C James

Kookaburra, like Atlantis, has a built-in refrigerator-freezer in the galley, basically two doors... hard to describe, so I'll add a picture: The upper one would be the refrigerator, and you're right, with it backed with groceries, it would be hard to spot something in the back. Yep, Trevor is in a great place with great company. And, those other issues, which I call minor inconveniences (Bridget, Sanchez, bombs, pirates, etc) are just the little foibles that make life interesting. Trevor and Shane, as it was mentioned during the fight and when pulling off the bait-and-switch with the press, look a little alike. Or they did, until Shane dyed Trevor's hair. They aren't that close in appearance (like twins would be) just a similar height, tan, build, and hair color. Trevor needling Shane for not wearing a shirt was a favorite scene for me... and it ties in with a similar one; when Ned made a snide remark about Shane's shirt-avoidance, and then had to quickly backpedal when realized he'd put his foot in it: he'd never seen Trevor, his employer in this case, wear one. Trevor, though, has that little affliction of his; guys he finds very hot tend to make him walk into bulkheads or otherwise get rattled. Even Julie used to tease him about that, way back at the start of the novel. I think being around Shane put's Trevor's life at risk, from repeated collisions with trees and other objects. And yep, it would take Joel about 30 seconds to forget and scream "Sexual Harassment!", especially with beer involved. So, Trevor has to come out pretty quick or Shane would find out anyway. Thanks! Trevor is trying hard to avoid his troubles. A pie floater?!?!?! You mean they want to kill Trevor!!?!?!? A hot dog casserole? That would turn things about: Trevor would want to kill them. A very interesting and thought-provoking post! You're right, the clock does stop, on every offense, when someone is a fugitive from justice from any offense, per 18 U.S.C. § 3290 “No statute of limitations shall extend to any person fleeing from justice.” That’s a Federal statue, and courts have held that it applies to all cases, not just Federal ones. (and in this case, some of the charges are Federal anyway). I dare not say much at this point... but... ummm... I really can't think of a way to approach this without giving a spoiler. I do think it needs clarifying though, so I added a paragraph of narration to chapter 71. The actual action related to this issue was already in there, but the narrative explanation for the reason wasn't. Thank you for raising this issue; I think it's one that needed to be addressed, and it prompted me to clarify it.

Chapter 70, Meetings and Concerns, is up. Fear not, it is entirely pie floater free!!! BTW, I know many of you were expecting to wait until next week for a chapter. However, thanks to my wonderful team and their tireless work, we have a chapter today.

Chapter 70: Meetings and Concerns Kookaburra, sailing at eleven knots, churned through the blue, sparkling waters of Hamelin Pool. The first hour had required careful handling, in order to navigate the narrow, winding channels through the shoals of Faure Sill. But now they were through and in the deeper waters, as Kookaburra made good use of the breeze. Trevor stayed at the helm, Shane by his side, enjoying the warm morning air as they chatted about Shark Bay, Western Australia in genera

