My long-awaited cover-reveal for Chained Birds is here! And fun fact — this is actually my second cover!
Let’s back up to September when WildBlue Press’ talented designer Elijah Toten produced a cover that incorporated the original artwork by Kevin Sanders (the inmate at the heart of my story), a sketch titled Chained Bird. I believe my exact words to the WildBlue Press team were, “Holy shit! I love it!” And I shared it with family and friends, naturally.
Enter my artist niece (who shall remain nameless as I’m writing under a pen name), who pointed out that the bird’s head would really pop off the page if a bit of the background were erased behind it. She tinkered with a revised mock-up, and we sent it to the team. Everyone agreed. This graphic illustrates the evolution of the cover art, beginning with Kevin Sanders’ original sketch:
When my husband Jim got wind of this cover revision request, he cautioned me about being a high-maintenance author and said I would sell exactly zero more copies with the bird’s head freed from its background. “No one will notice the difference,” he said. And to his point, I must admit that the thumbs-up/thumbs-down informal poll on NetGalley (where there are still some advanced copies of Chained Birds to give away), kind of bears this out.
I hate it when my husband is right. But on the other hand, I also appreciate WildBlue Press‘ opinion that my niece’s tweaked cover had merit. All of this makes a greater point that my publisher allows a hefty amount of author involvement in bringing their books to launch, for which I’m incredibly grateful.
The eBook and audiobook for Chained Birds: A True Crime Memoir is on pre-order now at Amazon. Print copies will be available to order on pub day, November 12, 2024. For a reminder on the launch of Chained Birds and when you can get your hands on a hardback or paperback copy, sign up for my newsletter.
Carla Conti is an award-winning true crime journalist, storyteller, and prison reform advocate. Her debut book, Chained Birds: A Crimemoir, won multiple 2025 national book awards, including 1st Place in True Crime from the Next Generation Indie Book Awards, Winner in True Crime from the Indie Reader Discovery Awards, Silver in True Crime from the Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY), and a 1st Place Nellie Bly Journalism award from the Chanticleer International Book Awards. Carla lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, who tolerates her true crime habit.
