Damned If You Do

Ages 14 And Up

Queer Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Filipino folklore in this horror comedy about a high school stage manager who accidentally sells her soul to a demon.

Seven years ago, Cordelia Scott’s abusive father left without a word, and life has been normal ever since. The seventeen-year-old spends her days stage managing the school play (which is going great, if anyone asks), pining over her best friend, Veronica, and failing one too many pop quizzes.

She’s never been sad that her father left, but she knows something is...missing. When her school guidance counselor, Fred, reveals during a session that he’s actually a demon, she learns that something is indeed missing: a piece of her actual soul. Why? She unwittingly made a deal with him to make her father disappear – then bargained to have the memory erased. To make matters worse, Fred is here to make another bargain: Help him with a “little” demonic problem, or she’s doomed to spend eternity in Hell with her father.

The deal? Help Fred neutralize a rival demon, who means to do more harm in her hometown than your average demon deal.

About the Author

Alex Brown is a queer biracial Filipino American writer who was the showrunner’s assistant on the final season of Supernatural and the upcoming Resident Evil TV adaptation for Netflix. Alex was one of the inaugural recipients of the SCBWI On-The-Verge Emerging Voices award, was a Tin House Scholar for their YA Winter ’21 Workshop, and a finalist for the 2021 Walter Grant. She is also the co-creator of the narrative podcast, The Bridge, which has well over a million downloads.