Thanks! This one and a few others are a break from the prior pace, and... hrmmm, I'm not sure I can say much else without giving a spoiler, but I often uses chapters like this for background and setup (plus character development). We're getting very close to the statute of limitations expiry; It's the end of November in the chapter being posted today, and the statures finish expiring on Dec 16th. The pace of time (days per chapter) accelerates soon, so yep, we'll be finding out soon. Thanks! That's a very interesting point! Yes, I do write, to a degree, a novel more than a serial. Serials are more episodic, like a TV show, where you have a situation and resolution in one or two episodes, though there may be overarching plot arcs in some cases. Reading addiction? Good, because I have a writing addiction. On the other hand, writing, proofreading, polishing, and then all the work my team does, then formatting and posting, is quite a lot of work. My motive (the only reward I get for doing this) is this forum and other feedback, so if everyone waited until the end, they'd be waiting forever because my motive for posting would be gone. I'd still write, of course.. that's an addiction. Sharing my stories, on the other hand, is a choice. Without ongoing reader interaction (such as we have here in the forum, e-mail, PM) I'd have no motive to post my work on the 'net. Welcome to my sig! You're right; Kookaburra, if she's not fast enough to do the sonar towing, would be no use at all, so why take her to Florida, even if they could? And you're absolutely right; it can't be a cliffhanger. It would be a heck of a voyage. From Carnarvon, the fastest way to Florida is to keep going, becuase it's past the halfway point in a Circumnavigation. Also, if he did go west instead, the best route would be via Suez (and Somalia) again. So, he'd have to go east. Going around Australia's top end would be hard; it would mean going against the prevailing winds. So, he has to go south. That means the fastest way home would be south of Australia, pst Tasmania, then the roaring 40's across the pacific to Cape Horn, then hang a left and up the Atlantic. Going via Panama is shorter, but the central pacific winds are less reliable and more likely to be adverse. So if speed is the goal, it'd be a roaring 40's (or lower) transpacific run to Cape Horn. From Carnarvon, the fastest way to Florida is to keep on heading east. Trevor wasn't thinking of sailing west; any mention of the Horn of Africa was related to a return route from Florida. Great point on Kline being found by Ned. Ned might not take kindly to trespassers. Ahhem! It can't be a cliffhanger. From the look of things now, Trevor would be a lot better off if he stayed out of Carnarvon. Thanks! ************************** BTW, a chapter (Meetings and Concerns) will be posted in a few hours.

Thanks!! Red A explains one possible reason well just below, though there might be other, or additional, reasons. For whatever reasons, he's compelled to wait. It's just a couple of more weeks. (The last statutes expire Dec 16th, and it's already the end of November in the current chapter.) Well said. I can't confirm or deny if that's it, but that's certainly a likely aspect. Thanks!! I do indeed try to add a bit of suspense, combined with unexpected twists. I also leave clues to coming events (I like forshadowing). Beware trying to serve a pie floater to anyone.. that would be a clear violation of several biological warfare treaties and the Geneva conventions. If Trevor does find a way to borrow Kookaburra, he'd be setting himself up for a high-speed race to Florida and back, and high-speed runs can be highly dangerous. But, right now, he doesn't know for sure when he has to be back for the search for Ares, so he's willing to let Shane's idea of using Kookaburra pass, for now. Yes... and we don't yet know who in Australia Sanchez called... Coincidence? Perhaps... Thank you! Calm before the storm? Just because Trevor and Shane have started toying with the idea of an insane dash to the literal ends of the earth? Or Sanchez wanting Trevor's literal head, or the press closing it? Yep, Shane is filling the hole in Trevor's life that Joel left, and he's very similar to Joel in personality (and to a degree, in appearance). The "blight" was Trevor's crack about the pie floater being the Great Australian Blight. Poor Trevor is not much use in the galley... but like Joel, Shane can cook. Shane is, unquestionably, very fond of Shane. Good point on the engines. Ares and Atlantis had very powerful engines compared to normal for that type of boat. ROFL! Yep, Shane would give Trevor canned hot dogs at his peril. I've eaten canned hot dogs, and they're not too good at the best of times. After living on the things for nearly two months, if will be a long time, if ever, until Trevor can even look at a can again. In fairness to Graeme (Even though I'd love to blame him for inflicting such a horrific things into the story), I didn't get the pie floater info from him. It's just something I'd heard of long ago, and remembered a few months back. It's a meta pie floating in thick green pea soup. Here's the Wikipedia entry.. Now, just imagine that made with a mutton pie... <shudder!>:wacko: Thank you!!!!!!!!! :worship: And welcome to my sig file! :2thumbs:

But but but.. I never use cliffhangers! CJ

I've been focusing on Trevor's adaption to his arrival in Australia, so for a few chapters it's been a daily account of his activities (he's been in Australia less than a week). That's not the normal pace, but there's a reason for it in this case (I can't say what, but there are many clues in the chapters) We'll see more of goings on in Florida starting in chapter 71.

Poor Trevor; he's always had that problem... even Julie figured him out by that: walking into bulkheads when they had a hot surfer aboard as part of a charter.

Chapter 69, the Great Australian Blight, is up. And nope, the last word of the title is not a typo.

