Hello from London – I hope you all had a great Easter break. Our one-off heatwave in early April seems a distant memory now, but the sun is trying to break through again today, and the magical woodland that inspired the setting for my top selling children’s time travel adventure The Secret Lake is already in bloom and I wanted to share a couple of images. (You’ll also find a link to a free sample of the story later on if you don’t yet have it.)
The woodland that inspired The Secret Lake is called Isabella Plantation, and is hidden away within London’s Richmond Park (one of the places Henry VIII used to ride out to from Hampton Court). Here’s a photo I took after cycling up there on Sunday. Our children loved exploring there when they were younger!
But the best is yet to come: I also took a 12-second video of the stunning ‘Still Pond’ with all of the azaleas reflecting in the water. This was the inspiration for the book’s cover and the lake in The Secret Lake. It’s also the first thing Tom and Stella see after climbing down the time tunnel. (You can see this scene in the book cover image below.)
Click here to view a live sweep across Still Pond (opens in YouTube)
These shots were so stunning, I couldn’t resist sharing them. I hope you enjoy!
Could you take a moment to review The Secret Lake?
If you or your child has read and enjoyed The Secret Lake it would mean a lot to me if you could take a moment to leave a rating and short review on Amazon or help your child to do so. Reviews really do help spread the word and every little helps – especially for we children’s authors! Our readers aren’t on Amazon and so garnering reviews is a slow process. Hopefully the links below will help save you time!
Read 45 reviews of The Secret Lake on Amazon UK and add your own
Read 15 reviews of The Secret Lake on Amazon.com and add your own
Download a free preview copy of The Secret Lake
If you don’t already have The Secret Lake and would like to ‘try before you buy’ – whether for yourself or on behalf of a child – simply click on the link below to download the first four chapters for free. The instructions are really easy to follow and you can download to phone, Kindle, desktop or any other device. The full book is available in print or as an eBook.
Sign up for a free preview of The Secret Lake (opens in new tab)
What’s the reading age for The Secret Lake?
The Secret Lake is aimed at a reading age of 8-11 years, but is also highly suitable to read aloud to younger children, thanks to its page-turning plot and short chapters. It’s also loved by grown-ups – especially fans of Enid Blyton and Tom’s Midnight Garden! I hope you or children will enjoy. It continues to be my bestseller both online and at school events – I hope your children will also get to know this magical tale.
That’s it for now. I hope the sun is shining where you are – or will be soon 🙂
I always enjoy your posts, Karen. Before I retired from teaching, The Secret Lake is just the sort of novel I’d have read to my upper primary pupils. I’ll be recommending it to former colleagues and fellow grandparents for sharing with their grandchildren.
Thanks so much, Anne! Isabella is flowering a month early this year – it was lucky I realised. I’m so glad you enjoyed the post and how wonderful if you’re able to share news about The Secret Lake with friends and colleagues 🙂 I was just looking at the blurb for your own book and will put it on my TBR list. (My husband was born and brought up in Turo btw!) Karen