Barrie author Ed Danko is what some may call a jack of all trades — at least when it comes to his writing.
The retired retail jeweller recently celebrated the release of You Make Me Kill You II, the follow-up to his 2022 debut novel of the same name,
“I enjoyed developing the characters from the debut novel and I was batting around whether I had enough material to do a sequel and if it was going to be as engaging as the first story,” Danko explained.
Danko says the sequel follows the nemesis of the main character from the first story.
“I developed this story from my imagination and from some true life experiences … and thought there was another whole story here. Both novels are based on acts of revenge and vengeance and I thought there was a whole new cast of characters waiting to come out," he said. "I thought it could really develop into some great storytelling.
"I waded into it and all these characters just started popping up in my mind," Danko added. "It ended up being a great sequel.”
The 67-year-old has penned several stories, stretching over a variety of different genres ranging from science-fiction and thrillers to a children’s book.
“Years ago, I had written a story for my granddaughter … I just had fun with it. Then, I put it aside, but years later I thought I could probably write some other great children’s stories. I did write several stories and sent them off," Danko said. "I went through that process of sending and getting rejections and getting frustrated.”
It was during the global pandemic that he first started considering trying his hand at writing a suspense-thriller, he said.
Danko says he read a James Patterson book, and despite being intimidated by the idea of writing a novel, he decided to give it a shot.
“I just try to have fun with the genres. It was a bit of a challenge at first, but I felt I could do it. It’s been quite a journey for me to explore all these different genres, but I have enjoyed it," he said. "I often say I wrote my suspense-thriller during COVID. I created other worlds inside of the craziness of what was going on in the world.
“Writing kind of saved my sanity.”
In addition to stretching his skills across the genres, Danko admits he also tends to break a lot of rules when writing.
“I tend to fly by the seat of my pants. I don’t make an outline or anything like that," he said. "I have an idea in my head. A lot of it isn’t planned. It’s pretty fascinating that if you leave your mind open you can see and create things as though you’re just looking out the window as you move along in the story.
"It’s exciting to be able to write that way. When you open your laptop and start the next chapter, it’s just as much of an adventure to (me) as it will be to the reader.”
Click here for more information about the book.