Thank you, and welcome to the forum! I have 2 questions: What is your time zone? What is the name of the new chapter? Thank you BTW DID ANYONE NOTICE HOW QUIET THE FOREM IS THIS WEEK? I'm on Mountain Standard Time; I'm in Arizona, and we don't have daylight saving time, so at this time of year that puts me in the same timezone as the US west coast. The title to the new chapter is "The Great Australian Blight". It should be up in the next couple of hours. Update: it's up now.

Chapter 69: The Great Australian Blight Trevor poured himself a big mug of coffee to nurse as he manned the helm of the Kookaburra. Alone with his thoughts, he watched the coastline pass by a few miles to port. He had hoped that, with his rescue, the nightmares would stop. They hadn’t. The nightmare had variations; most often, it involved the pirates, and other times, dying alone in furious seas. The sensation of being unable to breathe played a frequent role, and he often awoke covered

Thanks!!! Will Trev find love? I can't answer that without giving a spoiler, but, I can mention that on the story index, it lists the genre as Adventure/Mystery/Relationship. Of course, that might just refer to the romance between Bridget and George. I've been writing this week (actually, I had a very good week for writing!) I'm just trying to get caught up. Thank you! I'm not a fast writer (I'm an awful, and slow, typist) so the chapter-a-week pace is hard for me. I tend to write in spurts; a chapter a day if I'm on a roll, but that's not often. The first draft is just a step; I then go back and fuss and change things, reword things, tweak the plot, etc. Then I do a spelling and grammar check, then proofread for errors, and that's all before it's even sent for beta reading or editing. You hit the nail on the head with the buffer; I both like and need a large buffer of unposted chapters that are at least in the hands of my team. That way, if live interrupts, I can handle it without going on hiatus. I also often go away on trips for a month or more, so that gives me chapters to leave for posting. It's also very helpful to me plotwise; I love to forshadow and leave clues, and sometimes I think of ones to add only well after the fact, when writing the event itself. It's nice to be able to go back and add them. The other part of it is, I write non-linearly. For example, Trevor's little pirate problem in chapter 48 was amongst the first scenes I wrote for the story (Long before i even began posting the story). I have a ton of scenes from coming chapters already written, but there are many gaps that need scenes to fill them, then they need assembling into chapters, etc. I'm also currently working on another novel for GA's Premium content, and the plot on that on is such that I need to complete it all before sending it out for beta and editing. And... I do need to start thinking about what comes after Circumnavigation for my public site... Thanks. You're right, and if I hadn't had a buffer of chapters, we'd have been on hiatus from the story for close on two months while I was dealing with the pneumonia and it's aftermath (I had tons of stuff at work to catch up on due to time missed). BTW, the chapter promised for today will be appearing today, barring an internet access outage.

I had to look hard to find one! You were sneaky; you tried to word it so I couldn't... shame on you! So underhanded! Okay, a question for everyone! What's it going to take for me to clear my name and get y'all to accept the fact that I don't use cliffhangers??? Do I need to say "I never use cliffhangers" more often? Do I need to do a better job of explaining why a chapter has no cliffhanger? What is a cliffhanger-adverse goat to do????

Thanks!! I'm writing, I just need to catch up for the time missed while I was sick. ACK!!! Ummm.... I think he has an unlisted number. No worries there! A goat would, as we all know, never go anywhere near a cliff, or a cliffhanger. ACK! There are no cliffhangers! Thanks!!! The chapter should be out on Monday. "For the Love" is on GA stories, but I haven't finished moving "Let the Music Play" and "Changing Lanes" over yer, so they're on my site until fully moved over. BTW, don't let the rumors here in the forum fool you; I never actually use cliffhangers.

Wildone... can't you find it in your heart to help defend me from these untrue accusations? Come on... we all know that, truth be told, that I never use cliffhangers... but all these accusations are giving newbies the wrong idea! We all know that, as you say, I'd never, ever leave my beloved readers with anything that could even come close to being construed as a cliffhanger.... All we have here is rumor and innuendo... such unfair and unjust accusations aimed at poor, innocent me... Won't you help defend me? Won't anyone?

Thank you! This was my first story, and I hadn't figured out that one can jump ahead and skip over parts of the detailed journey.

