SJ Says:
I wrote "Were-owl" as a direct result of something my friend Kyle Cassidy posted in his blog this past spring, the following words: If you'd be interested in collaborating on a small art project with someone else here, just reply with the word "yes".

I said yes, and now I am happy to call myself not just a friend to Kyle, but a friend to artist Emily Carding (emilycarding on Livejournal), creator of the Transparent Tarot. At Kyle's behest, in a random pairing, Emily and I started exchanging emails and decided that we would trade a song about a painting for a painting about a song. For her half of our collaboration, Em has painted her depiction of my Green-eyed Sue/Red-handed Jill, who you can hear about in the Wendy Trilogy on my Sirens album. As she prepared to start work on what turned out to be a gorgeous depiction of Herself at the ship's wheel, Emily linked me to her gallery site, www.childofavalon.com, and told me to write about anything I found there that inspired me. I came upon her pencil-and-Photoshop image, Were-Owl, and there was just something about his face. The song poured out of me quickly, and as the summer settled in, I started work in the studio to bring it to shivering life. You can see Emily's image of him for yourself at this link: photos.bravenet.com/400/720/949/9/5F24198328.jpg

The Were-owl has since endeared himself to all of us, dangerous creature of mystery though he may be. I hope you enjoy meeting him as well, in both his audio and his visual incarnations.

This song would not have happened without encouragement from Emily, Kyle, and the 2xcreative project and community. I dedicate it to them, to shape-shifters everywhere, and to all those brave enough to love someone whom they don't necessarily understand.