Jennifer Schultz walks two paths. On one, she is a registered nurse in Northern Minnesota. On the other, the writer of the Shaka Reed Series of supernatural thrillers. Among her influences are H.G. Wells, Ray Bradbury, Margaret Atwood and Stephen King. But she notes that the true source of her writing comes from “an unknown place which begs to be expressed.”
The Shaka Reed Series starts with Hearts of Prey where we are introduced to Shaka, a woman living in Northern Minnesota who has always felt like an outsider because of her secret ability as a shape shifter. While Shaka has managed to keep this ability a secret, known only to her grandfather, events unfold and Shaka learns that there are other shapeshifters in her new friend Winston and others with abilities like her friend Rena. A charming stranger Aiden ignites a strong attraction in Shaka but also opens the door to the wrong people learning her secret. Shaka’s thrilling adventures continue in book 2, House of Stars, and Jennifer Schultz has just published book 3 in the series, Height of Dreams.
In a recent What We’re Reading interview, Jennifer revealed that the idea for the series came to her in a dream.
“I was on the outside looking into this building and I saw three people sitting at this table talking and I didn't know what they were, but I could tell who they were: Winston, Adrian and Shaka. I could tell that there was something special about Winston and Shaka, and Adrian was kind of like their ally…I knew it was something magical.”
Jennifer went into writing her first novel Hearts of Prey without a vision of it being a trilogy. She explained, “I just wanted to write a book… As I got further into Hearts of Prey, I thought, ‘Yeah, I think there will be at least a sequel, possibly a trilogy out of this.’ And then by the time I started Height of Dreams, I knew it was going to be the last book.”
Now that the series has wrapped up, Jennifer has new paths to consider, but they will definitely involve writing. She said, “I'm sure I'll continue to write. It's just I don't know where it takes me. I never quite know until I'm already walking on that path.”
Learn more about Minnesota writer Jennifer Schultz and her books on her website.
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