Thanks!!!! @ red A: Thanks for mentioning that. I was definitly out to write somthing that could be read in more than one way. @ Nephy: good catch: there are several themes to this story, and some are serious. Thanks everyone. I had fun with this one. It came on very short notice. I was making the graphic banner for the anthology, and suddenly, out of nowhere, the idea just popped into my head (proving that nature does indeed abhor a vacuum) so I changed screens and wrote it. This was just a few days before the deadline. It's only due to extraordinary quickness from my team that I had it ready in time for the anthology. (thanks guys!!!!) CJ

Sorry to have to do this, but I'm way behind thanks to the pneumonia I had in January. So, chapter 69 of Circumnavigation won't post until midnight (my time) Monday, March 21st. (One week and a few hours from now). I'll do my best to get caught up so hopefully this won't happen again. (I'm also busy with a new novel, for GA's premium section, that should have been done months ago). In the meantime, there's the GA Spring Anthology, "People Are Strange", which includes a story by me "Not Like Us".

The name "Nervous shark" did crack me up... And I agree, I'd be more nervous too! Shark Bay has, as near as I can tell, the highest concentration (and variety) of sharks on earth. What better place for Trevor to have a nice, relaxing voyage? Good point on the sniffer dogs, though those sweeps are only occasional in outbound luggage, but they do occur. The other option Bridget and George are weighing is sending a tracking device instead. No need to worry about the bad guys feeding Trevor and Shane to the sharks... not entirely anyway: they'd have to at least save a head, to fulfill Sanchez's "head on a platter" promise. And LoL, yeah, Trevor hasn't been doing his swimming workouts, and Joel has been active on the swim team, so unless Trevor shapes up quick, Joel will beat him by a mile. The Australians have been great to him. Thanks!! Okay, though the chapter will be delayed a week (sorry!) here's the title of the 69: The Great Australian Blight

The 2011 GA Spring Anthology, "People Are Strange", is now online! So, I'd like to thank the people who made this possible; Graeme, our Anthology Coordinator. Lugh, who did the "skin" work that makes them look great. The authors and their teams, for giving us the content. And Myr and the techs, who did an enormous amount of work to get GA stories running.

Clues? Would I leave clues? (Yeah, there are a lot in this chapter.) And yep, Key Lime Pie, which is why I warned that the chapter might be fattening. Trevor is in deadly danger: of running into trees and falling over things due to Shane being around. The coke: good point, but coming to the US from Canada is a bit different. US customs actually has personnel and checks you at major Canadian airports, so when you arrive in the US, no customs. That's a unique arrangement, and doesn't hold most anywhere else. Hand baggage would indeed face security checks, but checked baggage is often scanned for explosives but rarely opened before a flight, and then you go through customs and (often) inspection at your destination. So, it's likely that a checked bag would get the coke on the plane just fine, and not be discovered until arriving in Australia. (especially when aided by an anonymous tip). And yes indeed, there are sharks in Shark Bay. It's named that for a reason. Here's a list I found. Tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) Western wobbegong (Orectolobus hutchinsi) Spotted wobbegong (Orectolobus maculatus) Banded wobbegong (Orectolobus halei) Grey carpet shark (Chiloscyllium punctatum) Epaulette shark (Hemiscyllium ocellatum) Zebra shark (Stegastoma fasciatum) Whale shark (Rhincodon typus) Grey nurse shark (Carcharias taurus) White shark (Carcharodon carcharias) Shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus) Whiskery shark (Furgaleus macki) Pencil shark (Hypogaleus hyugaensis) Weasel shark (Hemigaleus microstoma) Fossil shark (Hemipristis elongata) Spinner shark (Carcharhinus brevipinna) Nervous shark (Carcharhinus cautus) Whitecheek shark (Carcharhinus dussumieri) Bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas) Blacktip reef shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus) Dusky shark (Carcharhinus obscurus) Sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus) Lemon shark (Negaprion acutidens) Milk shark (Rhizoprionodon acutus) Whitetip reef shark (Triaenodon obesus) Scalloped hammerhead (Sphyrna zygaena) Great hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran) Smooth hammerhead (Sphyrna zygaena) Creek whaler (Carcharhinus fitzroyensis) Tawny nurse shark (Nebrius ferrugineus) Common blacktip shark (Carcharhinus limbatus) Grey reef shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) Pigeye shark (Carcharhinus amboinensis) Silvertip shark (Carcharhinus albimarginatus) Many of those are harmless, but many on the list, such as the Bull, Mako, Tiger, and Great White, are not quite harmless. Thanks, and welcome to the forum! Key Lime Pie is indeed a regional specialty, from the Florida Keys. I think it was very nice of Officer Fowler's wife, Shelly, to make one for Trevor. In this chapter, it's the end of November, 2006. The story prologue, though, takes place in 1997. Thank you!!! Usually, the chapters post every week, on Tuesday. However, that might not be true for this coming week; we might not get a chapter until next Tuesday (I was sick for several weeks in January, and am still getting caught up.) I'll post an announcement if we'll be skiping a week, and I should know by Friday. Bridget is under quite a bit of stress; she wanted Trevor dead so this would all be behind her, and she has concerns, such as if Sanchez ever finds out what's hidden on Ares. There's a great deal that we learn in coming chapters. For example, the date given for the expiry of the last statutes of limitations on Dirk is Dec 16th, less than three weeks from this chapter. We'll learn far more than clues when that happens. Yep, a touch of overconfidence in George. As an aside, it's very common for dirty cops to be oblivious to surveillance; they are so used to being on the other side of the game that they forget they can be watched too. CJ

