Keith R. Rees, a former Natchitoches resident who resides in Texas and has 20 years of professional writing experience, has released his sixth novel, “One Night in Bangkok,” published by Savant Books and Publications in Honolulu, Hawaii.
“One Night in Bangkok,” a time travel adventure novel, is the first part in the One Night Trilogy. The book focuses on Miles Devereaux, an ordinary, working class, family man, who is thrust 60 years into the futuristic world of 2065 Bangkok and into a life-and-death game of chess, where the players and pieces’ fates depend on each player’s judgments.
“’One Night in Bangkok’” has been in the works for about 15 years. I’ve been asked does it have anything to do with the old rock song by the same name from the 80’s by Murray Head. Only with the title and the theme of chess, otherwise it is not based on the song. I was intrigued with the instrumental prelude that precedes that song on his album. The piece was simply called, ‘Bangkok.’ That definitely played as an inspiration and as a springboard to start writing this story,” said Rees.
The trilogy is complete, with each part written back to back in just over a year. “The central theme of the trilogy is family for certain. In part one, the protagonist, Devereaux, is faced with how to get back to his own time in 2005 after waking up in the future of Bangkok in 2065. His biggest concern is his family that he has left behind, including his two small children and his wife who is pregnant with their third child.”
One of Rees’ previous novels might be a familiar find among local readers. “Legend Upon the Cane,” was featured in the Natchitoches Times in 2008 and is available at the Louisiana Purchase shop on Front Street. “Legend Upon the Cane,” is a historical fiction novel about the chief of the Natchitoches Indians and French explorer, Louis de St. Denis. It focuses on their journey overcoming obstacles and establishing the oldest settlement of the Louisiana Purchase, Natchitoches.
Rees moved to Natchitoches from Illinois with family in 1975, when he was six. “My father created subdivisions in the Natchitoches area while my mother taught school at St. Mary’s. I attended St. Mary’s for several years before switching to Natchitoches Central High School, where I graduated. I attended NSU for one year, which included one semester in Malta as an exchange student with my brother, John. I then transferred to Louisiana Tech University in Ruston to attend engineering school. I graduated from there in 1992 before moving to Texas.” While living in Natchitoches, he was active in the Boy Scouts, becoming an Eagle Scout, playing on little league teams, high school tennis team and baseball team, also being an avid golfer at the Northwestern Hills golf course.
Readers can expect the next two parts of the One Night Trilogy, an old-fashioned ghost story, “Specter in the Glass,” and plans for a sequel to “Legend Upon the Cane,” this time focusing on the founding of Natchitoches’ twin city, Nacogdoches, Texas. Rees’ works can be found on amazon.com.