When I was growing up, radio DJs were celebrities, not just the people singing the songs.

I'm little. I'm pale. I'm not strong. But bad things are scared of me. I think it's because my dad was a preacher growing up, and I was raised in the Church of Christ.

I was lucky to grow up in the '90s, when we had just as many strong female artists as male artists. That's a world I would like to live in again.

As I got a little older, I discovered Lori McKenna and Patty Griffin and found out how many other tools we have as songwriters, that there's storytelling and there's ear candy, and that there is a place where they meet, too, and both of those women are really good at doing that.