Local librarian takes literary leap
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- Published on Saturday, February 24, 2018
Miranda Leybourne
Neepawa Banner & Press
Neepawa Public Library’s newest employee is also one of Westman’s newest published authors. Lenora Buffi, who has been working at the local library for just over two months, has published her first novel: a sweeping historical mystery entitled Vista. Born in Steinbach, Man., and raised by two educators, Buffi says a love of the written word was passed on to her, and was a natural part of her childhood.
“My father [called himself] a ‘sesquipedalian’: a lover of big words,” she remembers fondly. “He inspired me to love reading, to love learning, to love books and good literature, to love art and classical music, which is a huge component of this book.”
Violin prodigy
Vista is about a young violin prodigy named Ariana Santino, who performs with the Reno Philharmonic, and her haunting dreams of a woman living in the nineteenth century. Years after the dreams stop, she experiences an intense vision in the middle of one of her concerts. What follows is Buffi’s riveting story that takes the reader into the heart of the Yucatan jungle and into the depths of a mystery just as vast.
Buffi says the idea came to her from her love of music and history -- particularly the music of the Baroque period.
“To write a book that included a lot of historical music...I thought would reach a large audience and be of interest to a large audience,” she says. “It’s addressing a significant factor that I see happening in the world today...it’s really hard for young people, and probably was for other generations too, but especially this generation -- to find their niche in the world, to find what they want to do in life, to find a good job...so education is big in this book...I wanted to write a book that inspired, that brought some hope and some direction to a generation that, at times, seems to be almost purposeless.”
Buffi adds that there’s a lot of symbolism in the book that surrounds history and its link to the present and future.
“When we can look back and learn our history, and know what led to where we are today, what came before, it helps us to understand the culture and the time that we’re in -- the ills and the blessings of the society that we’re in today, and to see better in the future,” she explains. “And it’s also to find purpose -- the young girl in this story is a violin prodigy: she has to live with this gift, and find purpose in her life despite the fact that this is something that she really didn’t ask for or strive towards -- it was just there.”
It was also important to Buffi that the story not be overly fairy tale-esque or too dark, either.
“It’s hopeful, but there are struggles...just because you have a gift...no one’s life is perfect. And a lot of people’s lives are far from perfect,” she attests. “So that’s why I wanted the book to not just be fluff. Because you can read a cutesy story about the woman who falls in love and marries this rich, handsome guy...but I didn’t want something like that. I wanted [the characters] to have to deal with things that were hard to deal with. So there is abuse in this book, and there is a lot of death...The ultimate enemy for everyone is death: no one escapes it. It’s the world’s common denominator.”
Buffi says she was inspired to set her book in the Spanish-influenced parts of the US and Mexico after going on a missions trip to Nicaragua years ago. And writing a novel that took place in the past as well as the present meant a lot more than just thinking of engaging characters and an interesting plot. Buffi says she had to put a lot of work into researching the history of the area and its people.
“When I started writing historical fiction, I discovered that it’s a massive undertaking,” she affirms. “For every single page you write...you probably read about 100, and gather the information that you need. No one knows all of history -- that’s impossible. So that was fascinating, but it was a tonne of work, and it was a long, long process.”
But it’s a process that was all part of living the dream Buffi has cherished, she says, since she was in junior high.
“One of the things that I always wanted to do was write,” she says. “But we had three kids, we were farming, and I was doing the volunteer thing in the community. You can’t always take the time to do the things you want to do, so that’s what I’m doing now.”
Buffi is also really enjoying her new community. Before she was living and working in Neepawa, Buffi and her husband lived in Gladstone, where she worked at the high school’s library.
“It’s great here,” she enthuses. “It’s great doing the children’s story time...it’s terrific. I’m finding my stride; it’s awesome!”
Book launch April 18
The Neepawa Public Library will host a book launch for Vista on April 18 at 7 p.m., where Buffi will give a presentation about the book and perform a reading.
Buffi has dedicated her book Vista to her father, who passed away in Jan. of 2016 after spending many years of his career as a principal in Austin, Man. She’s working on another book, and hopes to publish it, as well. She says she hopes that all people who have dreams of getting their writing published will feel encouraged by her story.
