The Blue Like Jazz author speaks about his new book, his bike ride across America, his involvement in President Obama's campaign and more.

Name: Donald Miller

Current project: A Million Miles in a Thousand Years (978-0-785-21306-2, $19.99, Thomas Nelson).

Hometown: Portland, Ore.

With your new book, we thought we might be writing about it last year.

"Yeah, sorry about that."

What can you tell us about it?

“Essentially it's about a couple screenwriters came to town to make a movie out of Blue Like Jazz. And they started changing so much of it to make it more meaningful and entertaining. And I'm helping them write it. Here I am, I'm editing my life to make it more meaningful and entertaining. I thought 'what if I really did this in my life? What if I actually did these things? A character with a strong ambition that's self sacrificing tells a much better story.

"I took the principles screenwriters used to make good movies and used them in my life. It was really fascinating. I think one of the reasons I couldn't finish my book on time was riding my bike across America, starting the Mentoring Project, doing things that make my life more meaningful. In the back of my mind I was thinking 'if you write another book and write another movie about a guy who wrote another book, it would be another boring movie.' I need to go do things for the sake of life. It made the book such much more positive experience. To write a message that you've actually practiced and changed things in your life to make it more meaningful.”

What might surprise readers?

“There's nothing very controversial. It's a very different book than any book I've ever written. Even structurally, it's about 50 chapters and they're short chapters. The topic is much less religious than previous books. I talk about God in the book but it's not a book about faith. It's a book about meaningful life that could be applied to anyone who's living not just Christians. It just feels like a natural progression from before. Hopefully it's just as funny.”

So the Blue Like Jazz movie is coming in early 2010, right? And you have a cameo?

“Yes, if all goes to plan. There's another actor who plays me in the movie. I play a writer at a book reading who gets heckled by the actor playing me. I'm looking forward to it. Steve Taylor is directing the movie.”

How did the nationwide bike tour go?

“Incredible. Seven weeks on the road, we raised nearly $200K for Blood Water mission. It was just a phenomenal time. I was at a reunion of the guys who did the trip, we finished in August of last year, and everybody showed at this cabin in North Carolina. It bonded us together very much. People who probably wouldn't have chosen to be friends, we were bonded. It was a remarkable experience. I'd do it again.”

As a single guy who's in the public eye, does that have its own set of challenges?

“I guess so. When I think about not being married, it's never about now. It's always about 'ten years from now, if you've never gotten married, wouldn't you be alone?' I'm 37. And yet I felt that way when I was 25. I thought that way when I was 30. And I'm honestly happier than I've ever been. My girlfriend hates when I talk like that. She wants me to be unhappy. But I don't want to marry someone who's unhappy so why should she want to marry me if I'm unhappy. I guess it has its challenges but man, it's a good life.”

People sometimes refer to you as Emergent or part of that movement. Does it make you uncomfortable to be a part of that discussion?
“It only makes me uncomfortable because I don't know what the Emergent church is and I don't attend an Emergent church or emerging church, is that what it is? Rob Bell is a friend I like very much and Brian MacLaren is a friend I like very much but we don't talk about theology. I think they do but I'm not interested. It bores me. In discussions and forums, it's talked extremely negatively so of course it bugs me. But it also means that people in those discussions don't know what they're talking about because I attend a 150 year old Lutheran Church and, theologically, we consider ourselves Reformed, almost. And people might say 'what do you mean almost?' I say 'I think reformed and don't ask me to explain it – Lost is coming on!' But the discussion over Emergent church, it can be such a hateful discussion. When someone who is interested in knowing if I'm emergent or whatever, I want to run. Yet I love those guys.”

How does it feel to have readers reference personal parts of your life?
“It doesn't bother me that much because I don't know. I don't even remember what's in some books, vaguely. People come up and say 'I feel like I know you.' I”m not embarrassed because I don't remember. It's actually kind of nice. It creates an intimacy that's not a false kind of intimacy but a foreign kind of intimacy. I feel like I owe thousands of people a good long listen to their stories. I feel like I've been at dinner with someone and I've done all the talking (laughs). I'm convinced that if there is a purgatory, I will sit and two million people in a row will say, 'Hi, Don, when I was nine....' and I will deserve every hour of it.”

To what do you attribute the success of Blue Like Jazz?

“There were so many honest memoirs in the secular world. The Christian memoir tended to be a bit polished, less vulnerable, because the writer feared they represented God and needed to look good. Or it was the standard, 'I was a terrible person, let me tell all the juicy details, but then I came to Jesus and now I'm not a terrible person anymore.' I think that was a big part of it, more than the quality of the writing, it was like 'oh we can tell the truth?' And I think it was freeing for a lot of people. And then, there were cartoons in the book. I think that helped.”

Can you talk about your role in the Obama Presidential campaign?

“I supported Obama when he was a Senator. He was sponsoring a piece of legislation called the Responsible Fatherhood Act. I went to the Bush White House when Bush was in the White House. He'd been trying to get it through for a long time. So when he ran, I liked his ideas and what he was talking about. There were some things I disagreed with but mostly I thought this guy would make a good President. Then I got the call to pray at the Democratic National Convention. While I was there, I met with his right hand man on faith and policy. We got to be friends. He asked me to come on the road and talk about why I was voting for the President. I did that probably in 10 states, 20 events in each state. It was an event for a while. Life for a while was the campaign trail. I loved it. Enjoyed getting to know the staff, especially non believers. So many people open to Jesus in the Democratic party, it's insane. Most Christians, conservatives, would be shocked at the spiritual climate – shocked and pleased. But it was really fun. So he got elected and I got to go to the Inauguration. Then they called to ask me to be on the task force about fatherhood. I look forward to seeing what happens over the next several years, what he can get done. Obviously it's an administration with its hands tied by the economy but we'll see.”

Did getting involved in it cause you any hesitancy?

“Sure. I don't want to be pigeon-holed theologically or politically. I'll vote for a Republican in the next election if he's the better candidate. That's not something the public would understand. I had to go into it knowing that I was going to be really misunderstood and be okay with that. I thought 'sure, Jesus isn't going to ask anyone else's opinion when I go to heaven.' Truth is the truth, no matter what everybody thinks. And it wasn't that big of a deal. I think in a Christianity Today interview, there was significant push back online. In person, I don't remember a push back period, at all. And these were Christian meetings. A lot of that stuff takes place in television and online but not in person. I enjoyed the experience a great deal. I would never ever want to be a politician. It's exhausting.”

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