Fiction

The Damned - Now Querying

Myra Delante has achieved the breakthrough of her career. She and her team of researchers have found a way to predict whether a person has a propensity for violence with up to a 98% certainty. Her discovery sets off a landslide of policies that ultimately achieve what was thought to be impossible: a world free of mass murder. Those identified by her tests are sent to a remote island known as the Dam. Once there, it is assumed they meet a bloody end at the hands of other exiles. Most people can rationalize the need for exile. After all, what are a few hundred lives for the preservation of peace?

​

Everything changes when Myra's teenage son, Loch, fails his final screening test and is exiled to the Dam. Once on the island, Loch must fight for survival at nearly every turn. To his surprise, he also begins to connect with the other inhabitants, and something about his new chaotic reality starts to feel like home. A mysterious new arrival provides Loch a chance to prove himself to the others, yet ends up uncovering the truth not everyone one the island is who they seem. Meanwhile, Myra grapples with the dark consequences of her life's work and how much she is willing to risk to get Loch back. As her relationships and career fall apart, the grip on her reality begins to slip. With her sanity hanging precariously in the balance, she must fight to destroy the very thing she created. But is she too late?

​

The Damned is a commercial dual-point-of-view novel that explores dystopian themes of political overreach, social avoidance of mental health, and the healing power of community. Though there are elements of dark psychology, the book also delivers a message of hope and connection, humorous dialogue, and complex diverse characters who are all struggling to find acceptance in a world that is quick to judge.