Exclusive Interview with Author-Poet Sophie Schiller

Today I'm featuring an author and poet whose poems just spoke to me. Meet Sophia Schiller, whose poetry collection On a Moonlit Night in the Antilles I read and reviewed recently and gave a 5-star review.

The interview and review were originally planned to published in April 2019 for National Poetry Month, but due to some setbacks from my end, both were delayed.

About Sophie Schiller

Sophie Schiller was born in Paterson, NJ and grew up in the West Indies. She is a novelist and a poet. Kirkus Reviews has called her "an accomplished thriller and historical adventure writer." Publishers Weekly called her Island on Fire, “a memorable romantic thriller,” her Race to Tibet, "A thrilling yarn," and her Transfer Day, “a page-turner with emotional resonance."

On a Moonlit Night in the Antilles is her first collection of poetry. She graduated from American University, Washington, DC and lives in Brooklyn, NY. She is presently working on a novel about a Founding Father. 

Connect with Sophie Schiller via Facebook, Twitter, and her blog.

On to Nadaness In Motion's exclusive interview with Sophie Schiller!

Q: Did you do anything special for National Poetry Month?

Sophie Schiller: I conducted a giveaway on my Facebook page for 5 free copies of my poetry book. I’ve been posting my poems online to get people to take a few minutes of their day to look at the world a little differently, through the lens of poetic verse. Almost any topic can become more salient through the use of poetry. Poetry allows us to discover more about ourselves.

Q: Your poetry collection On a Moonlit Night in the Antilles was inspired by the Caribbean, what other countries have inspired your writing?

Sophie Schiller: No other countries, but other poets have inspired my writing, such as Emily Dickinson, Derek Walcott, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Rudyard Kipling, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and John Keats. Their poetry inspired quite a few poems in my collection, such as “I Found a Danish Skilling” which was inspired by “I had a Guinea Golden” by Emily Dickinson, and “Annaberg” was inspired by “To Helen” by Edgar Allan Poe, and “A Song to Hugo Larsen” was inspired by “Ode to Salvador Dalí” by Federico García Lorca.

Q: Where else do you plan to travel in search of other adventures and inspiration?

Sophie Schiller: I think the West Indies is the place where my soul is most at home, and where my creativity comes alive. I would love to see St. Vincent, Nevis, and St. Lucia, not necessarily in that order.

Read Nadaness In Motion's 5-star book review of On a Moonlit Night in the Antilles by Sophia Schiller.

Q: I noticed that your poetry mostly rhymes, do you have difficulty with rhyme while not making it sound forced? Have you tried writing in free verse?

Sophie Schiller: During the course of my writing I have found that for every problem (in rhyming) there is a solution. If you work on a poem for a long time and it’s not working, in other words, it if sounds too forced, it probably means you have to approach it from a different angle. The solution will come to you eventually. Sometimes you have to put the poem away for a few weeks or a few months and approach it from a fresh perspective. I have never tried writing in free verse. I would have to take a course in it to really understand the technique and the artistic elements of it.

Q: I see you have several books of historical fiction. Are you a history teacher?

Sophie Schiller: No, I discovered late that I love history and stories set in the past, so all my novels are historical. There’s so much to discover!

Q: What are you currently working on? And what books are set to be released in 2019?

Sophie Schiller: Currently I’m working on a novel about Alexander Hamilton’s boyhood in the Caribbean. The novel should be released in 2020. The only book I released in 2019 was my poetry book and it has turned into one of the most fulfilling projects I have ever worked on.

Q: If you could give one piece of advice to aspiring writers, what would it be?

Sophie Schiller: Never give up. Nothing good ever came without some sacrifice.


Check out more exclusive author interviews on the Nadaness In Motion book blog.