I’m thrilled to announce my debut true crime memoir, Chained Birds, has found a home with WildBlue Press and will be published this November! I signed with WildBlue Press at the end of 2023 following two weeks of dialogue with press co-founder (and author) Steve Jackson. Steve and I dove deep into my book’s details to ensure it would meet the expectations of the true crime genre and its readers and gel with WildBlue Press as a whole.
I’m grateful to Steve and co-founder Michael Cordova for giving me a seat at their table. I’ll join an incredible roster of true crime authors and other award-winning and notable writers of thriller, fantasy, sci-fi, history, and memoir. I can’t wait to contribute to the press’s loyal readership and extensive true crime catalog. I have no doubt that Chained Birds has found the perfect home.
If you don’t know what Chained Birds is about, here’s a sneak peek at the back cover text:
After three years in Europe, former journalist Carla Conti just wants to settle her family back into the Philadelphia suburbs. But her high school friend Scott Powell, a lawyer handling a brutal prison stabbing case, needs a favor. Before she knows it, Carla is part of the trial’s defense team and mired in the terrifying world of federal prison gangs, penal abuse, and corruption. And when she agrees to write a tell-all book on the violent machinations behind the court case—with Scott’s client as an inside source—the stakes turn deadly. Two different prison gangs issue “hit orders” against the prisoner they now consider a friend, and unfathomably, both she and Scott are imperiled by association.
CHAINED BIRDS is a true crime memoir of Carla’s 10-year journey to advocate for federal inmate Kevin Sanders and help him re-enter society after prison. But the mission comes at a cost as Carla struggles to balance her own, Scott’s, and Kevin’s safety while writing an exposé on the horrific conditions that led to the shutdown of an experimental prison program in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. CHAINED BIRDS is a gripping portrait of unlikely friendships, invisible victims of prison abuse, failings in our criminal justice system, and redemption through storytelling.
It’s been a whirlwind since I decided to write Chained Birds in early 2023. And as I head toward my launch date of November 12, 2024, I look forward to connecting with aspiring authors and true crime fans alike. Following publication, I’ll be posting bonus stories here related to chapter events and characters, as well as extras like original artwork created by inmate Kevin Sanders, who’s at the heart of this story.
If you have questions or comments, you can reach me via my social media links below or send me a message on my Author Bio page. You can also stay tuned for more updates by joining my newsletter at the top of this blog.
This article was updated from its February posting.
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.
