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Interview: Carla Seyler Completed the FBI Citizens Academy for Book Research
- Christina Boyd
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
CHRISTINA: In April 2025, I attended the Chanticleer Writers Conference in nearby Bellingham, Washington, as I was a finalist in the Chanticleer International Book Awards, Somerset Awards. Writers and producers traveled from as far away as Australia, Bermuda, Europe, and all over North America. I met some amazing authors at various levels of their publishing careers. Carla Seyler flew in from New Orleans, and she placed first in Global Thriller for her debut novel, A Place Unmade. I was thrilled to chat with her and get to know her better through this interview, too.
Do you put people you know, or their characteristics, in your book?
CARLA: Definitely! I had the most fun writing about Mia, an ancillary character based loosely on my own grandmother. Preparing wonderful Sicilian dishes for her family was at the heart of my grandmother’s life. I loved making Mia’s kitchen a welcoming place for Valentina, the main character, and her friends. The window overlooking the neighbor’s slate roof and the enamel coffee pot were treasures of my childhood.
CHRISTINA: How did writing your first book change your writing process?
CARLA: My first book was inspired by a news article. Beyond a general theme, my narrative didn’t have a direction, so I was definitely a “pantser.” I went down some extraordinary rabbit holes. Although the idea for my second book was inspired by another news item, I’ve taken the time to figure out where I want the story to go and have a fairly solid understanding of how I’m going to get there.
CHRISTINA: Have you gone on an author pilgrimage or research trip? Where and what was the most memorable moment?
CARLA: In my first book, the villain wants to blow up the seed bank at the University of Colorado in Fort Collins. I visited the campus with my husband, aka my partner in crime, to assess how or whether this could be done. We “cased” the building, and I still wonder if we’re on any surveillance videos.
Currently, I’m working on another thriller based in southeast Louisiana, where swamps and a few abandoned towns are only accessible by water. I chartered a boat with Captain Jason through Barataria Bay, once the home of Jean Lafitte and his band of pirates. I also drive “down the bayou” to Port Fourchon, Louisiana’s southernmost port, where the Gulf waters absorb land the size of a football field every ninety minutes. In some places, only the structural piers of homes, fishing camps, and boat docks remain above the sea.
Most recently, I completed the FBI Citizens Academy to learn more about law enforcement procedures and approaches. I’m enrolled in the DEA Citizens Academy now and learning more than I ever wanted to know about opioids.
CHRISTINA: Wow. Wow. That’s going down the research rabbit hole to an all-new level. Brilliant!
Has the publishing industry changed since you started?
CARLA: My insight into the changes in the publishing industry is limited as my first book was published only last year. I have been surprised that, generally, the burden of publicity falls on the author.
CHRISTINA: Can you tell us more about that?
CARLA: The journey to getting a book published and into the hands of readers has been both exciting and arduous, and I hope my experience might be helpful to others. Along the way, I’ve run into incredibly supportive professionals, as well as some unscrupulous players who were looking to take advantage of my creative effort, and frankly, a couple of them who succeeded. Looking back, I would have encouraged my unpublished self to have patience, be persistent, and take more time to research the terms of any offer. With many publishers now, it’s customary for the author to publicize his or her work and absorb the costs of this promotion. It’s important for the author to ask herself what her goals are, for example, being a best-selling author, becoming known regionally, or just succeeding in publishing a book. These different goals have varying costs associated with each of them.
CHRISTINA: This reminds me of a session I took at the Chanticleer Writers Conference. Author and book executive Jacqui Clarke said that planning your writer goals needed to be planned with a budget, like you might budget anything else in your life.
What are you reading now?
CARLA: I’m reading Richard Campanella’s The West Bank of Greater New Orleans - A Historical Geography. Most residents of New Orleans have very little patience for an incorrect portrayal of our cultural life or caricatures instead of real characters. As a New Orleans native, I’m hypersensitive to trying to get it right. This book explores the history and power structures of this part of coastal Louisiana and how it changed in response to these drivers.
CHRISTINA: Thank you, Carla, for taking the time to answer these questions. It was wonderful to meet you at the conference, and I wish you every good thing in your publishing journey.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Carla Seyler is the author of A Place Unmade, her debut novel. She hopes there will be many more books in her future, as she has wanted to be a writer since she was seven. She grew up in a large New Orleans family steeped in the rich and sometimes warring cultures of Italian American and Acadian-French immigrants. Always loving, usually loud. She read constantly as a child and preferred that to almost anything.
A graduate of the University of New Orleans (UNO) and Loyola University, Seyler studied psychology and counseling. She worked in the field of vocational rehabilitation counseling for many years. Each individual, each situation was different and required a great deal of research to understand what were the challenges and how to address them.
She was driven to write A Place Unmade after reading a NYT article by Dan Barber called “Save our Food, Free the Seed.” The article pointed out the increasing lack of diversity in our food supply. Regulations and patents support large agribusinesses that are most profitable with uniform, monoculture crops. She was shocked to learn that a company can patent a seed. Or even a trait that a plant manifests. Seyler took a deep dive into the world of agriculture, seed banks, as well as grain crops and their predators to be able to tell a story that she hopes entertains and informs.
Great interview. So on point regarding an author's responsibilities in a standard publishing contract--the dreaded marketing. We just wanna write! Good luck with the FBI Citizens Academy.