Why this week will be life-changing in more way than one for debut author

• Watch Natalie Gray's video report

Polly Crosby is about to published her first novel this week - Not bad for someone who shouldn't really be here at all .

Diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when she was three months old, her parents were told she would be lucky to see her teens.

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2020 was supposed to be a monumental year for the author - turning 40 and the publication of her debut novel. But then came Covid and Polly wondered if she'd be around to see any of it.

Tomorrow night she's doing a virtual book launch at Jarrold Department Store in Norwich.

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Her first novel set in the Suffolk countryside where she grew up.

"It's about a father who creates a series of picture books for his daughter and fans of the book think that there's a treasure hunt hidden in the pages and they start coming to the family's village and start digging in the fields around their house looking for gold and jewels."

"It is a pretty dark book . Fortunately I'm not a very dark person but there must be something going on in there definitely not my experience of the Suffolk countryside."

She freely admits that so far she's defied the odds

And with people rediscovering the pleasure of reading in lockdown Polly's hoping her book will fly off the shelves.

• The Illustrated Child is published in the UK on Thursday - you can register for the book launch here