Prison artist sketch inspires book title and cover design (cover reveal coming soon!)
The November 12, 2024 launch date of Chained Birds: A True Crime Memoir is just around the corner! Manuscript editing is complete. My publisher, WildBlue Press, has begun its marketing efforts. And soon, I’ll be revealing the cover design that will incorporate my most cherished piece of artwork from Kevin Sanders, the inmate at the heart of my story.
This black-and-white sketch, created by Kevin while he was at Lewisburg Prison more than ten years ago, inspired the book’s title. I describe in Chapter 17 (“Get off the Pot”) seeing the image for the first time behind the last page of a long letter Kevin wrote me from Lewisburg:
Kevin’s letter ended: “I sit here along a path that gets hard at times, but I come through with faith. Some choices are not the best, but I try.”
Behind the last page of the letter was a breathtaking ink drawing of a predatory bird perched in a tree—an eagle, I thought. A link chain was attached to one of its legs, but the chain was broken. The other half of the severed chain was wrapped around a tree branch. The bird was essentially free, yet it sat there, staring into my soul, begging the question: Why don’t you fly away?
Kevin signed his last name at the bottom, and on the other side, he wrote the title: Chained Bird.
Astute readers will notice my book title is Chained Birds plural, while Kevin named his sketch Chained Bird singular. This nuance is revealed in the last chapter and is entirely the fault of my retired English teacher mother, Marilyn. The explanation will not disappoint.
Carla Conti is a true crime journalist, storyteller, and prison reform advocate. Her debut book, Chained Birds: A True Crime Memoir, will be published by WildBlue Press on November 12, 2024.