Thank you!! For the Love was my first novel, and I do have a sequel in the works. It was indeed influenced, to a degree, by the Dukes of Hazzard TV show. I used to watch reruns of that when I was a kid, so that's why Steve had a 1969 Dodge Charger, and even had the airhorn that made the same sound. (and he mentions trying to make his car like the General Lee). The idea of a story where a car was a central character appealed to me, too. So did doing a tongue-in-cheek gay take on a classic redneck theme. Hrmmm, even I don't know how strongly I was influenced by the TV show. I made no conscious effort to base any of the character on the TV show, but there are similarities. A couple of guys with a tow truck, but that was more due to need than intent on my part. The Jeep was there because there would be a need for a vehicle that could handle 4-wheeling. I'm into 4-wheeling, so it was a natural pick for me. I can say for sure that the Hardy Boys weren't much of an influence on me; so far as I can remember, I've never watched any of their TV shows, nor read any books featuring them. The other theme I went for in For the Love was an oldstyle Western, such as the stake out on the camping trip, the showdown at the old mine and someone riding off into the sunset with the money at the end (the latter was standard for the hero in old Westerns, to the point of being cliche). I did a bit above. I never tried to base any characters on the TV show, with one exception: the car. We also didn't see it pulling off crazy jumps, because if you do that in a real car, you do all kinds of unfun thinks to the chassis and suspension. The two tow truck/mechanic guys were there in part for convenience for the plot (there were often repairs and towing to do), but I suspect the same was true of Cooter in the TV show. The Sheriff was a cold blooded killer and competent, two things that Roscoe wasn't. Now, we also had Reverend Thaddeus J. Emoe, the firebreathing fundie. Now, if you want to go tell Emoe (my editor) that a character based on him reminds you of Boss Hogg, you are a braver man than I. Oh, and a connecting but of trivia between Circumnavigation and For the Love: The big three-masted schooner that led the convoy in Circumnavigation was named "Thaddeus" and was out of Jacksonville, where Emoe is from. And it was heading for a literary convention.

But but but.... I really don't use cliffhangers... and if you don't believe me, just ask me again, and I'll say it again.... Maybe I can persuade my team to jump in here and help defend me? They know my stories very well (my stories are, after all, a team effort). CJ

Chapter 68 is up. Warning; it might be fattening.

But but but!!! I certainly don't deserve such an award... I say that either Mark should keep the crown, or give it to Cia... I don't think i should even be eligible... after all, I never use cliffhangers, and in fact am known for my devoted avoidance of them. And AK! Somebody edited my siggy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've been framed, framed, i tell ya!!!!!!!!!!!! :ph34r: