Author Interview: Sophia Molen

In this interview, our social media manager, Maria Monteiro, sat down with Dutch writer Sophia Molen to discuss her journey as a writer and what it is like to live and write outside of one's mother tongue.

In 2024 Sophia Molen self-published her first book, Violet Syrup, which follows Ophelia, a college student trying to find herself amidst an environment that feels alienating to her. Everyone around her seems to only care about parties, having fun, and doing drugs while her search for meaning consumes her. Why am I here? Am I supposed to be doing this? Why can't I just relax and have fun? We follow her through the following years as she decides to pivot her career to pursue something more creative and ventures into the unknown through travel. These trips take her everywhere from Spain to the USA, but she decides to stay longer in Bali. This new city eventually becomes a significant character in Ophelia's life, offering her freedom and lightness while forcing her to confront the finite nature of the human body. The book perfectly balances light and dark, posing philosophical questions that connect us all in our fragile humanity.

I want to start by getting to know young Sophia. How would you describe yourself as a child? Were you a big reader? If yes, who influenced you to read most? What would you say was your favourite book growing up?

I’ve always been the observant type, shy and quiet as a kid, yet social connections have always been extremely important to me. I took school seriously; it was quite demanding and prepared me for university. After school I’d head out to the streets to find my friends, with whom I’d smoke weed and get wasted. Most of them already had jobs. I wanted to experience as much of life as possible, and at that time that meant balancing my commitment to school with an even greater focus on my social life.

My mother, an avid reader, would occasionally give me books to read. With her favorite genre being historical fiction, she once handed me A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, warning me that it might be a painful story to read. I could sense her hesitation as she passed me the book. And indeed it was an agonizing, maddening read. I felt resentment for unjust being done to women by patriarchy and the Taliban, and as a fourteen-year-old it was tough coping with these emotions. I wished I had read more books when I was younger; that reading had been more of a routine in my life.

Violet Syrup starts with Ophelia at the university. I know you also went to uni to study Biomedical Science in Amsterdam. What drew you to this area? What made you choose this field of study?

My parents and school guided me toward choosing a field of study that would prepare me for employment. No one ever mentioned the possibility of entrepreneurship or artistry as an option. Within this limited range, I knew I had an affinity for biology and the medical world. So I began studying medical biology, still uncertain about whether to pursue medicine. At the time I wasn’t fully aware of it, but I felt lost and disconnected from myself.

Even though I found some challenges and satisfaction in my studies, which helped me complete my bachelor’s degree, it became increasingly clear that something was missing. That missing piece was the “light” I now refer to in Violet Syrup.

How do you think your scientific background affects or inspires your creativity and writing style? 

When I started writing, I realized that my brain was very logic-oriented, which seemed to restrict my creativity. In scientific research, you learn to reduce and rationalize as much as possible. Scientific writing has to be simple and straightforward. Shedding this mindset was quite a process when I transitioned to creative writing. Sometimes I wonder whether my creativity would have been greater without my scientific background. Yet it’s this very ambivalence that I constantly seek in every aspect of my life: the balance between the realistic and the mysterious, reasoning and intuition.

This book, as you stated before, is semi-autobiographical so it's safe to assume that most of Ophelia's experiences are also your experiences. How do you feel about sharing your life with the public? How did you feel before publication, knowing people would have access to your thoughts, feelings, and experiences? How did you navigate the vulnerability of putting your personal experiences into fiction?

I still get the creeps at times thinking about how anyone can read my most inward feelings and thoughts, but then I remind myself of the value of sharing your experiences with others. I know the power of “feeling seen” through reading a book that articulates your own thoughts. The idea that sharing my inner journey could help others reflect on their own minds truly makes it worthwhile. But also, Violet Syrup is in the past—it reflects who I was, not who I am.

Something that I was curious about, as someone who is fluent in both Dutch and English, why did you decide to write the book in English? Do you feel like you can express yourself better in this language? I can imagine that, especially with the amount of traveling you did, perhaps Dutch isn't enough to express all your thoughts and emotions.

It was not an easy decision to choose between Dutch and English—neither language feels like the perfect fit for me. Expressing myself in my mother tongue strangely feels limiting, perhaps because I no longer speak it daily or because its vocabulary feels smaller. I also feel that having grown up speaking Dutch makes me think less outside the box in Dutch, if that makes sense.

When I express myself in English, it feels like a vast blue sky opening up before me. Could that be because the language isn’t mine? Or because its vocabulary is greater? I’m not entirely sure, but it feels like there are so many possibilities in the English language that encourage me to puzzle and play with words. Of course, this comes with the risk that my writing might not be perfect. I’ve been told that my phrasing can feel awkward at times, but that’s something I’m willing to accept. I like to think it adds a personal touch to my writing. ;)

Talking about publishing, you self-published Violet Syrup with the help of a Dutch publisher. What was that experience like? Do you have any advice for aspiring writers considering self-publishing?

My publisher is more involved in the distribution of my book than in its content. Self-publishing, to say the least, isn’t affordable and I’m still trying to cover the costs I invested in it. However, I do appreciate the full control it offers—you retain complete creative authority. My book turned out exactly as I envisioned it. It’s entirely me—from the cover design to the paper selection, and every single word.

