Like jazz, stories are meant to be heard, to strike resonant chords in our hearts or rumble down deep in our gut. Soul music. Melodies and words about what matters. When we tell our stories and they are listened to, and when we listen to other people’s stories, we build community, come closer. We grow in understanding of ourselves and others, and hopefully become more curious, suspend old ideas and assumptions … Read more about why I write.
“I am a bud beginning to unfold, a story waiting to be told.” –Sam Keen
The Woman Inside Her is my novel-in-progress.
As the story begins,
It’s San Francisco 50 years ago, in the wake of the Summer of Love, at the peak of the 60s Sexual Revolution, and on the cusp of the Women’s Liberation movement. America is at war and in turmoil.
In the midst of it all, a young Midwestern girl who dreams of a career singing jazz and pop music is trying to navigate her way to womanhood through an obstacle course of bad luck and bad choices, rampant misogyny, and cultural upheaval for which she isn’t at all prepared. The lessons learned are sometimes heart-breaking, but over time empowering. For Krista Hiatt, the journey to love is as raucous—and transformative—as the era she lives in.
Fascinating, too, are the striking parallels, and surprising differences, between then and now, making The Woman Inside Her a timely novel that speaks to many of the whys as well as remedies for some of today’s most troubling problems around sex, relationships and the treatment of women.
Read more about The Woman Inside Her—the story and characters, the setting and times–as well as a brief excerpt from Chapter One.
Martta Karol 
I loved your thoughts! Beautiful 😊
Thank you so much.
Beautiful way to put it down in words. I agree wih you as to writing and undertsanding ourselves and others… Congrats and all the best with “The Flying Girl” 🙂 😉 (Author’s Note: Original working title or novel was The Flying Girl.)
I agree, the stories are meant to be heard. Great that you are following your dream and working on your novel. Good luck!
Thanks, Anna. It’s such a big project! But it is coming together, and I hope to publish this year. It’s so timely, with themes and a context so relevant to what’s happening today, particularly in the U.S.: the civil and racial unrest, challenges to women’s rights and confusion about sexual morays. I can’t believe we’re still dealing with this stuff! It’s been 50 years since the “summer of love” in San Francisco, the peak of the “Sexual Revolution,” the beginnings of “Women’s Lib,” and all those protests and demonstrations we did. History repeats itself, and hopefully we get “right” this time what we did not finish during the Sixties “revolution.” Once again, young people lead. All this keeps me motivated to work at my novel, as does your kind encouragement. Thanks, and best to you.
Gotta have to learn from you how to love with word :-), very inspiring blog
Thank you so much!
Hello Martta,
First off, what an amazing blog you have. It’s very organised. And I’m more excited it deals with writing and fiction as I, too, am in the business of trying to get my WIP published.
“Flying Girl” from what I’ve read has a rich and unique storyline that has so much relevance in our society. The idea of making it somewhat historic (ref. to 1969) tells of change, which no doubt will arouse the reader to explore more and appreciate the novel for not just the story alone.
I’ve read the excerpt, loved the flow, and the introduction of characters. And I now look forward to readin the whole book. If I may ask, when can I expect it?
Thank you, Uzoma, for your thoughtful comment and exploration of my site. I am still trying to find my way in the world of blogging, but hope that you and other readers will find my posts enjoyable over time as I work to “grow” my site. I’m finding I have a lot to learn, as I imagine most new bloggers feel. Your site was excellent. It has a great look. I loved your images, but more importantly, was impressed with the stories I read. You are a gifted storyteller, truly. You probably noticed, I commented on a story that kept me panting for more second by second, all the way to the sad, but very real, ending.
As for my novel-in-progress, The Flying Girl, I do have more work to do to complete a final draft and then hope to find an agent and publisher for it, and, as you probably know, that makes a launch date impossible to estimate, at least for now. Of course, if I self-publish–which I may end up doing, given the rapidly changing publishing business today–I will be able to shorten the time to release. So all that is in the “stay tuned” category.
Thanks again.