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Cover for "Love, War & Metaphor," by Luke Austin Daugherty. (Submitted art for The Star)

Luke Austin Daugherty has released six albums. (Submitted photo for The Star)

Luke Austin Daugherty has three other forms of identification: writer, painter, musician.

The 30-year-old Mooresville singer-songwriter began writing poetry when he was 7, and has released three books of poems on his label/publishing company Pilgrim's Journey Media (under which he's also produced six albums of original music).

Daugherty's latest album, "Love, War & Metaphor," features an original painting as cover art, and he is embarking on a short area "bookstore tour" to promote the CD, released this month.

Why were you attracted to writing?

I feel that, even from a young age, people let life pass them by so much -- even in our personal relationships you can go a lot deeper than I think people tend to. And writing, for me, is a way to communicate that. Even when I'm speaking to a person my brain works faster than I can keep up. Writing forces me to slow down and be more concise in communicating. But I just think the only truly valuable thing in life is people, so communication, and writing being a method of communication, is just what it's all about for me -- try to enrich each other's lives.

You say on your Web site you want to sing songs that matter. What makes a song "matter"?

What I listen to is sometimes different than what I write. There's a lot of music -- take your average club song -- in the grand scheme of humanity isn't going to matter for more than a few weeks. However many years I have on this Earth, be that long or short, if I have the opportunity to be in front of however many people in any given circumstance, I want to sing something that's really going to affect them on a deeper level than your average pop song. It's more about the message. I very rarely will ever write a song musically first. It's almost always written lyrically first and then I try to plug it into a chord scheme.

What subjects do you like to write about?

I don't put much boundary on what I do write. I tend to write about what I would consider true love, not just pop culture love or puppy love, but real love between two people ..... I guess more just life and the day-to-day, but seeing the treasure just under the surface of life. Trying to let the (listener) and ultimately myself know that it's not just the day-to-day. I think life can be spectacular even when you have what may be considered a normal life. That's where I try to come from.

How does your faith affect your art?

My faith as a Christian affects everything that I do. I remember a friend would always say when I was younger, quoting C.S. Lewis, "We don't need more Christian doctors or Christian lawyers, we need more lawyers and doctors that are Christians."

Not just to wave the banner and say "I'm a Christian, look at my morality," but more helping people on the day-to-day. I find myself in life as an artist and musician trying to touch people on the day-to-day.

So I can't say that I have ever written a song that was not impacted by my faith, but ..... I give myself a lot of liberty. When you look at the Scripture it covers so many different topics, even people's failings. So I feel that same liberty in my songwriting to approach all those different topics.

Could you tell me about the latest album?

"Love, War, and Metaphor" is the most recent. We recorded that primarily at the Artsgarden just like the previous, "Peace Revolution."

"Peace Revolution" approached things a lot more topically; it was more challenging for the listener. It talked about social issues. This album is more of a story-based project. I really like on the live albums to include little snippets of speaking parts, so it has that also.

Luke Austin Daugherty at Borders
When: 7 p.m. Dec. 1
Where: Borders Bookstore, 8675 River Crossing Blvd.
Tickets: Free. For info: (317) 574-1775, www.lukeaustindaugherty.com