Angie Bier draws on her experiences as a wife, mother, daughter, doctor, Wisconsinite, Gen-X er, and frequent driver of carpools in her fiction and nonfiction.
She has a special interest in bringing the stories buried within her family history research to life. She discovered her need to write relatively late in life, after stepping away from a career in medicine and searching for her next thing.
After entertaining an intimate audience for several years with a sporadic blog, her first published work appeared in 2020, and her first full-length book in 2022.
Published November, 2022 — Bower Bird’s Blue Book
The read-aloud story of what
happens when a blue-
obsessed bird discovers a
collection of paints in his
favorite hue.
In a collaboration with her brother, artist Patrick Bier, Angie tells a rhyming story about the myriad shades of blue. This gorgeously illustrated story is meant to be enjoyed by readers and listeners alike.
Bower Bird’s Blue Book is available at all major retailers and can be ordered by your favorite independent bookseller!
Published July, 2022 — The Accidental Archivist
Finding Kathleen’s biological father should have been easy; he was a priest somewhere in Angie’s family tree. The problem? There were seven potential priests.
Family history, modern genetics, and well-kept secrets collide as Angie Bier is drawn into a search for a stranger’s birth father hidden somewhere in her own family tree. The search leads to dusty archives, clues hidden in plain sight, and the cutting edge of commercial genetic testing.
Review from the Evanston Round Table’s Wendi Kromash
Bier has written a fascinating study, rich in painstaking detail about family interactions, insights into local customs and the history of this part of the Midwest. It contrasts old customs with new ones, the changing role of religion, and the limited opportunities available to women.
Wendi Kromash, Evanston Round Table, December 2022
Early praise for The Accidental Archivist
The Accidental Archivist is a delicious combination of memoir, sleuthing, and family secrets. Written with deep compassion, but also an overwhelming sense of curiosity and a need to know the truth, Bier digs through relationships and family history, putting beloved dots together in a different pattern. Facts grow from multi-generational lore, creating a new picture in the family album.
Kathie Giorgio, author of All Told and If You Tame Me
Angela Bier’s The Accidental Archivist is a personal, true mystery story. Genealogist by hobby, Bier pursues the unknown background of a relative’s parentage, particularly the father. While tracing family trees could be monotonous, Bier brings both variety and humor to her account, using emails, letters, photos, and dialogue. For anyone who enjoys stories of family dynamics and mysteries, Bier’s tale can be a compelling one.
Mary Ann Noe, author of To Know Her and A Handful of Pearls
Accidental Archivist is a uniquely fascinating mashup of mystery and memoir. It travels down the path of a clouded family history and attempts to lift the fog on a scandalous story of a distant ancestor. Along the way, exhaustive research ranges from interpreting personal letters and photographs, to interesting revelations found using DNA testing. Bier’s quest for the truth takes us into a detective story that wades through hunches, conjecture and blind alleys in search of answers to a long-held family secret. Bier’s debut is a wild swing through the branches of a family tree!
Jim Landwehr, author of Dirty Shirt, The Portland House, Cretin Boy and At the Lake.
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