TikTok changed Amy Figenbaum's life.

It introduced her to Bermudian Germaine Smith and, ultimately, led to two colouring books inspired by the island: Have a Bermudiful Day and Color Your Bermudiful Adventure.

Ms Figenbaum, an American, met her now-fiancé while recovering from breast cancer. After their friendship grew into a relationship, she applied for her first passport and boarded a flight.

Five visits to Bermuda later, she has transformed photographs she took of the island into colouring books celebrating the island’s scenery, landmarks and flowers.

As well as introducing more people to the island, she hopes the books will encourage people to “slow down, relax and appreciate the beauty that makes Bermuda so special”.

“After being diagnosed with breast cancer, my perspective on life changed forever,” Ms Figenbaum said. “Once I completed the necessary steps for treatment and ultimately beat it, I made a promise to myself that I would stop putting off my dreams. I applied for my passport and decided it was finally time to see the world.”

She had loved art since childhood, and turned to it during her cancer recovery.

“I had cancer, but I didn't have to go through what a lot of people do. I was lucky and didn't have to do chemo or radiation, but because I had a bilateral mastectomy, for about six to eight weeks, I had limited mobility in my arms, so there were only certain things that I could do, and colouring was one of them.”

She said colouring had always been a favourite pastime.

“I've always had some sort of colouring book, some drawing paper. I love art, and that's what I do in my time to relax. It doesn't have to be an adult colouring book. It can be a children’s one. It doesn't matter. I just find it very relaxing and an easy way to wind down.”

It was during her recovery that she discovered TikTok Live, and met Mr Smith.

“At the time he was living in the United Kingdom, and it started out where I was just asking him, ‘How did you do this on this video? How can I do this? How can I do that?’ It sprang into a really good friendship. And then as time passed on, it progressed into something more.”

Before travelling to Bermuda, Ms Figenbaum had never been on a flight.

Her first visit left a lasting impression.

“I come from a very rural area, so it's a lot of farm fields. I didn't come from a big city or anything like that. And when I stepped off the plane, I was just in awe. Everything was so bright, and the water, especially, I couldn't get over how crystal clear and how blue it was.”

The colouring books are the result of her latest trip. After watching her take picture after picture, Mr Smith asked what she planned to do with them.

“I was in Bermuda for the fifth time back in June, and my fiancé and I were exploring. I'm always one to snap pictures, whether it be of flowers or whatever. If I see something that I think would make a really cool picture, I'll take it.”

She planned to publish the photographs, but then another idea occurred to her.

“I had started using Amazon KDP, which is Kindle Direct Publishing, and I was originally going to make it into a coffee-table book with different pictures of Bermuda, and started wondering if I could turn them into colouring pages, and so through the help of ChatGPT, I put in some different prompts, and it created them for me. They turned out really well. I thought they were really pretty cool.”

The title, Have a Bermudiful Day, was inspired a bit by a phrase she heard while here and also the friendliness of Bermudians.

“I had heard, I think it was when we were walking down the streets in Hamilton, and somebody had said that to us as we were passing by. And that was one of the things that really struck me about Bermuda — how friendly everyone is. Everyone greets you with good morning, good afternoon or good evening. Even walking down the street,” she said.

“I was taken aback by that because I live in a rural area outside of Chicago, and Chicago is kind of a harsh city where everybody looks at their feet. They don't acknowledge your existence. And then here, to have everyone just so very welcoming, was a very, very nice surprise.”

The adult colouring book features 24 illustrations created from photographs she took around Bermuda. The 48-page edition for children aged 4 to 8 introduces Timmy the Turtle.

“My hope for that one is to create a series for kids. So as I travel along, then Timmy will travel along too, and they can see different things, either around the States where I go, or eventually when I make my way to other countries as well.”

For now, the books are a hobby. Ms Figenbaum, who publishes under the name Amy Anne, does not expect them to become a career.

“I'm not looking to get rich off of this. This isn't going to replace my 9-to-5 job. But if I can create something that makes at least one person smile and have a good day, then I've done my job.”

• Amy Figenbaum hopes to make copies available in Bermuda in the future. At the moment, Have a Bermudiful DayandTimmy the Turtle's Bermudiful Adventure are available on Amazon.com