Blog Tour: Keep You Safe - Guest Post by Melissa Hill

Today I am delighted to welcome Melissa Hill on the blog for the Blog Tour for her new novel, Keep You Safe, which was published yesterday. All yours, Melissa:

Expecting the Unexpected

by Melissa Hill

My husband realised that something was up when I’d gone off Mexican food. Rarely a week goes by when we don’t tuck into something spicy and for him this was a major red flag.

Nah, I thought, quickly dismissing the thought. Surely if I was pregnant I would know? I hadn’t gained weight, been sick, hormonal or experienced any of the usual giveaways. To say nothing of missing a period.

Had I?

I’d just delivered a new novel to my publishers, and the lead-up to this time is always hugely frenetic with the weeks tending to run into each other. I couldn’t remember when (or if) I’d had my last period.

So while I was still convinced that there was simply no way I could be pregnant and not know it, I bit the bullet and took a test - just in case.

The result immediately came up positive; in fact, the little white stick practically exploded in my hand.

My GP suggested I book a dating scan since I couldn’t be sure of my dates, but given that I hadn’t experienced any symptoms I figured I really couldn’t be more than a few weeks along.

Imagine my disbelief when during that first ultrasound - unlike the little seahorse I’d been expecting - a ginormous baby exploded onscreen, while the obstetrician cheerily informed me that I was in my twentieth week.

Besides being in complete shock (and berating myself for being an utter disgrace to womanhood), I felt incredibly guilty and began worrying about those cocktails I’d had on a recent sun holiday, the precarious ducking through traffic during a weekend in New York, those hot-tub soaks on a spa break… not to mention all the so-called ‘danger’ foods I’d been polishing off in the meantime.

But the doc was quick to reassure that baby seemed perfect and was doing fine. My recent aversion to all things chilli was the only hint of her existence and luckily for us, my other half paid attention – if it were up to me I may well have ended up in the labour ward before I figured it out.

But as it happened, there was another surprise in store.

Almost two weeks before my due date, we booked a weekend away in a hotel to celebrate my birthday, and mark what could well be our last time away as a twosome. How right we were – on the first night of the stay our daughter decided to announce her premature arrival and I went into labour at the hotel.

Luckily, we made it back to the hospital in time for her to be born safely, but I guess the entire experience set the tone for my parenting philosophy from thereon: expect the unexpected…

Melissa Hill, 2017.

About the book:

Title: Keep You Safe

Author: Melissa Hill

Published: September 21st 2017 by HQ

Amazon | Amazon UK

Blurb: For readers who love issue-driven fiction, Melissa Hill has written a breakout novel exploring the "to vaccinate or not" debate and the tragic consequences of one mother's decision on another.

Single mom Kate O'Donnell is living her worst nightmare. Her young daughter, Clara, who has a medical condition that doesn't allow her to be vaccinated, becomes critically ill when one of her classmates, Lauren-whose family chose not to vaccinate-contracts and spreads the virus. While Lauren has no trouble recovering from the disease, Clara's condition worsens. With time spent by her daughter's bedside, Kate loses her job and slides deeper into medical debt. But when another school parent points the blame at Lauren's mother, Lucy, and the media begins an attack, we see two very different views on parenting and how badly things can spin out of control when all either of these two women wanted was to keep their daughters safe.

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