Kevin MacLeod was born in North Sydney, Nova Scotia and raised on a dairy farm on nearby Boularderie Island. He studied at Boston University and Carleton University, where he received Bachelors and Masters degrees. He worked for the Department of the Secretary of State for twenty-two years, and the author of A Crown of Maples. He is a member of the Senate of the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa and a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.