Q&A with Amaka Egbe

 

 

 

Amaka Egbe is the author of the new young adult novel Run Like a Girl.  

 

Q: What inspired you to write Run Like a Girl, and how did you create your character Dera?

 

A: The idea of Run Like a Girl came to me years ago, while I was just entering high school. In the city I went to high school, there were actually feeder high schools for 9th and 10th graders who would then go to one of three senior high schools for 11th and 12th grade.

 

While I was in the junior high school, I discovered that there wasn’t a track team for female athletes. While the 9th and 10th grade boys had their own team, 9th and 10th grade girls would need to join one of the senior high track teams.

 

This option wasn’t always accessible, as you would need your own transportation to practice. While many girls made it work out, the situation made me wonder what would happen if there wasn’t any alternative team for girls…which led to the basic premise of Run Like a Girl.

 

As for the character of Dera, she was easy to create! She started as a typical “tough girl” concept and became a more refined image the further I went in the story. 

 

There were certainly some differences between her original version and the one who made it to print (her name used to be Jordan, for example), but the core of her character has remained the same. Over time, I dug deeper into her background and motivations to bring out a more well-rounded and complex character.

 

Q: The author Mariko Turk called the book a “captivating debut about a girl fighting for herself and her dreams, told in a voice that is both funny and fierce.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: Thank you, Mariko; that was certainly the goal! I wanted to really highlight Dera’s determination to hopefully leave teens and children with positive stories about sticking to your dreams.

 

In life, people are often discouraged from chasing their dreams or put down for being themselves. I wanted to write something that helped nudge them away from self-doubt and towards self-love.

 

Additionally, I wanted to show how impactful community can be when it comes to someone trying to achieve something. When we have the support of our friends and family, arduous tasks can become that much more achievable.

 

As for the humor, that’s something I enjoy weaving into my work. While there is certainly a time and place for more somber texts, this was one that I didn’t want to be too preachy or heavy. Humor helped cut through the emotional moments and uplift the overall tone of the book.

 

Q: How was the book’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?

 

A: When I was growing up, you’d often hear taunts like “you run like a girl,” “you throw like a girl,” “you do this like a girl.” Rather than stick with the negative connotation, I wanted to spin it into something positive and kind of reclaim the phrase and girlhood (as many others have done, too!).

 

Q: How would you describe Dera’s relationship with her parents?

 

A: Dera and her mom are like five and six! In other words, her and her mom are very close. Dera’s mother was her primary guardian for most of her life, so the two are very comfortable with each other.

 

Her father, on the other hand, is someone that Dera isn’t very familiar with at the beginning of the story. Due to the circumstances surrounding her parents’ divorce, he was estranged from Dera for many years with sporadic visits to keep their barely-there relationship alive.

 

On the surface, there’s a lot of discontent and tension between the two, but as you go through the story, you start to see that there’s more to their relationship than what’s immediately visible.

 

Exploring their relationship amid their past and their present cultural differences was one of the most interesting aspects of this story for me.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: A few different things, actually, in both the adult and young adult genres. What I think will be coming sooner than the other projects is an adult contemporary romance that follows a Nigerian-American young woman who’s trying to balance her family’s expectations, friendship drama, and romance that sprouts from a very unexpected place.

 

I have a few other projects in the works that I'll share as time passes.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: If you want to keep up with my activities, feel free to follow my Instagram account or subscribe to my newsletter!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb