C James

That trip to Australia was supposed to be at Christmas, which it almost is.

The explanation began in the prologue, when the story started. The actual explanation, though, has been foreshadowed all along, and will be made explicit in the next chapter.

The next chapter, "Revelations", should answer a great deal indeed.

A lightning strike on a mast is bad news, even with grounding. It can, and often does, fry all sorts of electronice on a boat, and it can even blast a hole in the hull, break the stays (thus bringing gthe mast down) and raise all sorts of trouble. So, yes, a lightning strike on the mast could very well fry the tracker. What? Me? A twist? Would I do that?

Thanks Red!!!! This chapter has been in the works ever since the prologue. Well, not actually being worked on, but it's what I've been aiming for. The story prologue was very much both a key to, and a roadmap for, the plot. One of my favorite lines in the prologue is, As Rachel finished trimming the boat and balancing the sails, she took one last, lingering glance back at the receding shoreline, remembering her young son saying goodbye to her that morning, and asking her to bring him home a seashell for his birthday. Rachel wiped away a tear that had come unbidden to her eye and went forward to check on her guests. Ah, that name on the paper... We find that, and all else, in "Revelations", the next chapter. We do know it's not Bridget though... and it's just one name, one Gonzalez finds utterly impossible. Basingstoke isn't a worry; Trevor and Shane don't know about him, so they aren't worried at all. Also, Basingstoke has specific orders to get Trevor's head and send it to Sanchez. That makes this harder, especially with Trevor now being famous. One thing hitmen hate is publicity, and just taking Trevor's head would create a media firestorm. Basingstoke is a real pro, and prefers a more... thoughtful approach. So, as part of that, he gave himself a way to find Kookaburra at any time. And cliffhanger? There is no cliffhanger! As is often said, one hitman does not a cliffhanger make. (And that doesn't just appear in my posts.. it's in one of Zombie's, too.) She knows him, and he knows her; her voice is familiar to him, "Across five yards and twice as many years". Ten years. And she calls him "Trev", good eye! That's not the first time I've used the Trev/Trevor issue in the story, for a character to out of the blue call him "Trev", with no ostensible grounds for knowing his nickname like that. Hello, and welcome!!!! I can't answer those questions without giving a spoiler... but at least three are answered by the next chapter. What? Me, cause suffering? Would I ever do such a thing as that? Trevor and Shane aren' suffering... they are young, in love, and tooling around on a beutiful yacht. How could that possibly be a bad thing? I think there are several answers in the chapter, but, the rest of the answers come out in a chapter named "Revelations" which is the next one to post.

And the Sea shall give up its Dead is up. For some time now, I've been promising that, when the story reaches Dec 17th, 2006, we will have answers. Well, this is the chapter where that date is reached, and covers a great deal. I'll also mention here that the title of the next chapter is "Revelation", which covers the rest. Enjoy, and for those going out tonight, be safe.

Chapter 98: And the Sea shall give up its Dead On a bright and promising Sunday morning, the 17th of December, 2006, Lisa picked up Joel and they drove towards downtown Ft. Pierce, both uneasy and nervous. “I feel like we’re about to have an audience with Satan,” Lisa mumbled. “Your whole swim team, plus a few guys from the football team, were scared to death to go into the chandlery when they were supposed to pick up the satellite phone.” “Yeah, and you were getting ready to go in alone if

Just a quick note to mention the title of the coming chapter: "And the Sea shall give up its Dead"

Zombie!! What on earth makes you say that? WHAT cruelty? Nothing bad ever happens in my stories!!!! And what possible scenarios in Circumnavigation could lead to violence??? I can't see any. Could Basingstoke turn a huntsman spider loose aboard Kookoburra to kill Trevor and Shane? If they saw it, the natural reaction would be to jump overboard, which could be fatal at sea.... I did consider making Circumnavigation two novels, when I first realized that it'd take a lot more chapters than I thought. But, I decided against it, because it's too interrealted. I guess I could have, and probably should have, but we're too close to the end now for it to be an option. My theory is that Trevor has three birth monthers.

Great eye!!! And, as for loving.. one of the categories this story is listed under is "relationship", so fear not.

Thanks! I was trying to show Lisa's turmoil over that issue. It's gotta hurt. And yep, a Cessna is nothing to worry about. But, now you've read 97, you know the significance.

