New York based writer Jennifer Cody Epstein has just published her first novel "A Painter from Shanghai" based on the life of Chinese painter Pan Yuliang. The book traces Pan Yuliang's tumultuous life and her relentless pursuit of artistic fulfillment against the backdrop of seismic political and social change in the China of the early 20th century. Jennifer's novel has been called "luminous" by the New York Times and Publishers Weekly says it "captivates to the last line". She recently "sat" down for an online interview with Shortcut to discuss her new book, her transition from journalist to writer, and what drew her to write about a woman a century and a continent removed from her.

Jennifer's book is available at Amazon.com

You are an American writer, based in New York. How did you hear about Pan Yuliang and what were your intentions in writing about her?

It actually began at the Guggenheim Museum, about ten years ago. My husband and some relatives and I were at an exhibition on Modern Chinese Art, and there was just one image by Pan Yuliang on display. But it drew me over immediately. It was a typical Pan Yuliang in that it was very evocative of Matisse and Cezanne, and the bright, bold colors and distinctly Western setting (as compared to the huge propaganda-style images and much more subtle ink paintings around it) really stood out for me. I went over to see more and when I read about Pan’s story (prostitute-concubine-Post-Impressionist icon; really?!) it just blew me away. I’d never heard of her before—but I couldn’t, at that moment, understand why---it struck me that everyone should know about her.