DEAR READER,
THE BOOK YOU HAVE JUST READ IS A LOVE LETTER to artists. Not only the famous ones, enshrined in museums, but also the everyday people who are brave enough to express themselves. My teen protagonists are both artists, though wildly different ones: Bex is fascinated by anatomy and wants to be a medical illustrator, while Jack is a street artist, spray-painting giant gold words across San Francisco landmarks. She’s a smart loner being raised by a strong, single mother, and he’s a charming, pompadour-ed boy from a different side of town. Though they’re opposites – in both their art and lives – a mutual respect for each other’s work brings them together.
I come from a family of artists. My Scandinavian grandmother was a painter, and my mother, a stained-glass artist. Expression was always encouraged and as a teen, I bounced around from (terrible) acting to (horrific) poetry to teaching myself how to play both the drums and piano (my entire repertoire included butchering a variety of Christmas carols, punk-rock classics, and “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” – which, to this day, my family can’t hear without cringing).
All of that early experimentation led me to pursue two degrees in Fine Art. For me, being an artist wasn’t about some sort of gift-from-the-gods talent as much as a drive to express yourself. No way was wrong, no method was off-limits. Be true to yourself. Take the risk. If you fail, get back up and try it again.
I still believe this.
At the beginning of NIGHT OWLS, Bex is struggling with unresolved family issues that have changed her artwork. Instead of using art to express herself, she thinks of it as a skill she must master if she wants a chance to escape her narrowing world. When she meets Jack – whose own family secrets are driving him in the opposite direction, bigger and bolder – he shoves her out of her self-imposed bubble. And when she shoves back, both of their worlds (and hearts!) explode in the best way possible.
I am Bex. I’m also Jack. And I’m betting you are a little, too. Because in a way, we’re all artists, trying to communicate with each other. Trying to express ourselves while making sense of our lives and taking risks with our hearts. And I hope you enjoyed reading about two people who’ve hazarded to crack open their chests and bare themselves, stand or fall. Moreover, I hope they spoke to the artist inside you. Thanks for taking that risk with me.
Jenn Bennett