Angeline Boulley, an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, is a storyteller who writes about her Ojibwe community in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. She is a former Director of the Office of Indian Education at the U.S. Department of Education. Angeline lives in southwest Michigan, but her home will always be on Sugar Island. Firekeeper’s Daughter is her debut novel, and was an instant #1 NYT Bestseller.

I had the opportunity to interview Angeline, which you can read below.

First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT! Could you tell us a little about yourself?

I’m an awesome (sometimes geeky, sometimes glamorous) 60-year-old woman who is living the dream of being a bestselling author and writing mystery-thrillers that explore Native identity.

What can you tell us about your most recent book, Sisters in the Wind? What was the inspiration for this story? 

Lucy is a teen who barely survived the foster care system and learns about her Native identity from a mysterious attorney named Jamie, who wants to help her connect with her Ojibwe family on Sugar Island.

In previous interviews, you’ve discussed how your work intentionally highlights indigenous representation and Native issues today. Would you mind speaking a little of what it means to you to feature this in your books?

I never read a novel with a Native protagonist until I was a high school senior. Everyone deserves to be seen in the stories they read, listen to, or watch on the screen. I want to tell stories that delve into Native identity, whether it’s the perspective of a light-skinned young woman who doesn’t feel Native enough; a biracial teen who is Ojibwe and Black; and a teen who doesn’t know about her Native family until after she ages out of the foster care system.

As a writer, what drew you to the art of storytelling, particularly thrillers?

I was raised on Nancy Drew and gothic romance mystery novels. I love the urgency of thrillers and the challenge of solving a mystery. I enjoy writing flawed characters who sometimes make bad decisions, but you root for them anyway.

How would you describe your creative process?

I find that I’m a different writer for each book. For SISTERS, Lucy made me work for her story. I ended up doing marathon writing sessions that lasted two nights and two days. It was as if I needed to induce a fugue-like state for Lucy to reveal anything.

When it comes to research, plot outlines, and editorial notes, I journal everything to keep myself sane. I like dot grid notebooks, A5 size (5.5” x 8”), with substantial paperweight (120 GSM at a minimum), and a pen loop for convenience. There are great brands at all different price points (URSUNSHINE, Clever Fox, Semikolon, Leuchtturm). I orient the notebook based on what I’m documenting: regular horizontal for plotting, vertical with the left side at top for interviews and calls with my editor or agent, vertical with the right side at top for research notes, and upside down horizontal for revision/editorial notes.   

What are some of your favorite elements of writing? What do you consider some of the most frustrating and/or challenging? 

I love when a great line of dialogue or plot point comes to me out of the blue. I get excited by the challenge to write a perfect paragraph distilled to its essence–like where adding or removing even one more word would ruin it. I am vexed by the 60-80% point in the story–I know my midpoint and ending, but how to get there?!?!

As an author, who or what would you say are some of your greatest creative influences and/or sources of inspiration in general?

I read THE LAST TIME THEY MET by Anita Shreve (2001). It was the first time I’d read a story told in reverse (Act III, Act II, Act I). Its devastating conclusion taught me that it’s not just the story, but how the author crafts its telling that makes it singular.

What’s a question you haven’t been asked yet but that you wish you were asked (as well as the answer to that question)?

I wish I got asked about which authors I fan-girl over at literary events: Angie Thomas, Stephen Graham Jones, Tommy Orange, Louise Erdrich, Terese Mailhot, and Roxane Gay. Or who I wish I could have met if they were still alive: Truman Capote!

What advice might you have to give for aspiring writers out there?

You’ll receive all sorts of advice. Keep only that which resonates in your gut or heart. Leave the rest for someone else.

Are there any other projects you are working on and at liberty to speak about?

I just sent Chapter 1 of Book 4 to my agent, Faye Bender. She loved it and (correctly) commented that I seemed to be having fun with this one.

Finally, what books/authors would you recommend to the readers of Geeks OUT?

All of the authors I’ve previously mentioned, along with SADIE by Courtney Summers (best as an audiobook), THE HAZELWOOD by Melissa Albert, THE GIRLS I’VE BEEN by Tess Sharpe (who also narrates the audiobook), and MANMADE MONSTERS by Andrea Rogers.