My songwriter story does not begin as a “teenager with a guitar”, but as a grown-ass woman hitting the mid-century mark doing a self-imposed birthday challenge. When I turned 49, I gave myself a year to complete a list of 50 things I’d like to try before my 50th birthday. I had things like, see 50 live bands, spend 50 nights traveling and so on. We had just bought an Airstream and I had visions of singing around a campfire, but I knew I was a chicken to sing in front of others. So, I chose to take some voice lessons as a challenge, which has turned into the best gift I’ve ever given myself – a whirlwind, wild and joyous, creative ride right out of my comfort zone and into my life’s passion. My vocal coach asked me one day why, as a writer, I wasn’t writing songs. Ummmm… what? I dismissed it. I had a lot on my list, but it wouldn’t leave my head. So, I sat down and wrote “Gypsy With Me” , a song about wanting to simplify and hit the road in Buttercup (the Airstream) with the love of my life. I took it in and showed it to my coach, who referred me to a producer. Six years later, an album, plus 6 singles, an EP on the way, and more than a hundred songs written, I’m literally living a dream I didn’t know I had. Life’s never been better