[ The following story is completely true. ]

Andrew Mann was raised in a sixties sit-com set on the suburban fringe of Pennsylvania’s Amish country. As a child, Andrew watched too many cartoons and spent most of his time drawing superheroes and aliens. At school he led the safety patrol, and at home it was usually Christmas. It was a childhood full of tree-forts and imagination. He made a handful of friends, some of them human, but was particularly fond of his small furry companions.  From an early age, Andrew gave most of his life to fantasizing about outlandish characters, otherworldly beasts, and parallel realities, continually trying to prove that it’s been time well-spent.

Andrew’s mother, an eccentric art historian and homemaker, was a wellspring of constructive criticism and fostered an appreciation for literature and the arts. She read aloud often and with relish, cared for wayward animals when they showed up, and maintained a wonderland of a home. Andrew’s father, an entrepreneur and antique-toy-collector, possessed an inspiring work-ethic and enthusiastically supported his son's musical pursuits. He designed houses for fun and profit, claimed to be a displaced extra-terrestrial, and often asked Andrew to be more normal. 

Additionally, Andrew’s parents sang so much at home that Andrew would not learn what was so inherently absurd about musical theater until it was explained to him at the age of fifteen.

Growing up, Andrew’s brother (a space-age blacksmith and ex-pirate) never liked Andrew nearly as much as he liked fishing, working out, or anything that wasn’t Andrew. From an early age, he enjoyed hand-crafting crossbows and building laser security systems. He currently lives in the forest with his family and a small army of cats.

In high school, Andrew pursued independent creative studies in lieu of "real” classes whenever possible. He drummed and sang in jazz band, fell in love with outer space and girls, became the king of Atlantis for one year, anchored a daily news broadcast for two, and was eventually given his very own large closet.  He spent much of his time there.

At college number one, Andrew learned the value of diplomacy.

At college number two, he learned that grown-ups are not very different from kids.

During college, on his own for the first time, Andrew discovered a passion for anthropology, writing, and unconventional silverware, and spent many nights swimming at the top of a starry city skyline. He co-founded a record-label and helped run several songwriting organizations. College did not rob Andrew of his idealism, but it reinforced his self-reliance.

As an ostensible adult, Andrew played in several bands, including AnaKataCombo, with which he produced the lounge-rock milestone "If Once."

Currently, Andrew is focused on writing and research, but also on shoveling snow, in a cozy old burrow located deep in the northern land of mosquitos and hotdish. While Andrew uncovers new worlds and brings untold stories to light, hoping everyone will eventually love what he’s put into the world, he secretly dreams of moving to an abandoned missile silo somewhere in the American southwest and founding the world's finest subterranean squid ranch.

Squid Ranch plans pending...