Posts on Criminal Justice and Prison Reform

Some mysteries are buried deep, but they never truly disappear. For the past year, I’ve been immersed in the cold, hard details of a case that’s haunted me since I first started researching it three decades ago. Bringing The Jacklighter to life has been an exercise in reconstruction—sifting through old boxes of evidence, documents, and now ...

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 ...

My upcoming book, Chained Birds: A True Crime Memoir, received a five-star review this week from the Manhattan Book Review, which launched squeals and gasps in my household (okay, this was just me; my husband is more measured). The reviewer, Philip Zozzaro, called my debut “a future true crime classic,” and I would like to send him a ...

Anyone curious about an upcoming book project of mine (Spoiler! It involves true crime!) can check out my first Author Interview on a book blog hosted by author and book promoter Vinny O’Hare. I discovered Vinny in my Goodreads Mysteries & Thrillers group, where he helps promote new authors writing in the genre. As a new author ...

It’s been a steep learning curve since I signed a book contract with WildBlue Press last December. This year, I completed the manuscript (the book was sold on proposal) and collaborated with my wonderful editor, Rowena Carenen, who helped shape Chained Birds: A True Crime Memoir into the breakout debut we all hope it will ...

I’m especially fond of this review blurb that landed in my inbox this week because it mentions the genre-bending aspect of Chained Birds: A True Crime Memoir. I’ve been asked on numerous forms and submissions to check the genre box(s) that most apply to this debut book of mine, and the answer is—sometimes there weren’t ...

I’m excited to share an early access link where curious readers can sample the first dozen pages of Chained Birds: A True Crime Memoir. In partnership with BookFunnel, a secure delivery service for advanced reader copies (ARCs)—and so much more!—readers can view pre-release content that includes the book description, i.e., what will appear on the ...

More early praise continues to roll in for my debut, Chained Birds: A True Crime Memoir, launching November 12, 2024, with WildBlue Press. Is it okay to stop pinching myself now? As I mentioned in my post about getting my first “highly recommended” and 5-star editorial review from Readers’ Favorite, I am slowly recovering from the ...

It’s no spoiler to reveal that my true crime memoir Chained Birds is also part exposé of the horrific experimental prison program that operated at Pennsylvania’s Lewisburg Prison from 2009-2018. One of the book’s main characters, federal inmate Kevin Sanders, was my inside source who helped me chronicle the cruelty and bloodshed inside Lewisburg as ...