But her writing career was never a given.
We’ll let Kwok explain it in her own words.
To celebrate the release ofSylvie Lee’spaperback version, she answered EW’s burning book questions.
Credit: William Morrow Paperbacks; Josh Finnell
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What is the first thing ever that you remember writing?
JEAN KWOK:Im not one of those authors who started writing poems and stories when they were little.
In fact, I was the exact opposite.
The first words I ever wrote were in Chinese because I was born in Hong Kong.
I didnt speak a word of English.
We lived in an apartment that was so run down and dilapidated, it didnt even have heat.
The windowpanes were covered with ice on the inside throughout the bitter winters.
I could hear the mice skittering past the mattress I slept on in the night.
So there was no room in my childhood for creative endeavors like writing.
It truly never even occurred to me.
However, there was still space for dreams and I had plenty of them.
I loved books and after I learned to read English, I read every chance I got.
And thats exactly what I did, but not quite in the way I had envisioned.
I was up until late in the night working on it.
I felt dazed and exhausted.
I was having trouble solving one of the equations, so I started doodling on a notepad.
Suddenly, I wrote a poem!
I stared at the page.
I was so astonished.
It was as if Id laid an egg.
That was the beginning.
It wasnt long until I realized that writing was the only thing I wanted to do with my life.
What is the last book that made you cry?
I was so moved by Caroline LeavittsWith or Without You.
Its about a nurse named Stella who falls into a coma and wakes up changed in a changed world.
Its truly such an uplifting read.
Which book is at the top of your current to-read list?
Im excited about reading Nancy Jooyoun KimsThe Last Story of Mina Lee, the Reeses Book Club Pick.
Where do you write?
I used to write at a desk like a normal person, but I seem to be degenerating.
I keep my iMac on an over-bed table set up over my mint green chaise lounge sofa.
Which book made you a forever reader?
Thats the magic of books, isnt it?
That a little Chinese immigrant girl living in Brooklyn could identify so strongly with dreamy, red-haired orphan Anne.
What is a snack you couldnt write without?
If you could change one thing about any of your books what would it be?
Theres nothing about any of my books that I would change.
Sometimes its the twelfth draft.
So by the time Im done, Im done.
Although, now that I think about it, there might be one thing I could change.
I always write my real cats into my novels as characters.
I might add a couple more cats to each book.
What is your favorite part ofSearching for Sylvie Lee?
I love the relationships between Sylvie, Amy, and Ma.
I think weve all been surprised when someone we thought we knew inside out did something unfathomable.
What was the hardest plot point or character to write in this book?
After I created Sylvie, everything else fell into place.
She and the other characters came alive and formed their own narrative.
However, there is still so much of my brother and mother in this novel.
I feel very grateful that in a way, they live on in this book.
Write a movie poster tag line for the book:
One disappearance.
