The Earthquake Machine
The book every girl should read,
and every girl’s parents hope she’ll never read.
The
Earthquake Machine tells the story of 14
year-old Rhonda. On the outside, everything looks perfect in Rhonda’s world,
but at home Rhonda has to deal with a manipulative father who keeps her
mentally ill mother hooked on pharmaceuticals. The only reliable person in
Rhonda’s life is her family’s Mexican yardman, Jesús. But when the INS deports
Jesús back to his home state of Oaxaca, Rhonda is left alone with her
increasingly painful family situation.
Determined to find her friend Jésus, Rhonda seizes an
opportunity to run away during a camping trip with friends to Big Bend National
Park. She swims to the Mexican side of the Rio Grande and makes her way to the
border town of Milagros, Mexico. There a peyote- addled bartender convinces her
she won’t be safe traveling alone into the country’s interior. So with the
bartender’s help, Rhonda cuts her hair and assumes the identity of a Mexican
boy named Angel. She then sets off on a burro across the desert to look for
Jesús. Thus begins a wild adventure that fulfills the longing of readers eager
for a brave and brazen female protagonist.
Bio:
Mary Pauline Lowry has worked as a forest
firefighter, screenwriter, open water lifeguard, construction worker, and
advocate in the movement to end violence against women. Due to no fault of her
sweet parents, at 15 she ran away from home and made it all the way to
Matamoros, Mexico. She believes girls should make art, have adventures, and
read books that show them the way.
Guest Post:
When I was writing THE EARTHQUAKE MACHINE I
lived in a rented basement room at the Desert Rose Horse Ranch outside of
Durango, Colorado. I’d wake up before dawn everyday to work on my novel, and
then I’d go to work all day as an apprentice carpenter.
Now I knew nothing about carpentry, or
working construction, but my boss hired me anyway; he knew I loved to read all
kinds of books and he figured I’d be fun to talk to while we were working all
day.
My boss was a giant, Viking of a man named
David. He’s almost fifteen years older than I am but STILL everyone always
thought I was his girlfriend. When people asked if we were dating he would
always yell, “GROSS! She’s young enough to be my daughter!” I always loved him
for that.
David taught me how to swing a hammer, run
a skihl saw, chop saw and table saw. Together we built fences and framed houses
in the freezing cold and snow of Colorado winters.
Being a construction worker was the perfect
writer job. I could put all my writing energy into my early morning time and I
know I wouldn’t be stuck at a computer doing something boring for the rest of
the day.
Now that I’m back in my hometown of Austin,
TX, I miss my carpenter boss David. But we still talk on the phone; and he
always sends me great postcards when he goes to Europe to visit his daughter
Caitlyn who is studying abroad for her junior year of college.
I’m going to mail David a copy of THE
EARTHQUAKE MACHINE soon. I can’t wait to hear what he thinks of the book!
