INTERVIEW: True Crime Writer Carla Conti Says Truth Really is Stranger Than Fiction

Welcome to the Tuesday Author Interview with Christina Boyd for the Who, What, When, Where, and Why.

CHRISTINA: I met Carla Conti at the Chanticleer Authors Conference in April where she placed first in the Nellie Bly Journalistic Non-Fiction Award. I loved chatting with her about her books and current projects, and I was delighted when she agreed to answer my nosey questions.

What do you wish you had known before you started writing a book?

CARLA: That, unless you are a lead title with a Big Five imprint, the marketing aspect of publishing is not only expected, but necessary, and is daunting for newcomers. In many ways, learning how to market and self-promote was harder than writing the book itself!

Multi-award winner in May 2025: 1st at Indie Book Awards, 1st at Indie Reader Discovery Awards, and Silver at the IPPYs.

CHRISTINA: Goodness, I hear that from a lot of authors these days. It can be especially daunting when marketing doesn't come naturally to some.

What comes first: plot or characters?

CARLA: Because I write true crime, it’s really both. My plot is informed by real events, and I have to decide how best to present the storyline so that it’s understandable and compelling. I might hold back certain facts and information for a later reveal when they’ll have more impact.

Character development based on real people is just as important as in fiction and is sometimes a challenge when there aren’t many details to work with.

CHRISTINA: I had never thought of that aspect of true crime writing.

What is your current project or latest release?

CARLA: I can’t go into details yet, but I am working on my next true crime book. I hope to have an announcement about that soon.

CHAINED BIRDS: A True Crime Memoir of Justice, Survival, and the Fight for Redemption Behind Bars by Carla Conti. Published December 8, 2024

CHRISTINA: Yikes! I'm intrigued.

What do you think makes a good story?

CARLA: Personally, I love to read compelling nonfiction stories the most, so it’s no surprise I’ve chosen to write in that space. Truth really is stranger than fiction. I just finished listening to Dan Slepian’s The Sing Sing Files: One Journalist, Six Innocent Men, and a Twenty-Year Fight for Justice, and it’s an outstanding memoir of his journey to help free some wrongfully convicted inmates.

Dan just won the Nellie Bly Journalism Grand Prize award given by the Chanticleer International Book Awards, where you and I met at the CAC25 conference in Bellingham, Washington. I was a finalist in that category and honored to come home with a First Place ribbon … but I knew that Dan’s book would take the Grand Prize, because it is so deserving.

CHRISTINA: I haven't read his book yet, but I remember seeing him on Meet the Press about it. Remarkable.

If you weren’t a writer, what would you be?

CARLA: A lawyer, definitely.

CHRISTINA: I can see that!

So far, what is your greatest accomplishment as a writer?

CARLA: I have only one book to my name so far, and I’m super proud of the awards it’s won and the critical acclaim it’s received from editorial reviewers.

I’m also pretty proud that my first attempt at book narration was a success. I produced my own audiobook for my publisher with the help of a sound engineer in a Philadelphia recording studio. It was an exhausting and exhilarating experience, and I will definitely do it again with my future books. I’m happy to say that reviews for that format have been really positive.

Book trailer of CHAINED BIRDS. Click image to view.

CHRISTINA: That's impressive that you also narrated the book. Well done. I understand the Next Generation Indie Book Awards will show your book trailer of Chained Birds during its three-hour award reception later this month in your hometown of Philadelphia. Well done, you.

What are you reading now?

CARLA: I am currently listening to The Writer by James Patterson and J.D. Barker. So far, it's an excellent read and very twisty. Funny enough, the writer in the story is a true crime author accused of murder!

CHRISTINA: Ooh, that sounds just your thing! And what a writing team. Can you imagine being part of that?

Thank you for your time for this little Q&A. I look forward to hearing all the newsy bits about your upcoming project. Crossing my fingers and toes for you.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Carla Conti, author

Carla Conti is a true crime journalist, storyteller, and prison reform advocate who previously covered the police beat and criminal courts as a newspaper reporter in the Midwest and Northeast. In 2011, she was asked to write about federal inmate Kevin Sanders, who was incarcerated inside the brutal, torturous conditions of Pennsylvania’s Lewisburg Prison. Carla then became part of the legal team that defended Kevin against unjust assault charges and remained his advocate and friend on the outside ever since.

Because of her exclusive access to Kevin’s first-person accounts, she knows the stories that led to the 2018 shutdown of USP Lewisburg’s Special Management Unit, one of the bloodiest experimental prison programs in the country. For a decade, Carla followed Kevin’s journey inside various federal prisons to write an exposé on the world of prison abuse, corruption, and violent prison gangs he experienced. However, she became imperiled by association after two separate prison gangs tried to kill Kevin and learned she was writing a tell-all book about his case.

As stated in Chained Birds’ Author’s Note at the beginning of the story:

This is a work of nonfiction. Certain names and places have been changed for the privacy and protection of some story participants. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or real events is absolutely true.

You can read more about Carla on her website, Author Profile pages at Amazon, Bookbub, and Goodreads, where you can also ask her questions via the Goodreads forum.