Far From The Sea We Know

by Frank Sheldon

  Pilots who gave me invaluable assistance with the details of the floatplane trip: John Nealon, Jim Landman, John Deakin, and Frank Hauptmann. Neal Komedal for information on fishing and research vessels in the Pacific Northwest, which allowed me to correct several errors. A man whose name has been lost to me: years ago, he answered important questions regarding the physiology and vital signs of whales.

  Elizabeth LaBellce, Diane Frankel and Patty Ohlenroth for early editing.

  Joel Palmer (joeldavidpalmer.com) for heroic editing of the entire manuscript. Then I worked on it some more. Any errors you find are likely new ones that I inadvertently introduced, not Joel’s. Steve Turnidge (arsdivina.com) for catching a number of typos in one of the first print-on-demand editions and giving me hope that this book can find a wider audience. Mary Beth Abel and Julie Turnidge for then spotting still more typos and needed corrections.

  Pablo Mandel (circularstudio.com) for expert advice and the final font and title layout for the cover.

  Any typos that you now find, alas, are ones that I’ve inadvertently added back in the process of getting this ready for print. If you find any, feel free to send to me at fftswk@frankmsheldon.com so they can be repaired in future editions.

  To any I have left out: remind and forgive me. I could have easily extended these acknowledgements forever.

  NOTES

  About sixty editions of the about the first 24 chapters were self-printed and bound as The Jonah, Book I a few years ago on its own. Since then, it has been extensively rewritten and the rest of the story completed. The basic story is the same, but many inconsistencies have been remedied. The characterization and tone are more consistent, the story flow has been improved, and the writing has been refined. The old ending was adjusted to become the new beginning of second part of the story. Over time, to the annoyance of some, I have changed a number of the names of the characters.

  Any similarity between real people, living or dead, and the fictitious characters in this novel are entirely coincidental. The marine science facility known as the Point Kinatai Marine Science Center is fictitious. The incident with the gray whales and the TV news helicopter is based loosely on an account of a helicopter’s encounter with gray whales while doing research in Baja. I have sometimes been vague or fanciful concerning geography and technology. I tried to make everything that is written about whales conform to what was known at the time the story takes place, the late 1990s. However, in researching this book, I found that knowledge in that field updates frequently and much of the life of these great mammals is still a story as yet untold. All errors of fact are my own.

  Frank Sheldon, updated on the 6th of May, 2015