called Dingle, where I spent another eight months working (illegally) at a youth hostel called Ballintaggart House. It was a terrible job for very low pay but at least it allowed me to live in a wonderful part of the world for a while. Dingle is picture-perfect.

In the fall of 1992, I rode my bike across Ireland and France to eventually reach Prague. I lived there just over five years, mostly working as a journalist, first for local papers.

Over time, I worked my way up to international titles. I began writing for Advertising Age International in May 1995, in a free-lance position covering central and eastern Europe . I wrote for other magazines at the same time, such as the Hollywood Reporter.

In January 1998, I relocated to Hong Kong in a full-time position at Ad Age International. In June 2005, the company launched a digital newsletter, AdAgeChina. I now handle pretty much all the reporting for this title. This role allows me to regularly visit Chinese cities like Shanghai, Beijing , Guangzhou, Xi’an, Kunming , Qingdao, Hefei and Nanning. China is an incredibly diverse and interesting country.

Reuben and I live in Hong Kong and will probably remain based here for many years, but we have a condominium called Baan Similan in Phuket, an island in southern Thailand on the Andaman Sea. We spend as much time there as we can.

To see Reuben’s web site, you can click here.

Occupation

Journalist and photographer

Current job

Asia Editor, Advertising Age and

Editor & Managing Director, AdAgeChina

Home

Shek O Village, Hong Kong Island

Kamala Village, Phuket Island, Thailand

Follow me on Twitter (@normandymadden)

Favorite Camera:

Canon Eos 650 (SLR), Canon PowerShot S3 and most recently, my iPhone!