Amal Behbehani – Co-author, Wafting Earthy

By WriteFluence on May 20, 2021

Amal Behbehani is a Kuwaiti writer, who currently works at the American University of Kuwait. Her workplace is also where she completed her undergraduate studies in English Literature in 2011. In 2013, she completed her masters degree in Business Administration at Gulf University for Science and Technology.

While she dreams of writing, she fills her time with playing PokemonGo and re-watching New Girl with her sister. If not for the pandemic, you would find her traveling with her family, her favorite stop being Barnes and Nobles in the States, and comic book stores to check out with her brother. For now, she boroughs in her room, using this time to catch up on her reading and writing. Amal has been writing short stories since her teenage years, entering some competitions during university years. Her stories mostly fall under fantasy and young adult. Her parents keep her motivated to expand her writing universe. This is Amal’s attempt at getting back into writing.

I have been writing since…

A kid, and enjoy writing short stories the most.

My favorite author(s) and book(s)?

Anything by Tamora Pierce and Meghan Whalen Turner

My journey as a writer:

It’s been on pause since I graduated university back in 2011, but got back into it during the pandemic.

My favorite genre to read / write:

Fiction – young adult

What advice would you give young and aspiring writers?

Keep writing every day, and join competitions!

Here’s an excerpt from Amal’s winning story The Fragrance Gift that’s now published in Wafting Earthy:

Mama told me that if a person gets you a perfume for your birthday, it is a sign that you got to wash more often. And I’ve been getting perfume box sets on my birthday ever since I was eight.

And no matter how many times I shower and scrub myself, I still find a new set at my birthday the following year, amongst the pile of gifts. I can’t even tell if it is that obvious; if people turn their nose or hold their breath when I chat with them. You can’t chew and hold your breath at the same time, can you? Then my lunch buddies find me fine. At least Pumba knew from when the animals at the watering hole fainted at his presence. I don’t have any sign that lets me know if I smell. I can’t recognize my scent, and I have taken steps to play less sports or any activity that leads me to sweat. I take the elevator at every mall, and excuse myself from physical education at school. I miss playing soccer, but a good scent is better than having fun.