Suspense? What suspense?? I think you'll find the next chapter to be the one you've been waiting for.

Zombie! Come on, all Basingstoke did was smile, and then whistle "Waltzing Matilda". How can that be bad??? Well, okay, maybe he's off-key and wouldn't be fun to listen to, but surely that's not terrifying? Trevor has been quite lucky a few times. That bomb getting stolen in the Suez was exceedingly fortunate. But, yeah... luck can be such a fickle, fickle thing... Yes, it will. I didn't know that, but how very appropriate! Err, DaddyDaveK, I think I guaranteed you that "the big reveal" would happen before Halloween. I knew it would be in 98 and 99, and it will, but... um, once again I prove that I cannot count. So, I'll post a few hours early, Monday afternoon, so it's not quite Halloween night. Oh come on... how can a smile be chilling? It's just an innocent smile, and some happy whistling. As for Trevor and Shane, they don't know abotu Basingstoke. They do, however, need to be heading south; they want to spend a few days down near Perth, to go to Northam and search for Trevor's family before Joel's arrival. As far as Basingstokes' call, the contacts are in Melbourne, he was seeking info on Carnarvon bay, Tasmania, but the contacts are in Melbourne. Melbourne is famous for, amongst other things, superb Chinese take-away food. Perhaps Basingstoke was just ordering dinner? CJ

Leave my tail out of this! And I'd never, ever use a cliffhanger, so no worries there. I have that problem, from time to time. Zombie... how could that be? You know that nothing bad ever happens in my stories, right? Maybe Bridget was just thinking of taking Lisa and Joel out for a fun-filled day at a local farm, out of the goodness of her heart, thinking they'd enjoy it? One thing I love abotu Florida is the gators. They are everywhere! Even in downtown Orlando, I had alligators in the pond behind the hotel, just a few feet from the breakfast patio. One time at Everglades national park I had a great laugh. A group of tourists was right outside the visitor center door (maybe six feet from it, on the pavement) quite taken with the very lifelike "model" of a large alligator. Right up until it opened its eyes, and they understood that it wasn't a model at all. It was just a big gator, happy in a sunny spot. There are million of them in Florida, and they don't kill many people each year, so they aren't as dangerous as most people think. Some common sense helps though. Here's a news story about a car burglar, who tried to evade police by jumping into a pond and swimming across. I find it interesting that the news site put it in the problem-solvers category. There are an above-average number of missing-persons cases in Florida, where the person was last seen near on of the countless canals, ponds, waterways, etc, all over Florida. I also remember another use for gators. I've seen them used as guard dogs! A scrapyard there was near a pond, and every night they'd leave a trail of meat to lure some of the gators into the yard itself, then lock up for the night. In the morning, they'd lure them out the same way. They said they hadn't had any problem with break-ins since. CJ

Chapter 97, Means to an End, is up. I'm adding a link to an interactive map of the area, centered to show the relevant spots, including Kookaburra's anchorage and Murchison house. I suggest taking a look. Here's the link. For those new to the forums, welcome, and make yourself at home. BTW, my normal chapter-posting day is Tuesdays, but that got moved up to midnight Mondays somehow, and now it's Monday evenings. I'll try to maintain that, but please be aware that for the next three chapters we might be looking (and likely will be, for chapter 99) at Tuesday evening posts, due to my work and travel schedule making Monday internet access problematic for the next three weeks. Sorry for any confusion. CJ

Chapter 97: Means to an End In Carnarvon, a tired and dirty Basingstoke walked into Ned’s office. “Just about done; everything’s installed on the hardware side, now all we have to do is set up the software and run a systems check.” “Thanks Archie,” Ned replied, pointing at the laptops and the desktop computer. Basingstoke put in a CD that contained the specially-written software, and began the install on the first laptop. As part of the installation, a window popped up, and Basingstoke exp

