The whispers are getting louder. Here is what has been surfacing lately.
A new twist has appeared where I least expected it. What started as a quiet thread buried beneath the surface has begun pulling at everything around it; relationships, memories, motives. The deeper I write into these chapters, the more the story feels less like fiction and more like something waiting to be uncovered. Writing these recent chapters has felt like uncovering bones in my own backyard — carefully brushing away dirt only to discover something far darker. The unsettling part is not what the characters are hiding from each other, it’s what they’re hiding from themselves.
The Ink is Still Fresh
LAST UPDATED ON JUNE 16th, 2026
New Cover Design
A small update while the darkness continues to grow behind the scenes…
I have since updated both the Paperback and Ebook covers for The Child Between Us. Whilst the story of Book One remains the same, the new cover better reflects the atmosphere that waits beneath the surface; darker, sharper, and far more unsettling. The updated cover will become active within the next 72 hours. Sometimes a story evolves while you’re writing it.
And sometimes the cover has to evolve with it.
ARC's now Selected
A huge thank you to everyone who applied.
I’ve assembled an incredible team of ARC readers for the second instalment, and I truly appreciate the overwhelming support and interest surrounding this story. Submissions will reopen for Book Three in early 2027.
Your time, honesty, and feedback mean more than you know. Every review, every message, and every reaction helps this series continue to grow.
If you would like to further support this journey, please consider leaving an honest review on Amazon or Goodreads.
NEW COVER
Book Progress
Tracking the descent into my latest manuscript—where the ink is fresh and the shadows are even fresher.
May 10th, 2026
65% Through Book Two…
Some stories become heavier the deeper you go.
I am now around 65% through writing Book Two, and the atmosphere inside this story has changed completely. What began as unanswered questions and lingering unease has evolved into something far more dangerous; a slow tightening of pressure where every secret and every action carries consequences.
The deeper we dig into these characters, the harder it becomes to tell who is protecting the truth… and who is protecting themselves.
Book Two pushes further into the psychological darkness hinted at in the first story. Relationships fracture. Trust erodes. Memories become unreliable.
And some truths, once uncovered, refuse to stay buried.
There have been moments during writing where scenes felt less like fiction and more like witnessing something unfold in real time, the kind of dread that lingers long after the chapter ends.
What’s becoming clear is this:
The next phase of the story is sharper, more haunting, more intimate, and far more unsettling than anything that came before.
I cannot wait to show you what comes next.
Be prepared to say goodbye.
Stay close.
— Melissa Hawker
MAY 13th, 2026
80% Through Book Two…
Some stories stop asking questions.
They start demanding answers.
I am now around 80% through writing Book Two, and whatever existed beneath the surface in the beginning is no longer hiding. The tension that once lingered quietly in the background has fully surfaced, twisting itself into every relationship, every memory, every choice these characters make.
At this stage of the story, there is no safety left in uncertainty.
The truth is coming forward whether they are ready for it or not.
Book Two has become far more psychological, far more personal, than I ever expected when I first began writing it. The lines between victim and manipulator continue to blur. Loyalty fractures under pressure. And the deeper these characters reach into the past, the more destructive the answers become.
Some chapters have left me sitting in silence after writing them.
Not because of what happens, but because of what it means.
What once felt like a mystery now feels inevitable.
The story is no longer building toward something dark.
It has arrived there.
As the ending draws closer, one thing has become painfully clear:
Not everyone will survive the truth that’s waiting to be uncovered.
The final act has begun.
Stay close.
— Melissa Hawker
UPDATES
A glimpse into the mind of the author, where the line between fiction and reality occasionally blurs.
Giveaway Update
16 JUNE 2026
The thriller website giveaway has now closed. All winners have been notified by email and announced on social media. Thank you so much to everyone who got involved – all 211 of you. There is still an active giveaway on Facebook for a £100 gift card, and a special PR Box giveaway for Book Two on TikTok. A lot has been going on behind the scenes preparing for Book Two, The Child We Handed Over, which you can now pre-order on Amazon.
ARC Forms!
ARC forms for The Child We Handed Over have now officially been sent out to all selected ARC readers and PR Package recipients.
If you have been chosen as part of the ARC team and have not received your form, please check your junk/spam folders before getting in touch. All forms must be completed and returned by 01/07/2026 in order to receive ARC copies and PR packages.
Thank you again to everyone supporting Book Two of The Child Trilogy. Your support means the world to me
14 March 2026
Silence at the Desk
Sometimes the quietest rooms hold the most noise. I find myself listening to the characters when they think I have stopped writing. Their whispers are often darker than the ink I spill.
