The Crimes and Loves of Tony Bartoni

In this the first book of the series THE CRIMES AND LOVES OF TONY BARTONI you are given insight into the bits of Tony's childhood that set him on his way to being a mariner. Early independence explains his bent toward crime. At 17, exuberant sexual experiences with an older woman starts him on his lifelong path of appreciating most of the possibilities. He is not quite 21 after his adventures in the Air Force on the island of Okinawa. In the following few years his diverse attempts to prosper lead him to want to escape what he has come to see as 'The Bullshit" by becoming a commercial fisherman. Fishing falls short of his expectations and he is tempted by the excitement of serious crime. His life changes with the loss of his boat which leads to unusual circumstances on a horse ranch that provide him with enough money to finally go to the Caribbean; the way to escape all The Bullshit. However, it becomes a longer trip than planned after he picks up a very sexy and mysterious hitchhiker, and they try robbery for the thrill of it. AUTHORS BIO The weight of the responsibility of having a pregnant wife ended my college experience at the end of the first year. Education in the diversity of humankind, and how to survive it and prosper led me in and out of too many cultural milieus to list in this effort. I became addicted to the freedom and adventure that the sea and seaports provided. Commercial fishermen, yachtsmen and their crews, and mariners from most varieties of vessels have been my life teachers. The Atlantic and Pacific ports of the US, the Caribbean Islands, the South and Central American ports around the Caribbean and ports of the Mediterranean were my windows into human activities until I retired to the Virgin Islands to use my experiences as grist for my writing. I have read that good police detectives think like crooks; I would have made a great detective. That talent has brought me very close to trouble several times when it became obvious to me there was illegal activity afoot and afloat, and those involved in it saw I understood what was going on. Surprisingly, they frequently tried to recruit me because I was obviously aware but minding my own business and keeping my mouth shut. Those encounters and my very active imagination have been the source of some of the material in most of my books---and that's my story and I'm sticking to it.