An Interview with Erik Schneider

Erik Schneider was born in Austin, Texas, and frequently visits the state, but he has called Northwest Arkansas home since early childhood. It’s not the most bustling location in the country, but the dense forests and somewhat secluded feel to the area inspired the setting and character of this novel.

In his daily life, Erik works in corporate compliance, which the reader will surely find exciting, but alas, it is merely a means to pay the bills while he pursues passions such as writing! In his free time, he enjoys playing games (board and video), binge-watching Survivor, listening to live music, and outdoor activities like camping or kayaking.

One of the biggest motivations for Erik to write this story was to capture the power of sincere and meaningful conversations and the way that those conversations fundamentally shape who we are. He hopes that readers will be inspired by Solum to never shy away from discussing and sharing things they find important or curious about the world.

Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to book title to be early on. I knew that I wanted it to be the main character’s name, or at least feature the name in some way. The time that took a little longer was figuring out what the name should be. I decided on finding Latin names for characters that fit their role or theme within the story. One of the translations for Solum is “foundation” and that resonated with me because the story for the character is one of breaking his life back down to the foundations and then building himself up again.

How did it feel when you first saw your book cover? Or when you first held your book in your hands?

It felt great! The book cover was when the realization that this was happening finally started to hit me. The story had been entirely in my head up to that point and so when I got to actually look at a visual representation of the setting and some of the characters it really made it come to life.

Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

I always enjoyed writing and coming up with stories since I was young but I had never really made a determined effort to complete a project. School and life kept me busy until suddenly I had some free time on my hands and I thought now would be a good time to try it out. As far as influential people go, Christopher Hitchens’ work always inspires me. His writing is fantastic and every time I read him I am reminded of a goal to strive for. He is my most admired writer and I learned a lot about writing and life from him.

What was the most rewarding/meaningful part of publishing your book?

So far the most rewarding part has been seeing it featured in bookstores. Seeing it placed on a display with other books is a dream come true. I began writing the story in 2020, so it’s been a long time coming to say the least.

What is one thing you hope readers take away from reading your book? How do you envision your perfect reader?

I tried to make my story as flexible as I could so it could appeal to anyone interested in the ideas. My perfect reader is someone who enjoys thoughtful conversation and reads the book as if they are having conversations with the characters themselves. I hope that readers will be inspired and challenged and will seek out the same types of conversations with their friends and family. A takeaway that I hope hits home is that it’s important and rewarding to know why you think what you do, and to understand and be comfortable with disagreement.

Are you a writer, too? Submit your manuscript to Atmosphere Press.