NK Chats To… Angie Elita Newell

Hi Angie, thank you so much for joining me. Can you tell me about your novel, All I See is Violence and what inspired it? 

Hello Laura! My novel is about the attempted cultural annihilation enacted against the indigenous North Americans by the United States government. This policy is very nuanced, and the people enacting it and experiencing it reacted in very personal and not necessarily typical ways, so I wove the timeline of 1876 and the coming-of-age experience of the female warrior Little Wolf against the seasoned military fighter Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer and parallel that to her future relation Nancy Swiftfox in 1972 at the height of the American Indian Movement.

What’s your typical writing day like? 

Each writing day is different. If I am working on the actual story, I spend more time thinking about the story and the characters and what their world was like versus actually writing.

What are the challenges you found when writing your novel? 

The challenge I found was finding a publisher, the more people I talk to in the writing industry the more seem to all experience this, so I am going to say it is a writing rite of passage.

From idea to finished book, what’s your writing process like and how long does it typically take you? 

I think each story is unique but two years from start to finish seems to be my rhythm, I work with historical fiction and I am trained as a historian so there is an archival research component to my work that takes some time against the dreaming of it in my mind.

What’s your favourite word and why? 

Amazing. I am continuously awestruck with beauty and appreciation for this life and this world, despite everything at its core it is pure love and amazing.

Which fictional world would you like to visit and why? 

Without question the Shire, from Lord of the Rings, cheese with Frodo and Gandalf? Amazing.

What’s the most surprising thing you’ve discovered since you’ve started writing? 

The most surprising thing I’ve discovered as a writer is that sometimes the story takes on a life of itself and goes in directions you didn’t intend on going.

What are you currently working on? 

I am working on a novel about the warriors Geronimo and Lozen. Fierceness, bloodshed, and magic, the Apaches are the last Indians to surrender to the prisons known as reservation and they give the American government a thirty-year fight.

Which book have you read that you wish you could forget, just so you could discover it again? 

I never wish to forget something I’ve read and have read some novels three or four time, like Brooklyn, The Sun Also Rises, The Great Gatsby, The Wasteland, Romeo and Juliet and The Hunger Games.

Any advice for aspiring writers? 

Never give up on your art, anchor yourself in your own truth which is love and it will find a way.

Would you rather – 

Have an endless summer or winter?

Tea or coffee?

Movie or book?

Morning person or night owl?

Paperback or eBook?

These are tough juxtapositions as I actually love both from each category so I’ll put my preference first, summer, coffee, morning, and hardcover.

About Angie Elita Newell – 

Angie Elita Newell belongs to the Liidlii Kue First Nation from the Dehcho, the place where two rivers meet. A trained historian, she blends a tradition of oral stories with academic history and holds university degrees in English literature, creative writing, and First Nations history with an emphasis on colonialism. Angie is a heavily tattooed global wanderer, a mother to daughters, and a connoisseur of coffee, she has a profound appreciation for humanity and what we as a people can instill upon this awe-inspiring world.

Newell is the co-host of a recently launched podcast, Apparently Transparent, along with co-host and former professional skateboarder, Ross McLeister. Exploring a variety of topics, featuring guests and conversation, this podcast aims to rethinking the human mind and the universe that controls it. This world is large and talk can be small, Apparently Transparent tries to make it big.

Connect with Angie Elita Newell at angieelitanewell.com or on Instagram 

All I See is Violence (Greenleaf Book Group / January 16, 2024 / $27.95) is available from Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Bookshop.org, and Amazon UK 

About All I See is Violence – 

A woman warrior, a ruthless general, and a single mother–three stories deftly braided into the legacy of a stolen nation

The US government stole the Black Hills from the Sioux, as it stole land from every tribe across North America. Forcibly relocated, American Indians were enslaved under strict land and resource regulations. Indigenous writer Angie Elita Newell brings a poignant retelling of the catastrophic, true story of the 1876 Battle of Little Bighorn and the social upheaval that occurred on the Pine Ridge Reservation in 1972 during the height of the American Indian Movement.

Cheyenne warrior Little Wolf fights to maintain her people’s land and heritage as General Custer leads a devastating campaign against American Indians, killing anyone who refuses to relocate to the Red Cloud Agency in South Dakota. A century later, on that same reservation, Little Wolf’s relation Nancy Swiftfox raises four boys with the help of her father-in-law, while facing the economic and social ramifications of this violent legacy.

​All I See Is Violence weaves love, loss, and hard truths into a story that needs to be told–a journey through violence to bear witness to all that was taken, to honor what all of our ancestors lived through, and to heal by acknowledging the shadows in order to find the light.

by

Laura

I’m Laura. I started Novel Kicks in 2009. I wanted a place to post my writing as well as give other writers like me the opportunity to do the same. There is also a monthly book club, a writing room which features writing prompts, book reviews, competitions, author interviews and guest posts.

I grew up by the sea (my favourite place in the world) and I currently live in Hampshire. I am married to Chris, have a cat named Buddy and I would love to be a writer. I’m trying to write the novel I’ve talked so much about writing if only I could stop pressing delete. I’ve loved writing since creative writing classes in primary school. I have always wanted to see my teacher Miss Sayers again and thank her for the encouragement. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything I can get my hands on, I love reading, dancing like a loon and singing to myself very badly. My current obsession is Once Upon a Time and I would be happy to live with magic in the enchanted forest surrounded by all those wonderful stories provided that world also included Harry Potter. I love reading chick lit. contemporary fiction and novels with mystery.