Born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Vincent Wyckoff dedicated a career to the U.S. Postal Service. His first book, Beware of Cat: and Other Encounters of a Letter Carrier, celebrates the stories of people on his route. Prior to that, he attended the University of Minnesota and served a tour of duty in the U.S. Army. For a short time he lived on the North Shore of Lake Superior, from which he developed the background for Black Otter Bay, his first work of fiction. Wyckoff and his wife, Sybil, are long- time residents of south Minneapolis. They have three children and six grandchildren.