By MYRON LOVE
Former Winnipegger Lucy Manusovich Lipari, educator and construction company executive, has now added author to her resumé. She released her maiden effort – The Genghis Code – on Amazon late last month.
The international thriller, she explains, focuses on treasure stolen during the still fairly recent Iraq war – treasure that holds the key to worldwide domination and which is eagerly sought after by a secret and sinister cult made up of descendants of the great Mongol conqueror, Genghis Khan.
The central characters are retired New York City firefighter and CID officer Jake Preston, and “alluring” professor Valentina who may or may not have connections to the Russian Mafia. They are assisted by a Dr. Song, a nuclear scientist from the now infamous Wuhan.
“I had been thinking about writing a novel for some time,” says Lipari, who left Winnipeg in 1967 and has degrees in English from Harvard and New York University. “When we went into lockdown here in Florida (where she and her husband, Richard, have been living for the past 15 years), I suddenly had the leisure time.”
After considering what the public would most likely want to read, she decided to write a novel in the style of The Maltese Falcon and Raiders of the Lost Ark, combining treasure and intrigue.
“I reasoned that there has been enough written about Nazi gold,” she says. “I have always had an interest in Genghis Khan. He is not well known but a lot of people know the name.”
Lipari started with an outline and the basics of a plot. “I found that the characters almost write themselves,” she observes. “It is almost like they are real people and I am just following their leads.”
She adds that for action scenes – car chases, fight scenes and military stuff – she looked to her husband, Richard, for input.
“I call my husband my technical adviser,” she says.
She reports that she starting writing The Genghis Code in March and that she completed the first draft in four months. That was followed by a few weeks of editing to create the finished product.
She notes that Amazon is promoting the novel and that – thus far – family members and friends – including those in Winnipeg – have been buying copies. “It is also available on Kindle,” she says.
Lipari has been a frequent visitor to Winnipeg over the years. In June, the JP&N published a story about her mother, Holocaust survivor Rita Chabelski, who had just turned 100.
(Lipari notes that she still owns a home in Winnipeg’s north end and – up until this past summer – was spending her summers in Winnipeg with her mother.)
The new author further reports that she is already working on a sequel with several of the same characters.
As well, she and Richard are jointly putting out a book of poems. “We have been writing poetry for years,” she says. “We have close to 200 poems that we are putting into a book which will also be available on Amazon.
“I think that you should continue your writing dreams,” she comments. “it’s not that difficult to publish a book on Amazon.ca. It’s never too late, as I can attest.”