I'd say it largely depends on the author. My suggestion would be that, if it's for a newbie author, send them a PM at first. A new writer can be very easily hurt or discouraged, and saying something harsh in public tends to hurt more. Personally, I think constructive criticism is a very good thing for the author. (so if you're a reader looking for an author you can critique, I'm a very viable target. Blast away. ) I ask for it in my story footers. Sometimes, of course, I get it, and on some of those occasions it stings, but that's the whole idea: it helps me improve. An author often sees a story differently than the reader does, so getting the different perspective is greatly helpful. If a reader catches me in an error, such as a typo, or a factual error, and posts about it publicly or sends me a private note, I thank them and usually add them to the chapter credits too. (they've just helped me fix a problem, after all). If a reader doesn't like the way the story is progressing, that's something I need to know as well, whether I like it or not. My prime intent is to improve, and as the old saying goes, no pain, no gain. I reserve the right to disagree with a person's opinions, but I very much like to know what they are thinking. I much prefer constructive criticism or feedback in my forum or via PM or e-mail, though that's for technical reasons; it's just not possible to have a conversation in the GA stories comment section. (a reader can comment an author can reply, but that's it. No third post is possible, and no one else can join in.) That's why I put links to my forum in every story and chapter, and I've taken to linking a discussion thread directly now. (and I'm always looking for advice on how I can make this smoother from a reader's perspective. It was a reader who suggested I put the links prominently right after the chapter body, which I now do) Sometimes, I'll take the conversation private, due to spoiler reasons; there are cases where I know why something the way it was, that won't be known by the reader until a later chapter. As the author, there is one heck of a lot I can't say.

Has anyone considered the possibility that Trevor might have three mothers? I think I can say, definitively, that there is, or is not, a connection between certain characters that may, or may not, have been revealed. Thanks! Dirk would be a risk to Bridget and George, were he to testify, so that's a risk. Okay, time for the mention of the coming chapter's title. "A Means to an End". BTW, the meaning of the ending of last week's chapter, the words "Blissfully unawares." will be revealed in "A Means to an End". CJ

Just a note on the timelines: Unless there is a phone call or other direct interaction involved, I play a bit loose on the time zones issue between Florida and the US, though I do keep it within 24 hours. CJ

A kangaroo attack!! See? I was right!!! And here's an attack by a different deadly Australian species; the dreaded wombat!

When I began Circumnavigation, I had no clue it would take two years. The plot hasn't changed, but it's taken far more verbiage than I ever imagined. I'd also hoped to be able to post 2 chapters a week instead of one, but I found I couldn't even approach that kind of a pace. I think 98 and 99 will be well received, with loads of surprises and revelations; the whole real backstory, etc...

Bridget can be... well, Bridget. Lisa is indeed starting to see the light, but it'll hurt; Bridget has become a substitute mother for her, and she's vulnerable due to the rejection by her real mother, a fact Bridget is well aware of.

Good spotting!! I used the word to convey that extra care was taken. Basically, in a car you can just stick the suction cup on the windshield, but for offroading you have to make sure it's attached very firmly, due to all the bouncing around. I learned this one the hard way, the first time I had a GPS on an offroading trail run. It got jolted off and went clattering around. oops... I don't think anyone in the story is nervous about the airport; none of them know Bassingstoke can fly and has a plane. So, no worries. And cliffhangers? Sorry, but there are absolutely no cliffhangers in Circumnavigation!!! Thanks! The five fictional days will pass rather fast.. in one chapter, to be exact. Dec 17th, and the revelations it entails, is in 98. Zombie!! It's not a cliffhanger!!! There are no cliffhangers in Circumnavigation! Go eat some brains! :P Heh, one problem with that airport for anyone using Google Earth; the airport symbol shows up as on the coast south of Kalbarri. But, that's not where the airport is, lol. I learned to fly at a little single-strip airfield like that, though at mine the landing pattern was atypical, due to mountians being in the way. You're right! The plane he's shown as having (and arriving in) is a Beechcraft Deboniar. They look like this. A Cessna (for a small plane) is a high wing, not a low wing, so here's a Cessna 172 See? No worries about that Cessna.

Chapter 96, Judas, is up. Also, I'm adding a link to an interactive map of the area, centered to show the relevant spots, including Kookaburra's anchorage and Murchison house. I suggest taking a look. Here's the link. CJ

Chapter 96: Judas Again, Trevor felt the cold grip of nightmare, placing him on the deck of Atlantis, in the company of pirates. In his mind’s eye, Trevor felt fear, and the cold hand of death. Again, as many times before, a whisper intruded, growing louder. “Tell him he’s dead. He’s fish food.” Looking the pirate captain in the eye, feeling no longer alone, Trevor struggled to form words. His mouth didn’t seem to want to work, but he concentrated, forcing the words out. “You’re dead,” Tre