What happens when you blend the sharp, relentless curiosity of a classic American detective with the vibrant, rich tapestry of West African folklore? You get Akoma, the unforgettable protagonist of Goldenborn—the stunning debut novel by Stanford alumna Ama Ofosua Lieb.
Born in Ghana and having lived across six different countries before settling in the San Francisco Bay Area, Lieb infuses her fiction with a deeply global, yet intimately personal perspective. In Goldenborn, she constructs a vivid, fictional “AfricaTown” right in the heart of San Francisco, serving as the backdrop for a gripping coming-of-age mystery filled with stolen artifacts, legendary trickster gods, and mouth-watering Ghanaian cuisine.
We sat down with Ama to discuss the childhood inspirations behind her brave new heroine, the delicate balance of bringing the mythical Anansi to life, and why exploring cultural lineage is the ultimate compass for her storytelling.
About Ama Ofosua Lieb
Ama Ofosua Lieb was born in Ghana, and has lived in Canada, the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Nigeria, and South Africa. She now resides in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and their two young children. She holds an MA in Sociology and a BA in Economics, both from Stanford University. Goldenborn is her debut novel. Learn more about Ama on her website and follow her on Instagram.
Thanks for joining us, Ama. Let’s get started.
In a previous interview, you said you have a love of mystery solvers like Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. Could you explain to our readers how those factors fit into the plot of your debut novel and perhaps inspired your main character, Akoma?
Growing up, I loved mysteries, and the books I had access to were Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys. I was especially drawn to Nancy because she was brave, independent, and never a damsel in distress. She solved mysteries by being resourceful and using her intellect, and I’ve always loved that kind of character in books, film, and TV. So, when it came time to create my own main character, Akoma, I naturally wanted her to have similar qualities like intelligence, and agency. But I also wanted her own personality to shine through and to showcase her own voice, flaws, and wit.
You’re quoted in a Publishers’ Weekly article as choosing to focus on “the cultural elements I truly loved and grew up celebrating in my household” for your novel. What were those elements, and how did they show up in Goldenborn?
The foods I feature in the book, like bofrot, kelewele, and jollof rice, are some of my personal favorites, so it felt natural to include them. Food is such a powerful part of culture. I think including them in scenes helps to make things feel comforting and familiar. I’m also a huge fan of fashion, so I had a lot of fun highlighting what the characters wear. I also wanted to include cultural celebrations, like the Baby Naming ceremony, because those moments are so special and meaningful. They bring joy, and a deeper sense of community to the story.
San Francisco had a thriving black middle class in the mid 1900’s before it was largely snuffed out by crime and city redevelopment. Why did you decide to create an Africatown in this city and not other American cities that have established Africatowns, or other places in the world that you’ve lived in, such as Nigeria or Puerto Rico?
The Bay Area has been my home for a very long time, and I thought it would be fun to imagine it with a vibrant AfricaTown enclave. Since there isn’t a real AfricaTown in San Francisco, I had the creative freedom to build the kind of place I would love to see and experience. Setting the story in another American city that already has its own AfricaTown would have meant stepping into something already established, and I didn’t want to take away from that. I wanted to create something new within my fictional world. And because Nigeria is an African country, setting an AfricaTown there felt a little redundant. But perhaps I’ll consider Puerto Rico in the future. You never know!
Anansi is one of the most famous African folk tale characters, well-known in the West and a central mysterious figure in Goldenborn. What were some of the challenges in translating such a figure into fiction?
Anansi is larger than life, and that’s one of the things I love most about him. I had so much fun weaving him into the story that writing him never felt like a challenge. If anything, the challenge was holding back! There were so many ways I wanted to play with his personality and presence, but ultimately, he isn’t the star of the book. Akoma is. Anansi pulls Akoma into his orbit, and she must decide whether she can trust him. That dynamic was fun to explore.
One topic the book addresses is the idea of stolen artifacts and their rightful homes. Given the long history of Western and colonial forces stealing artifacts and the ongoing efforts to return them, is this a theme you’ll explore in future books?
Yes. I’ve made a mental note to potentially revisit that theme. I’ve been following the legal, historical, and ethical debates surrounding demands for the return of the Benin Bronzes, and I find those conversations important.
Bloodlines and the importance of lineage and history are the main themes in this book. As some black people are disconnected from their ancestors through the slave trade and others through diaspora, could you tell me the importance of having that history in real life and in Goldenborn?
I find history important and grounding. It’s a compass. I recently took my children to Ghana for the first time, and it was wonderful to rediscover the country through their eyes. I watched them absorb everything with genuine curiosity, and it was important to me that they connect with a part of their lineage. That same importance is something I brought to the page in Goldenborn. Akoma learns things about her lineage that she didn’t know before, and those discoveries become a vital part of her coming-of-age story.
I realize this is a novel focusing on Ghanaian gods, but I was wondering if readers could expect to see the gods of other countries, like Nigeria or even Norse gods, pop up in Goldenborn at some point.
I love mythology, and the idea of including gods from other countries in my work is exciting to me. That said, there are so many authors from those cultures already writing wonderful stories centered on the gods of their own pantheons, and I want to be respectful of that. For now, I feel like I should remain in my lane. But you never know. I could always find a fun and thoughtful way to include a visiting god.
The ending of Goldenborn certainly leaves the door open for sequels. Do you have any plans for a sequel, and if so, what would Akoma’s journey look like coming off the revelations at the end of Goldenborn?
Yes! I’m working on a sequel, and I’m having a lot of fun with it. All I can say for now is that Akoma continues her coming-of-age journey and keeps growing in new and surprising ways. I’m excited for readers to experience the next part of her story whenever it becomes available.
Thank you, Ama, for a fantastical interview! If you haven’t picked up Goldenborn, be sure to stop in at your favorite local indie bookshop or use any of the links above!
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