ABOUT THE AUTHOR JB Patel, ALSO KNOWN AS - Charlie Kwick
ABOUT THE AUTHOR JB Patel, ALSO KNOWN AS - Charlie Kwick
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Wishing Western; a brief biography of J.B. Patel - Here I am a Jack Pine Savage, born in a little town in northern Wisconsin, yet with the exception of “Two World’s Ridge” and a few other short stories, most of the stories I write are Western romance.
It seems from the time I was born I wished Western.
Early on I wished for a pair of six guns strapped to my hips, cowboy boots, cowboy hat, and of course horses. I’m in my seventies now, at this time of my life I’ve moved to town and left the horses behind but I still have
the boots and the hat.
A city dweller now, I’m scribbling my stories; stories born mostly out of a misspent youth and a dysfunctional beginning. The compliments on my writing have centered on my sincerity, passion, and maybe even a little anger, never on my grammar. When it comes to grammar, if you are critical, you will have a good time reading my stories.
Where do the stories come from? I was born in a log cabin in Northern Wisconsin, there were ten in the family. Dad died on the operating table just before his tenth child was born. I was ten when Dad died, I got into real estate and exploring, the trouble was; I explored other people’s real estate. A brother and I broke into a couple cabins and made a mess. On my eleventh birthday I woke up in a jail cell, shortly afterward I stood before a judge. In 1951 the judge didn’t have to wait for any input from a defense lawyer, there was none. By four in the afternoon, eighteen hours after I was caught I was dropped off at the Wisconsin Child Center at Sparta Wisconsin, ‘a ward of the State until I turned twenty-one.’ Because of its proximity to the railroad, the Wisconsin Child Center was built as a dropping off spot for orphans in the late 1800’s. From the Center’s inception to 1933, every Tuesday excess orphans were placed on the train and shipped out West to be adopted or indentured. Because of my stay at the Wisconsin Child Center, I’ve written short stories of Orphan Train children. Thankfully, my time at Sparta missed the Orphan Train era. The Center was gradually enlarged and became the temporary home to children of orphaned and troubled families, I was a poster child for troubled. At the Center, the nights were the hardest. For the six years at Sparta I put myself to sleep with my head on the window sill daydreaming. My experiences at the Center, my daydreaming and imagination are subject for many of my stories. Some of my stories include orphans, runaways, the abandoned or the disenfranchised. After my stay at the child center I won the lottery. I was able to spend two years at a foster home with a great family and I met a great gal who I married, she even had horses. Here in the autumn, (or is it the winter of my life?) ideas for stories still pop into my head, I still enjoy scribbling them down. I characterize most of my writing as Western romantic fiction. I’ve been trying for some time to figure out why my stories have to finish with happy endings.
As I think back, during the daydreaming while I was cooped up at the Wisconsin Child Center, I had to have happy endings. One of the supervisors at the Wisconsin Child Center once asked me, “I’ve often wondered; how did you survive?” I’m guessing those happy endings to my daydreaming helped. How did I stray into the land of Amish romance? I’ve worked with Amish friends for nearly thirty years. I didn’t follow the usual ‘formula’ for Amish romance stories, instead, “Two World’s Ridge” broaches subject all English sometimes consider when we think of the Amish. I dealt with the issue of male dominance, subjugating women, the role of religion and entrapping children into the sect by fear, isolation and the limiting of their education. The pseudonym, J. B. Patel, is made up from the first initials of my seven grandchildren.
Eyes like sky is the story of a wagon train heading West. Kate, with the truth shining in her blue eyes like a beacon, loves everything about the West but cannot accept duplicity in those she meets. Her and her father along with five other families on the wagon train have what they think is clear title to an existing ranch. Complications exist on the trip and upon their arrival.
One complication is the scout hired to guide them, he prefers to keep parts of him hidden, then necessity forces him to hide even more. Kate wants to be a Westerner, but she has to modify her principles to fit the sometimes brutal reality of the West.
Kate also has to be able to rectify her growing feelings with the scout along with the parts hidden and the somewhat ruthless nature of his past.
One complication is the scout hired to guide them, he prefers to keep parts of him hidden, then necessity forces him to hide even more. Kate wants to be a Westerner, but she has to modify her principles to fit the sometimes brutal reality of the West.
Kate also has to be able to rectify her growing feelings with the scout along with the parts hidden and the somewhat ruthless nature of his past.
The Fated Winchester is about a boy who runs away after killing his father while trying to save his mother. He seeks to hide by getting on the orphan train and being indentured at a cattle ranch. Instead he ends up with a drunken Wyoming sheep owner at a time when big cattle ranches ruled the range. The story chronicles the times a gold plated Winchester saves his life. Meanwhile during his struggle to grow and make a life for himself he is tied to man that would rather drink and gamble.
