Guest Post by Mary Pauline Lowry

 Mary Pauline Lowry will be taking over the blog this morning for a guest post. We are excited to have her here, so without taking up any more of your time, I'm handing over the reins to Mary.

In THE EARTHQUAKE MACHINE, Rhonda runs away from home and crosses the border into Mexico, traveling alone to find her best friend Jesús, who has been deported to his home state of Oaxaca.

As soon as she’s in Mexico, Rhonda transforms herself and pretends to be a Mexican boy named Angel so that she will be in less danger as she travels to find her friend.

Now I can be girly as all get-out, but growing up I did always wonder what it would be like to be a boy, to be able to walk through the streets at night without fear, do tons of pullups, and have wild adventures. Like Rhonda/Angel I didn’t want being a girl to stop me from doing anything I wanted to do.

So far I haven’t. It started when I was 15 and I climbed out the window and ran away from home. I made it all the way to Matamoros, Mexico. (I would not advise that anyone to do this—very dangerous). When I was older I joined a crew of forest firefighters and traveled all over the country battling wildfires. I didn’t care if it was a “man’s job.” I wanted to do it anyway! Now I’m working as a Hollywood screenwriter. And guess what? The percentage of women writing scripts for major films is the same percentage as women fighting forest firefighters—only about 10%! I want those statistics to change.

And I want the women and girls who read THE EARTHQUAKE MACHINE to be inspired to make art, have adventures, and support their gal pals who are doing the same!

To learn more about Mary Pauline Lowry and her books, visit her website. You can also find her on Twitter.