Corn Field Encounters & other short stories

The author has included an eclectic selection of short stories (autobiographical, humorous, mystery, romance, and science fiction); however, in this book he has divided the book into English and Spanish sections. The bilingualism of his background and his experiences as a migrant is evident in various stories. Corn Field Encounters relates the story of a young married woman whose desires drive her to meet her lover in a corn field, with the husband in the unknowing role of a "lookout." Stories such as Real Men, Shopping, The Headache, and The Errand involve real life issues encountered by individuals in society. Real Men involves the secrets of three men with similar experiences who deal with their personal tragedies in a different manner. Shopping involves a woman who has suffered life's vicissitudes and uses a unique activity to engage herself socially, The Headache shows how adults deflect and minimize times of stress and loss in an attempt to keep children from having to confront harsh realities. In the Errand a grown man reflects on his turbulent childhood and the years of struggle in order to overcome harsh memories. The Curandero, The Spider Thread, The Encounter with the Devil, The Goat-headed Snake, and The Whistling Dead reflect the Hispanic culture of the writer. The Encounter with the devil shows how our imagination many times tends to get the best of us as a man confronts the devil. In the Goat-headed Snake the folklore and beliefs of indigenous populations is evident when a tiny village confronts an inexplicable specter. The Whistling Dead is a true life store set during the Mexican Revolution and a family's attempt to escape its ravages. In Section II, Chronicles of a Migrant, the author uses his experiences as a migrant worker in various short stories that provide an insight into the lives of this group of socially invisible Americans. El autor ha incluido una selección ecléctica de cuentos cortos (autobiografía, cómico, misterio, romance, y ciencia-ficción); sin embargo, el libro está dividido en secciones en inglés y español. Los antecedentes bilingües y sus experiencias como un trabajador migratorio son evidente en varios cuentos. Encuentros en el maizal relata la historia de una joven mujer casada, cuyos deseos la llevan a encuentros con su amante en un campo de maíz, con el marido en el ignorante papel de "guardia." Cuentos tal como Hombres Reales, De Compras, El Dolor de Cabeza, y El Mandado relatan casos de la vida real por los cuales pasan individuos. Hombres Reales envuelve los secretos de tres hombres con experiencias similares que tratan de superar sus tragedias personales de diferentes maneras. De Compra se trata de a una mujer que ha sufrido las vicisitudes de la vida y utiliza una actividad única para poder comprometerse socialmente, El Dolor de Cabeza muestra cómo los adultos desvían y minimizan tiempos de tensión y pérdida con el intento de proteger a los niños de las crueles realidades de la vida. En El Mandado un hombre maduro refleja sobre su niñez turbulenta y los años de sufrimiento por los que pasa para superar memorias dolorosas. El Curandero, La Hebra de Telaraña, El Encuentro con el Diablo, La Serpiente Cabeza de Chivo, y El Silbido de los Muertos reflejan la cultura hispana del escritor. El Encuentro con el Diablo muestra cómo nuestra imaginación muchas veces nos hace ver cosas irreales cuando un hombre confronta el diablo. En La Serpiente Cabeza de Chivo el folklore y creencias de poblaciones indígenas son evidentes cuando un pueblo diminuto confronta un espectro inexplicable. El Silbido de los Muertos es una historia de la vida real cual transcurrió durante la Revolución Mexicana en cual una familia intenta escapar los estragos de la guerra. En Sección II, Crónicas de Migrantes, el autor utiliza sus experiencias como obrero migratorio en varios cuentos cortos que proporcionan una representación sobre las vidas de este grupo de americanos socialment
About the Author: About the author: Born in Raymondville, Texas on February 3, 1953, to immigrant parents from Mexico, Sánchez first attend school in Colorado where the family lived until 1960. Sánchez was the second of four siblings that included two brothers and one sister. From 1961 to 1968 the family, now including two step-brothers and two step-sisters after his mother's separation and remarriage, traveled through most of the western states as migrant workers. Sánchez never completed a school year beyond the third grade, although attending through the first two six-weeks of the ninth grade. In 1972 he obtained his GED. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1973. In 1974 he married Angelita Carrasco. He was stationed in Texas until 1976. From 1976 to 1979 he was stationed on Okinawa, Japan from where he traveled to various places in the Far East. Stationed again in Texas in 1979, he spent three months on temporary duty assignment in Europe. He separated from the military in 1981 and made his residence in Uvalde, Texas. He obtained a bachelor's degree from Sul Ross State University in 1988, and a masters in 1992. From 1993 to 1996 he attended the University of Houston but failed to obtain the doctorate he was seeking. During the time he was in Houston he wrote for a bilingual newspaper (La Politiquera), whose owner, Alfredo Santos, established another paper in Uvalde (La Voz de Uvalde County), which Sánchez acquired in 2002 and operated until the end of 2013. In 2005 he returned to school and obtained a doctorate from Our Lady of the Lake University in 2009. He has written minor articles for the Handbook of Texas and the West Texas Historical Association Yearbook. He is married and has three children, Michael, Sophia, and Stacie. He co-authored Ethnic Realities of Mexican Americans: from colonialism to 21st century globalization, published in 2014. He is presently working on two manuscripts on the Ku Klux Klan and a manuscript of poetry.