A wedding and a book launch in one working day for Felicia

“Dreams do come true,” Killarney artist Felicia Thomas says this week after launching her first children’s book and getting married within days of each other.

The Killarney artist-turned-children’s author said she was thrilled to finally publish her children’s book, a project she has been working on since 2013, when a life-changing lawnmower accident changed her life.

Two of her fingers on her right hand were amputated as the remaining two fingers no longer worked, forcing Felicia to relearn how to use her left hand to write and to practice writing with her new hand, she wrote a short story that has now turned into her first children’s novel ‘Miss Polly and the Crocodile’

Using characters she created during her art work, the book came to life and eventually, after eight years in the pipeline, it finally made it to county bookstores and Felicia couldn’t be happier.

It was another author’s request to illustrate her book that prompted Felicia to release the book and finally have it published by Libri Publishing Child’s Eye Publishing in the UK.

“It’s an amazing thing to look at a book and see your name on it. Dreams come true,” says Felicia, who lives in Arbtus Grove in Killarney but grew up in the UK.

But this is not her first book that Felicia has cloud nine this week, she also got married at the Killarney Heights hotel on Thursday October 28th with Tim Long.

“It has been a very busy week,” she conceded

She now hopes to one day be able to give the book to her own grandchildren and it even has missing fingers just like Felicia but in the magical land of Loopaloo it was a crocodile that devoured the fingers, not a lawn mower. The story features a princess who is no better than she should be and the problems her behavior causes for her kingdom, but with the help of Polly Dolly and Miss Adams, changes are underway. Classes.

Felicia describes the book as a story about “peer pressure, accepting the consequences of your actions and how kindness can save the day” and adds, “It’s for five to eight years or for adults. having imagination. ”

She hopes she can one day pass it on to her grandchildren, but in the meantime, her adult children Ebony, Molly and Zac are proud of her latest achievement and Felicia is hopeful that many more children’s books will be on the way.

‘Miss Polly and the Crocodile’ is on sale at local bookstores including Crystal Cave in Killorglin, Puccini’s in Kenmare and Woulfe’s in Listowel, as well as online on Felicia’s website www.feliciathomas.ie.