Like most of those orphaned, the real importance in life lies in whom we place our trust and a little luck. Luck and trust happens by way of Basque sheep-men and during the worse winter on record when he has to share his meager Shepard’s home with stranded pilgrims
Like most of those orphaned, the real importance in life lies in whom we place our trust and a little luck. Luck and trust happens by way of Basque sheep-men and during the worse winter on record when he has to share his meager Shepard’s home with stranded pilgrims
Nothing could erase the smile etched on the face of the convict named Rock. The heat of the summer Arizona sun beating on his bare back, blood trickling from the six-inch bullwhip gash on his back, the sound of a dozen mauls smashing rocks, the dust; all were testament to the deck stacked against him and reasons not to smile. After killing two men amid blazing gunfire, Rock was convicted and sent to Yuma Prison. During his sentence a hired assassin and another died at Rock’s hands. After eleven years struggling to retain his smile, with calloused hands and a scarred back he became a free man. Rock was free; but he would find upon his return home the odds were still against him. A greater fight was in the offing with the judge that sent him to prison and who now occupied Rock’s home. Once a convict, how would he maintain his smile through the turmoil of finding a woman he could build a life with, only to have her walk away.
Throughout his fight to regain what was his, as well as a woman’s trust, he creates a strong friendship with reservation runaways and some good-hearted cowboys. In the end he will rely on his friendships during ambushes, gunfights and stampedes to try and take back what was his.
Throughout his fight to regain what was his, as well as a woman’s trust, he creates a strong friendship with reservation runaways and some good-hearted cowboys. In the end he will rely on his friendships during ambushes, gunfights and stampedes to try and take back what was his.
The five-star ranch is a collection of short stories set in the old West. Stories about a runaway befriended and growing up on a ranch, of a rancher realizing he has nobody to take over after he is gone, a story of a lad traveling westward and coming to the aid of an Indian boy on the way. Other stories include a son sent West to gain insight, a lad leaving his farming roots and learning what he really wanted was right in his own backyard. Other stories include love lost and found, a story about growing up cowboy, being cheated, gaining love and retribution. A Story about loss of a family to disease and using a wild herd of horses to help in the healing process and several others.
While some recognized their duty and went to fight in the war between the North and South, others intended to make a profit by staying behind. As fifteen year-old Amy grabbed Lance’s sleeve she knew she was heading off a fight between him and four of the Keating boys. That night after the dance, Lance would be heading south to fight in the war for the Union Army, Amy figured he didn’t need to start off fighting with four of the no-account Keating bunch. She had secretly loved Lance for some time. He knew he was going off to war and realized he may never make it back. Before he rode out, she blurted out her love for him. Lance recalled what his mother had taught them both; love happens when there is honesty and trust. He spoke of no promises for the future, without illusion he was going to fight in a war. While Lance is fighting a war with confederates and renegade Indians in the Territory of New Mexico, another battle is waging back home with those taking advantage of a weakened community. Lance becomes battle tested and finds love in Maria, daughter at the Valesquez hacienda. With the war coming to an end, Lance begins to realize the lack of trust or honesty he has with Maria. He decides to make the long trek home to Wyoming and upon his arrival finds that his battles are not yet over. The small town he calls home is not the same as he left it. Along with the few good folks left in Buford, Lance will attempt to set things right and find the trust and honesty he has been seeking all along.
"The Hangman" is the second book in a series of three books featuring short stories set in the old West. "The Hangman" is a retired lawman looking for a more peaceful life, instead he brands a couple of rustlers on his approach to the ranch he wants to buy. Other stories include war veterans trying to sort out the pain of war and getting relief from a child. There are stories of orphans, children who are left on their own and their survival. Stories of a "Hanging Judge" that has a sense of humor and justice. In all cases, in the end there is redemption, justice and of course, love.
The Orphan Train ran from 1854 until 1929, according to records at the Monroe County Library in Sparta, Wisconsin, the train stopped taking children from the Sparta facility in 1933. The Orphan Train idea was born in New York which had about 30,000 street orphans in 1854. It is estimated, from 150,000 to 250,000 children from large cities east of the Mississippi were sent west and south on trains to be adopted or indentured.
Love in the Amish community has rigid boundaries, speaking out by females in church or meeting is forbidden. In this story, from the outset, Sarianna is at odds with the Bishop of a small and strict Swartzentruber Amish district.Sarianna breaks the Amish mold. In a male dominated society she is willing to stand up for children and those abused. In the Amish community one does not stand up, one blends in or one is deemed bold. If one is bold, they suffer a fate worse than shunning; gossip, isolation, and rejection for an undetermined time. Sarianna further tests the ordinances when she falls in love with an English.
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