That said, I wouldn’t choose this path for my next novels, as my experience with my publisher hasn’t been ideal.

You also illustrated your own book cover, which matches the book perfectly. I want to know about the creative process behind that. Did you illustrate it after finishing the book, or was that something you already had in mind? How did you choose the elements for the final cover? 

During COVID, I started illustrating on my iPad as a small hobby to distract myself. I created tons of illustrations during that time. For the cover design, I collaborated with a friend who came up with several amazing concepts. Together, we decided that this design was the strongest and most fitting for Violet Syrup. We refined my illustration along the way, adding details like the blue tiles in the backdrop and smaller elements such as a wine (syrup) bottle with an orange label.

As the book is almost celebrating its first year (congratulations!!), can you share a bit about this experience? How does it feel to be a writer with a published book? How do you deal with the reviews and feedback you've received over the last year?

Writing and publishing a book has been a lifelong dream, so making it a reality has certainly been fulfilling. I try to stay detached from reviews and feedback; genuine reviews on Violet Syrup, whether positive or negative, don’t affect me much. However, dealing with reviews that state untrue things is harder to process. One person repeatedly left negative reviews with mocking tones creating different accounts every few weeks. Thankfully, Goodreads took action and it finally stopped.

I was reading the book reviews on Goodreads and more than half are 4 and 5 stars, which I assume is something you're proud of. Many people connect with Ophelia and feel inspired by her story. One review said: "What is better than reading a novel that makes you want to become a better version of yourself?" Which I think is such a special review. However, some reviews wanted the book to be more philosophical. What are your thoughts on that?

Interestingly, some people thought the book was too philosophical, while others thought it wasn’t profound enough. I think my outlook on life is quite ethereal; I always try to see matters from a zoomed-out perspective, which automatically simplifies existential topics. I personally see the art in getting to the surface of such matters (rather than diving deep into them) because there is so much wisdom in untangling complexity. This is also why I kept referring to the philosophy of Taoism in my book: it focuses on effortlessness and simplicity. To some people, might come across as not profound, and for others it might have been a little too metaphysical.

Similarly, another decision I consciously made was for Ophelia not to develop deep connections with the other characters in the book, as I wanted to emphasize her connection to the world, to God and to the universe. Had I delved deeper into the relationships and the potential drama that usually comes with such intimacy, it would have taken away from the sacred connection between her and the world.

There's a quote that was particularly important to me: "I could imagine people living unfortunate narratives wishing for a new life, but I couldn't help but think that there was something fundamentally wrong with me for wanting an escape without any 'real' struggles. Though I also realised it was my privileged upbringing that allowed me to contemplate such foolish ideas." I believe, as you do, that other people's struggles don't make our struggles less real — they're just different, but I completely understand feeling this ambivalence. How do you deal with people's assumptions about you, especially knowing you're an influencer?

The current narrative on social media is that privileged people shouldn’t show their hardships, which is likely a projection of my own inner beliefs and shadow—hence the quote you picked out. What does one do with their privilege? And how does one reconcile knowing that their struggles are less severe than those of so many others around the world? I remember that even as a teenager, I always told myself I was born lucky, and that’s why I couldn’t complain about any challenging situations I faced. Yet we all know life is full of duality—black and white, yin and yang, darkness and light. No one on earth can escape this balance, though relativity is real and I believe in doing our best for others.

I don’t like having the label “influencer” stuck upon me, since it evokes immediate judgments and ideas of who I am as a person. It also feels a little narcissistic for an “influencer” to write a book based on her own life experiences, but I try to detach myself from that vantage point. I’m just a woman who had something to share with the world.

As we reach the end of the interview, what were the biggest lessons you learned while writing this book? I know you're in the process of writing your second novel. What methods are you repeating from the first book, and what have you learned not to do?

I learned to be in a constant flux with my work and revisit it over and over again. I think it’s important to be okay with removing passages you wrote regardless of how many hours you put in it. Sometimes I’d spend days on a chapter, and eventually, decided to abolish it entirely, all the while making sure it wouldn’t cause frustration and affect my work flow.

I had quite a solid writing routine with Violet Syrup and gave myself one year to write the whole story down. Now, I’m taking it a lot slower with my second novel. I want to savor the process and fine tune it until it feels complete and perfect. Though I also doubt if we artists will ever reach the stage of perfection. At some point, you just have to be brave and bring your work into the world.

If you're comfortable, could you share a bit about your next book? I know it might take a while to complete, as you're expecting a baby soon (so exciting!), so you might pause for a bit. How do you feel pregnancy is affecting your creativity and writing routines, both positively and negatively? Will this second book also be self-published?

Whereas Violet Syrup is about personal liberation, my second novel explores living in restraints. It’s a fictional story set in Andalusia based on an event that happened to someone really close to me. Pregnancy has certainly affected my writing routine. I have different priorities at the moment, like preparing for labor and for the chaotic first months of having a newborn. This time around I will take the time to find the right literary agent and hopefully get traditionally published.

I want to thank you so much for taking the time to share your experiences and your thoughts with me. Violet Syrup was such a lovely read and I hope even more people get to experience it!

Thank you, Mary, for the interesting questions!

You can get your copy of Violet Syrup at Good Company Books in Lisbon, or through our website here.