Book and album fit together for Tori Amos

DETROIT, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- Singer Tori Amos says writing her new book complemented rather than competed with the album she was making at the same time.

"A lot of my comrades were worried, but I told them that writing a book doesn't mean I'm going to fluff off of writing music," says Amos, who recently released her ninth album, "The Beekeeper," along with "Piece By Piece," which she co-wrote with music journalist Ann Powers.

"On the contrary, I think I appreciated being a musician more than I ever have. When I got tired of writing the book and a little fed up with it, I would run to the music. The music was sort of my escape from this book, and I was so happy to do it."

Amos, a North Carolina native who now lives in Cornwall, England, with her husband and their daughter Natashya, 4, kicks off a tour to promote the book and album March 14 in Los Angeles. She'll be playing a mix of book and music stores and theaters.