Music helped me to get out of a rough period in my life when I really struggled to see any future for myself and was terrified about what was happening to the people around me.

Even when I interviewed bands, it was about asking them about writing songs, so it was more for me than anybody else.

I don't think I ever wanted to be a journalist - I was more interested in what comes from being a journalist.

The time after college and before music was really rough. I couldn't afford food. I was eating bread and butter for five months. Living in New Orleans, I couldn't afford to take care of myself. I had no health insurance.

So many people prefer to live in drama because it's comfortable. It's like someone staying in a bad marriage or relationship - it's actually easier to stay because they know what to expect every day, versus leaving and not knowing what to expect.

On my own or with a friend, I'm a shopaholic, and I particularly love the cleaning aisle in the supermarket. But when I'm with my husband, I'm shop shy because he can't bear it. It always ends up with us making a huge scene on the High Street and then going off in a huff in separate directions.

When I was born, the wisdom was that homosexuality was an illness; that it was caused largely by somebody's mother, and a distorted relationship with the mother. And now, as I live my life - married to a husband, with kids - it's an identity.

I'm a hardcore reality lover. I love characters that people can relate with and yet a tinge of grey shade.