Ever since he was a child, Derek Borne knew he wanted to write stories, with a desire to one day share them with the world.
Borne, who was born in Hamilton but moved to Paris, Ontario, with his family at a young age, discussed his beginnings as a storyteller.
“My mom bought me one of those recorders that you pop a little cassette tape in, and you can just speak into it, and I used that to record my stories. That was the beginning of my creative storytelling. And my first experience in writing a story down was when my family traveled to Myrtle Beach. We travelled there every year, and I started writing these stories called the Myrtle Beach mysteries,” Borne recalled. “We would see so many things on the trip, like these big places…wondering who lived there. I would then write mysteries about these places and used to save them on a floppy disk from my computer. By 14, I became serious about my writing, especially since I was bullied a lot at school. I would get home after school and write. It was my escape…writing the heroes that I wanted at that time in my life…writing characters that do the right thing…no matter what comes their way. I would then write my first superhero book [which was about] a spy organization that was able to give people abilities to take down the bad guys. I just wanted to have a superhero that was a civilian who got wrapped up in the spy world and had these wonderful abilities.”
This story would eventually develop into the Ultimate Agent series; however, the author would keep his writing a secret.
“Aside from my parents, I wasn’t telling too many people in school at that time, because I didn’t know if I would get bullied any further. I had a fellow student who, for four years straight, bullied me for my religion. I ended up using the second book in the Ultimate Agent series, where I dealt with getting back at my bully in the story and found it was the safest way to deal with that,” Borne reflected. “When you’re writing, it definitely helps you to be more empathetic. You know, when we write these villains [and bullies] …sometimes they are misunderstood. We don’t usually see what they’re going through. I would learn later in life that my bully’s stepfather was very abusive. And from this experience, I’ve told people that bullies always have a reason why they do what they do.”
However, even before creating his superhero story, Borne was fascinated with dinosaurs, which would become his Dino-Rift series.
“When I was growing up, I got into the Dinotopia series, which was geared for young readers…it has dinosaurs where humans actually create their own civilization on a secret island that people just get washed up on. So that had some influence on my later work, but I read Jurassic Park multiple times growing up and loved Michael Crichton. People always tell me they see the Jurassic Park influence in my Dino-Rift series,” he said. “I would say that series is my masterpiece. I think there are around 156 reviews on Amazon right now, and people have discovered me from the series, which just shows me that readers still love dinosaurs as long as the stories are done right or in a unique way.”
When it comes to collaborating, Borne has appreciated the insight that his wife brought to the table.
“She’s always been a great support, to the point where even my latest book I just published, I put her name on the front because she deserved the recognition. I usually turn to my wife and she helps me brainstorm ideas like…and she has given some great ones! She’s as creative as I am [and] has a jewelry business for herself,” Borne explained.
Also, the author revealed his process when it comes to writing his books.
“Sometimes I do have to do a little bit more on the plotting side, but for the most part, I do like to see if I can surprise myself. I’m definitely a ‘pantser’, though I usually know where I want to get to. It’s just I like letting myself go…I know point A and point B, but I let my brain do its imaginative thing and see how it wants to get there,” he said.
After getting his first book, The Ultimate Agent, out in the world in 2017, Borne has continued to expand on his writing.
“I recently saw my books at Coles [bookstore], because I finally did get my books in there for consignment. It was one of those surreal moments…[and] how things are paying off after all those years of putting the work in. Although it ended up taking about two years to get my books in a bookstore…they’re in there! I was also at Coles for my first ever bookstore signing this summer…where I sold about a dozen books that day. Those were such special and surreal moments for me,” said Borne.
The author, who currently has 12 books to his name, has various projects he is currently working on.
“I do have three projects that I’m currently working on at the same time. What I do is I am at a point where I’m a little stuck on one project, so I try to hop over to the other one. I am actually re-writing my first Ultimate Agent book, just for a tenth-year anniversary edition, because 2017 was when I first published it, and 2027 is around the corner. Sometimes you look at your earlier work and you’re thinking you could have done better…I’m not changing the story by any means, I’m just taking what’s there and elevating it,” he said. “I am also working on a prequel to Dino-Rift called SauraCorps: Origins. For that one, I am going back to the organization when it was evil at first and fleshing that story out.”
Nevertheless, Borne’s work recently caught the interest of a studio executive who reached out to him.
“One day, I had someone who contacted me over Instagram. He asked me if I had done anything with the film and TV rights for Dino-Rift? I was hesitant at first because there are scammers out there on social media. So, I left it for a couple of hours, and then I messaged someone that I already knew in animation who has many years of industry experience and has a good network of people himself. He told me that if the person who reached out to me from that particular company, I was in good hands. I ended up talking with him, and he found my book when he was doing a search online, and my book cover caught his eye. I would of course thank my cover designer! So that was another surreal moment for me.” Borne said.
As Borne marks close to ten years since releasing his first novel, he is continually reminded of the importance of what he does, especially in helping to spark children’s interest in reading.
“I jumped into someone’s TikTok live [late last year.] It was a mother, and she was talking about my Dino-Rift series, and she told the interviewer that I was solely responsible for her 13-year-old finally reading. She would go on to comment on my TikTok profile, expressing her gratitude for me and my books. I was very touched, [and] I will always cherish hearing those types of sentiments,” he said.
