Meet Nestor Eguez, Author and Teacher

Nestor Eguez is a technology teacher who immigrated with his family from Uruguay, South America to California twenty years ago in search of a better life. Since then, he has been teaching at adult and vocational schools. He had always had an interest in writing, and one day while helping his children with a school project, he experienced the moment that this story was born.

Nestor is the author of a novel called Kalima: The Secret of the Jungle. He is at work on the second book in this series and hopes to release it in the fall of this year.

1. How did you come up with the idea for Kalima?

Ten years ago, my kids wanted to do a puppet play as a school project. After they tried a couple of options, with no good results, I decided to help them with an original story. Two days after that, one morning on my way to work, the story came to me. That simple.

2. Why did you choose a zebra as your main character?

A lot of people asked me the same question, also if Kalima could be a different jungle animal. Well, a zebra was the first that came to my mind. After a little research, I found out that they are smart and strong animals, perfect for the kind of mission Kalima will have to accomplish.

3. As someone who is busy raising a family and also working as a teacher, when do you find time to write?

Honestly, it is very hard, especially because when you have a free time to do it, usually your inspiration Muse is busy.

4. When you were growing up in Uruguay, who were some writers whose work influenced you?

Definitely there were a lot of books that impacted me, especially in high school, but if I have to mention one, definitely was The Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes.

5. What is your advice to other writers who are working on writing and publishing their first novel?

Well, I'm going to pass along a couple of good suggestions that a wise author told me a long time ago.

a) A story always has room for improvements, but at some point you have to finish it, and move on.

b) You have to be prepared to deal with rejection. Writing a good story is the easiest part of publishing a book.

Thanks, Nestor!