LIONEL GARCÍA is the author of four award-winning novels, Leaving Home (Arte Público Press, 1994), A Shroud in the Family (Arte Público Press, 1994) , Hardscrub (Arte Público Press, 1994) and To a Widow with Children (Arte Público Press, 1994), and a collection of autobiographical sketches, I Can Hear the Cow Bells Ring (Arte Público Press, 1994). He is the recipient of the Texas Institute of Letters Best Novel Award and the Southwestern Booksellers Association’s Texas Literary Award. His work has received considerable critical praise, including comparisons by the Los Angeles Times to Gabriel García Márquez. Born and raised in San Diego, Texas, he currently practices veterinary medicine in Seabrook, Texas.