The Unbecoming of Johnny Watling: Early Exploits and Rumbunctious Pre-Captain Log

A WORK OF FICTION BUT BASED ON A REAL PIRATE WHO FREQUENTED THE BAHAMAS. FUN FACT: A BAHAMAS ISLAND WAS NAMED AFTER HIM. Meet Young Master Johnny-a boy of good breeding, polished manners... and just a touch too much curiosity for his own good. On the surface, he is every bit the little gentleman: well-dressed, well-spoken, and perfectly capable of reciting his Sunday lessons with admirable charm. But beneath the pressed cuffs and polite bows lies something far more troublesome-a restless spirit with a peculiar fondness for mischief, adventure, and the quiet bending of rules. Some say notoriety is learned over time. If that is true, then Johnny is only at the very beginning of his education. Yet already, there are signs-small, telling hints-that he possesses what might be called a piratophilic inclination: a natural fascination with the daring, the forbidden, and the thrill of slipping just beyond the reach of order. And still... he is not without conscience. For even as he tests the edges of discipline, Young Master Johnny remains-at least in part-a gentleman. A boy who knows his prayers (with varying degrees of sincerity), and understands, somewhere deep within, the difference between right and wrong... even if he does not always choose it. This is not yet the story of a pirate. This is the story of how one begins.