Three Eyed Man

Even before he knew how to write, Owen loved dictating stories to his parents and insisting they write them down. He was born in 1995 in Durham, North Carolina to Jeff and Bett Essen. Jeff Essen was a home renovator, found-art creator, lawyer and adventurer. Bett Essen was a journalist and flight attendant turned stay at home mom who later went back to work as a librarian, a floral designer and a local politician. The Essen family spent much of Owen's early childhood living in a geodesic dome in the mountains of rural Colorado on the edge of a massive wilderness area, including some time without indoor plumbing or extensive electricity (just a little from a solar panel). Essen's parents divorced when he was eight. His mother later married John Foley, and Owen now has three wonderful siblings: Patrick, Kelsey and Elia. Owen and his sister Elia graduated from Woods Charter School in North Carolina, often regarded as one of the top high schools in the country. Owen got a scholarship to study film and television at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia, which he did for several years before leaving to pursue other interests. Essen has spent time traveling in both Latin America and Europe. At twenty one, he is publishing his first book.