Dallas—In the fall of 1999, fiction author William Manchee visited the island nation of Trinidad-Tobago for the first time, to watch his son play in a professional golf tournament. While in the small Third World country, he was fascinated by everything that caught his eyes. After gathering as much information as he could, Manchee knew he had to somehow incorporated the trip into a novel. And he did. Manchee’s sixth book, Trouble in Trinidad uses the island nation as a backdrop. Entangling the lives of Plano high school student Kevin Wells and Trinidad’s Prime Minister Ahmad Shah, the story is filled with thrills, action, adventure and romance. "I like a story that moves quickly, (that’s) full of action (and is) entertaining. (It’s) my escape at night when I get home, " Manchee said in a phone interview from his law office in Dallas. "It’s just writing a good story, (the) genre is not critical. (I) cross genres. I write mainstream—action, romance, suspense, mystery, adventure, thrillers—all of them some type of thriller. "In the book, Kevin sees more excitement than the average teenager does. Active in the school’s Army ROTC color guard program, he participates in the Caribean Trade Conference in Dallas and saves the Prime Minister from assassination. But in rescuing Ahmad, Kevin is shot and nearly dies. While recovering, his life changes. He meets and develops feelings for Kiran Shah, the Prime Minister’s daughter. He is summoned to Trinidad to testify against the alleged assassin and the adventure begins. Kevin unfortunately, is unaware that the Prime Minister’s enemies are out to kill him.Many of Manchee’s ideas come to him while he is in a semi-conscious state."Usually I get great ideas when I’m sleeping at night, or early in the morning (when I’m) halfway conscious," Manchee said. "I get ideas all the time for novels...some are good and some are not-so-good. When one is really good, I just go with it."As the plot for Trouble in Trinidad developed, he reflected on school shootings and put a twist on the concept of kids killing others. Instead, he thought, what if a high school student has the opportunity to save someone’s life and who’s going to react that quickly to stop an assassination? The student who could perform such as task would have to have some reason to be more alert and aware. ROTC would grant him some experiences. The death of a sister would be motivation for a moral philosophy in life and celibacy before marriage," Manchee said.
"Kevin was a little different than the others, tempted, of course. (Peers) would try to get him to react normally, but couldn’t quite do it," Manchee said. "Chastity before marriage. (There are) some kids that believe in (it). It’s rare. (He’s) actually looking for a soul mate."Trouble in Trinidad was released by Top Publications Ltd. Co. on September 1. Manchee is also the author of books, Twice Tempted, Undaunted, Brash Endeavor, Death Pact and Second Chair.