Warning: Life Change Due Any Day!

It's the end of an era. Fernando Torres aka 'El Niño' has retired from Spanish football.  If it hadn't been for his goal in the 2008 Eurocup Final, my husband and I might never have met. (You can read Shop Girl Diaries for the full story!) That was a decade ago and Torres is 34, and so am I, and a lot is about to change for me too.

I'm nine days away from my due date, which is the 30th May. A family poll has bets ranging from the 26th May to the 7th June. The doctor says the baby is big, and big babies sometimes arrive early. He also says first babies often come late... so it's anyone's guess! I'm still writing my Pregnancy Diaries and imagine frantically dictating the end while I'm having contractions. Unrealistic?  

I'm not nervous about the birth. I've been physically and mentally preparing for months. I'm grateful to my cousin's wife, Georgie, for introducing me to Marie Mongan's Hypnobirthing book early on; the birthing affirmations really have done wonders for my confidence. I've also, better late than never, started reading another great book on Birth Skills by Juju Sundin and Sarah Murdoch. I hope more and more women get to discover these books and their empowering attitudes, and we can start removing all the fear associated with birth. But I'll keep all these thoughts for my pregnancy diaries.  

Nothing like a baby on the way to speed up the writing. I completed a full-length first draft of my fifth novel a couple of weeks ago. As much as I want to start editing it, I need to let it rest so I can see clearly what needs to be done. I suppose leaving it rest won't be hard with a newborn baby. Still, I'd like to get it done by the end of the year. The same goes for the pregnancy diaries.  

We moved home a couple of weeks ago. Thankfully just to another flat in the same block, so it wasn't too bad. Surprisingly, at eight months pregnant, I found I had enough energy to wheel a suitcase back and forward up and down a corridor all day for a week.  I also had a great workout cleaning the flat we left behind. It did wonders for my sleeping.

The new flat has a little room for baby and an office for me. It's the best office I've ever had. It's full of light and leads onto a terrace. I've turned it to face the window since taking this picture on Instagram! I foresee a lot of happy writing being done here, perhaps with a sleeping baby at my side... Am I being completely unrealistic? Ha, we'll see.

My husband gifted me a beautiful wooden board with all my book covers printed on it to decorate the office. You might not recognise the new covers. 

That's the other news of the month. I finally got my publishing rights back and am free to relaunch #PleaseRetweet and The Temp.  I've given The Temp its original quirky Wattpad name of SprayPainted Bananas. I hope, by taking back control, I'll be able to give my books a fresh chance of success. After all, The Hen Party seems to be selling well, so a huge thank you to everyone who has bought it!

New baby, new office, new books, new home - but mostly new baby. I still don't know how dramatically my life will change, but I think...  finally... after 38 weeks and five days, I'm beginning to feel ready.

Life Change: Mondays in Mallorca

Two years ago I didn't know anything about Mallorca. It was just that Spanish island which was colder than Tenerife.  I've no memory of it but my parents took me on holiday to the island when I was 18 months old and it snowed! I've got a picture of me looking like a Sherpa.

As for the notorious beach resort, Magaluf, which every Brit seems to have heard of, I genuinely thought it was in Greece.

It was quite something then, to see myself in the Majorca Daily Bulletin. A whole page, no less, talking about my writing journey. 

I mean, I knew it was going to be in there, I'd had an interview with writer and photographer, Vicki Mcleod, but still... from not knowing anything about Mallorca to being in the local paper introducing my new book set on the same island, well, it felt like quite a leap! You can read the article, Growing up a Writer, on Mallorca Matters. 

Another funny thing is that before we decided to move to Mallorca I'd googled bloggers on the island. I'd come across Vicki's blog and had written to her, hungry for insight.

'I hope you're well. This is a random email from a London-based (half Spanish, half Welsh!)  blogger and author, thinking of moving to Mallorca! Do you get many of these emails?!'

She had replied that she got at least one mail like that a week. It made me laugh when I found it in my inbox. I also felt pleased, and proud, that it hadn't just ended up being another wishful thinking query; that we had actually thrown caution to the wind and moved.

As I often do, in my quest for balance and happiness, I've started a new routine. I think it might just be my best yet. Although the papers talk of 'packed beaches and gridlock', I've discovered that at 8.30 in the morning my local beach is virtually empty.  There are just some happy looking older people who walk up and down in the shallow water, gossiping together.

I walk down to the beach, with pillow marks still on my face, put my snorkel mask on and submerge myself in the cool water. I swim with the fish for half an hour. I don't try to carve out lengths, I just swim wherever I fancy. I also do what one of my characters does in The Hen Party - if I see rubbish, I'll dive for it. After that, I'll scribble in a notebook while I dry up, and then I head home to work.

The other day I landed on someone's Instagram profile and his description said: There's nothing wrong with Monday, it's your life that sucks. It definitely feels like half the world spends a lot of time dreading the coming week, which seems pretty sad!

Not everyone has been so lucky in where they were born and what choices they have as I have been. But then there are other times, when you can't even imagine that your life could be different. If you aren't happy, you could start by formulating what it is you think might make you happy.  Though I only got to know Mallorca very recently, I know this outdoor lifestyle was the one I had my heart set on since I was a little girl. 

Perhaps life change can only happen when you take a moment to visualise it. A little change to your morning routine might make a world of difference.