Bois Forte writer blends traditional stories with supernatural horror

NETT LAKE—When Shane Drift gets up around 5 a.m. each morning, he puts on coffee and starts to write. Then he writes, and writes some more.
“I served on our tribal council for eight years, and now I’m just enjoying my time off for now,” said Drift, a member of the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa who lives in Nett Lake. “When I’m away from the keyboard, I’m on my phone writing. So, either way, I’m always writing.”
Now he’s completed his second book, “Sad Evil,” and is working on its sequel.
Rather than beginning with a novel and later adapting it for the screen, Drift wrote “Sad Evil” as a screenplay first. The roughly 120-page script eventually became a book of more than 400 pages, forcing him to expand scenes and fill in the spaces between the screenplay’s action.
Set on a present-day reservation, it is a tale of supernatural horror that weaves ancient prophecies and traditions into contemporary life. In its opening chapters, a group unknowingly releases an ancient evil that hunts them through the woods, literally swallowing them in darkness. Readers are then introduced to Darby, who, along with Skaw-haw and their family, embark on a journey to confront the evil that’s been released.
Drift said the story was inspired by a shared love of traditional storytelling and blockbuster movies. Drift recalled being 6, 7, or 8 years old, sitting on the floor and looking up at his grandmother while she told traditional stories during the winter. He added that seeing “Superman” was what initially prompted him to write. Afterward, he started reading screenplays for other major films.
“I researched other books and looked at other screenplays like “Gladiator” and “Slumdog Millionaire,” Drift said.
When he translated the screenplay into the book, Drift wanted to maintain a feeling of traditional storytelling and wrote the book from the perspective of a traditional storyteller. Drift said that Sad Evil Two will use a traditional first-person perspective and that the first book’s narrator will be introduced as a character.
“Imagine sitting there listening to your grandmother tell you a story, telling you the side of a story. That’s why I wrote it the way I wrote it. You know, to honor her,” Drift said. “Sad Evil Two is going to be the conventional book format, you know, from the eye point of view.”
Drift was encouraged to turn the screenplay into a book by his late girlfriend, Christina Premo.
“She passed on from cancer back in February 2024, but she’s the one that strongly encouraged me to turn my screenplay into a book, and she told me to continue writing and pursue my dreams after she passed, and that’s what I’m doing,” Drift said.
Drift hopes to turn “Sad Evil” into a series and said that he hopes to have seven or eight more books after this one. He is also considering a prequel series.
“Sad Evil” was recently nominated for the 2025 Northeastern Minnesota Book Awards in the fiction category.
But Drift’s writing is far from limited to the planned Sad Evil series. He has previously written “Spirit Quest: Hummingbird and Sage’s Journey,” a children’s book with characters inspired by Drift’s own children. Drift is working on adapting the first book into a screenplay and writing a sequel.
Drift is also working on a new romance screenplay called “Dreams Rain Love.”
Drift also writes poetry and music. His poetry can be found on his personal Facebook page, and his music can be found on streaming platforms under the name “Cedar Poet.”
Drift was the featured speaker at a Tuesday Group gathering in Ely in September.