Joe Bandel lives in north central Minnesota with his dog Valentine. He enjoys the outdoors, computers, writing, reading and translating. He has translated seventeen books, written some self-empowerment books and a sci-fi adventure novel. He is fascinated with German history and literature prior to World War I and has several ongoing translation projects. He specializes in authors like Hanns Heinz Ewers; Karl Hans Strobl; Stanislaw Przybyszewski, and Paul Busson. Other translation projects include "Der Orchideengarten", the world's first illustrated fantasy magazine first published in 1919. He translates and publishes the stories along with the original art.