By Megan Fraser

When Tori Amos entered the music industry in 1980 at age 17, she had no idea what to expect. Now, 25 years and nine albums later, she’s taking on 2005 excited about her tour, her future and her new projects.

The year is already shaping up to be a career milestone for the singer-songwriter who released her new album, “The Beekeeper” Feb. 22 along with her first biography, “Tori Amos: Piece by Piece,” which she co-wrote with music journalist Ann Powers.

“Piece by Piece” is unlike anything Amos has done in her career, but the concept of putting herself out there made sense to Amos, who said she is constantly gaining inspiration from the experiences of others.

“I thought that maybe while I can still remember my process, I wanted to give people a backstage pass. There’s always a hidden meaning to everything that I do, I guess,” she said. “I believe that when there is destruction everywhere, the only way to combat destruction is to create.”

The North Carolina native’s motivation to be constantly writing and creating has also made her latest album different from past projects. Amos is known for her solo singing and piano-playing skills, but uses this album and her upcoming solo tour, “Original Sinsuality,” to take on risks that have been a huge challenge for her.

One of these risks is Amos’ use of the organ instrument, the Hammond.

“The Hammond is an instrument that I’ve respected, but that I’ve been shying away from because of Jimmy Smith and some of these great players. I’m a piano player so I was somewhat intimidated,” she said. “It’s really affected this record in a big way, even if it’s not on a particular song.”

Fans should be pleased to hear the back-up vocals of Damien Rice on “The Power of Orange Knickers,” since Amos is often reluctant to collaborate with other artists.

“I kind of just put it out there and sent [Rice] the song and it was really effortless. Sometimes collaborations aren’t so effortless. It’s dicey just because it can go horribly wrong and it’s hard to go back on something like that once you invite somebody down into the studio. You hope that you get it right,” Amos said.

Amos also hoped it was the right time to address religion in a warring world in a way that would make an impact on listeners.

“We’re losing friends and relatives and lovers and our lives are changing and the question is, who is benefiting from this? It’s about asking questions and ‘The Beekeeper’ is set in the garden, as the Bible starts set in a garden,” Amos said. “Not the garden where a woman was blamed for the fall, but a different garden – a garden where we’re encouraged to find knowledge and we’re encouraged to look inside ourself and we’re not ashamed to ask ourselves these questions.”

The album follows the journey of a female protagonist through six of these gardens that represent relationships and obstacles she encounters on her journey, which serves as a symbol of the lives of women everywhere.

“The Beekeeper” draws much from Amos’ own history and beliefs as well as her time spent researching, but it is her dedication to inspire her audience that makes the album and her biography both reflective and revealing.

“I believe that instead of banging your head against the wall I think you have to put down on paper whatever your creativity is. I want to motivate those creative forces so that they will feel the fire within their being, the fire beneath their feet, and pick up their pen and write.”