Roberta Maretti created Hidden Voices to spotlight writers and stories that don’t shout to be heard. Through features and reflections, she supports indie authors and readers seeking meaning, nuance, and connection.
Discover Books
💡 Quick Look • Book: Zachary’s Cry • Author: Michael Chalk • Genre: Literary Fiction / Family & Institutional Drama • One-sentence summary: A baby born in secrecy in rural South Australia is abandoned, survives against the odds, and is raised by foster parents whose love collides with buried truths and a painful legal
Indie Life
💡 Quick Look • Topic: How independent authors keep writing despite doubt, slow sales, and lack of external validation • Main idea: Doubt is not the enemy, it is proof of caring. Discipline is quiet consistency, not rigid schedules. Progress is often invisible until it compounds. • Key takeaway: Those who last are not
Featured Authors
💡 Quick Look • Author: Heather Russell-Kay • Book: Whispers Through the Forest • Genre: Fairy-tale–inspired short stories blending folklore and chronic illness • One-sentence summary: A haunting and tender collection that reimagines classic fairy-tale elements through themes of resilience, shadow, humour, and the lived experience of chronic illness. • Key
Featured Authors
💡 Quick Look • Author: Darryl Terry • Book: The Pyramids of Eternity • Genre: Science Fiction / Gothic Romance • One-sentence summary: A lonely IT genius builds a simulated ancient Egyptian world as an escape, only to receive messages from within it and fall in love with a priestess who may be more real
Discover Books
💡 Quick Look • Book: Where the World Took Me • Author: Roberta Maretti • Genre: Memoir / Travel & Identity • One-sentence summary: A quiet memoir of a life lived across continents — Tokyo, Singapore, Puerto Rico, Brussels and beyond — exploring what it means to be an expat in geography and in spirit, always adapting,
Indie Life
💡 Quick Look • Topic: Why small wins matter deeply for indie authors • Main idea: In a loud publishing world of bestsellers and viral launches, quiet progress (finishing a chapter, one genuine reader message, hitting publish despite fear) is real success and builds lasting foundations. • Key takeaway: You’re not behind. You’
Featured Authors
💡 Quick Look • Author: Irene Wittig • Book: All That Lingers • Genre: Historical Fiction • Setting: Vienna, 1934–1960 (civil war, rise of Nazism, WWII, and postwar occupation) • One-sentence summary: Three interwoven lives — Emma, Sophie, and Friedrich — navigate survival, silence, impossible choices, and the long path toward healing amid the upheavals of
Featured Authors
💡 Quick Look • Author: Makena Song • Book: Among the Fallen (first in series, followed by Among the Risen) • Genre: Clean YA High Fantasy • One-sentence summary: Accused of a crime he didn’t commit, Lucian Roux flees his village in search of freedom, joined by a delusional goddess trapped in a
Discover Books
💡 Quick Look • Book: Pain to Purpose • Author: Kenyatta Edwards • Genre: Memoir / Trauma & Healing • One-sentence summary: A raw, unfiltered memoir of rising from childhood trauma, navigating identity and queerness, breaking generational cycles, and transforming pain into purpose and self-worth. • Perfect for readers who are: Survivors of trauma, LGBTQ+
Indie Life
💡 Quick Look • Piece: “Ding Dong, The B*tch Is Dead”, a poem by Laura B • Theme: Killing the inner people-pleaser and reclaiming boundaries, self-worth, and the right to say no • Tone: Fierce, raw, darkly humorous, and deeply honest • Content note: Strong language and themes of trauma, self-erasure,
Featured Authors
💡 Quick Look • Author: Lilse Asalt • Book: When the City Sleeps • Genre: Horror Fantasy • One-sentence summary: Saved from death by forbidden magic, a woman returns with only seven days to uncover the truth behind her murder, confront the lover who let her die, and decide whether vengeance is worth the
Featured Authors
💡 Quick Look • Author: L.E. Ryan (Linda Ryan) • Book: Secrets • Genre: Mystery · Crime · Supernatural • One-sentence summary: A new Atlanta homicide detective with the gift of second sight must decide whether to trust her visions to save lives or risk destroying her career and sanity. • Key themes: Intuition vs. duty,