C.B. Lee

For other uses, see Lee.

"I wanted to show that you are valuable because you exist through this story. There's so much pressure on people nowadays, especially for young people who are still trying to figure things out. The definition of success is very rigid in our society."

―C.B. Lee^[5]

C.B. Lee (born November 7, 1987) is an American author of Chinese-Vietnamese descent. They wrote the short story "A Good Kiss," which tells the story of the background character Chase Wilsorr, who appears in Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back. The story was published in the anthology novel From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back on November 10, 2020.

Biography

"It was really important to me—being queer myself and loving Star Wars since I was a kid. It's so powerful to see yourself in these stories. For a long time growing up I didn't see anybody who was like me, who looked like me, who felt like me portrayed in a positive way."

―C.B. Lee, regarding Chase Wilsorr's sexual orientation^[5]

C.B. Lee, an American author of Chinese-Vietnamese heritage,^[4] was born on November 7th^[1] 1987.^[2] They^[3] were recruited by the Del Rey editor Tom Hoeler via their agent, Thao Le, to write a short story for From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back, an anthology book based on the events of^[5] the 1980 film^[6] Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back. The author felt very excited, as they had been a Star Wars fan since childhood,^[5] and later even cosplayed for conventions as the Resistance member Rose Tico and the pilot Jessika Pava.^[7]^[8] They also told the podcast Everything is Canon that the Star Wars universe is the biggest sandbox to work with for a creative mind, and complimented the franchise by describing it as a rich and deep world to dive into. Lee claimed it to be a big part of their life, and the original and sequel trilogies to be their favorites.^[9]

While Lee's involvement with the project was announced on June 15, 2020 via a StarWars.com article,^[6] they posted about their contribution four days prior.^[10] They, and the other authors who contributed to the book, donated all of their earnings on it to the charity foundation First Book.^[6] Lee's story was titled "A Good Kiss" and was published in From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back^[11] later that year, on November 10.^[6]

The author's first idea for a story involved a background character seen passing^[5] Captain Han Solo and Princess Leia Organa.^[11] The author developed the character into the rebel Chase Wilsorr as the story's protagonist. Lee wrote Wilsorr as an "awkward disaster" and used "Be Your Best Self" as the moral of the story. As a queer author, they based Wilsorr's sexual orientation on their own, as they felt it was powerful and validating to see someone like themselves in a story, especially as they had not seen other queer individuals portrayed in a positive way when they grew up.^[5]

Lee felt Wilsorr was a relatable character because he strove to be a hero but was not very charismatic nor skilled with weapons. They remarked that he must have failed his training multiple times, and that pushed him to try and better himself and read self-help books. The author added that the motivational quotes Wilsorr is heard reciting in the story are equivalent to a person in the real world trying to find their place in the universe that way.^[12] They also said that his story is about the extraordinary in the ordinary, and that Chase was just trying to do his job through it all,^[13] even though he might not be remembered for it in the long run. Lee said that from their opinion, Star Wars's morale is that everyone can be a hero, even in small ways. Every contribution to a larger and good cause is remarkable, and it takes courage to make a small difference, and courage, unlike superpowers, is something that is within all of us.^[9]