We loved taking our boys to Isabella when they were little as it provided the perfect setting for them to explore and run free, just as I had done as a child. The book’s front cover is based on how Still Pond looks each May, when all of the Azaleas are out. The lake in the story was inspired by a beautiful pond up in Isabella Plantation, a magical enclosed woodland area in Richmond Park, to the south west of London and close to where I live. When I saw the children playing there, it reminded me of my own childhood in rural Hertfordshire when our parents would let us go off and play in the woods for hours at a time! I also couldn’t help wondering what it would be like if the children in the present-day gardens could meet the children who had lived there 100 years earlier. It backed on to the most fantastic communal garden that the children could get lost in safely – they had mini woods to play in and rhododendron bushes to hide inside. The Secret Lake was inspired when some friends moved into an apartment in London’s Notting Hill. 😊 📚 STOP PRESS March 2022 📚 😊 The sequel is now out – follow this link to find out more Here they take part in a daring rescue plan to help a young boy, Jack, who’s in trouble – and uncover some startling connections between the past and present… The Secret Lake is a time travel mystery adventure in which Stella (11) and Tom (8), when trying to find their elderly neighbour’s missing dog, discover a tunnel and lake that take them to their home and the children living there 100 years in the past. This is the first book I wrote and is really close to my heart – I’m thrilled that it has now sold over 500,000 copies and since 2018 has been hitting children’s best seller charts on Amazon in the UK, USA and Canada.

The secret lake by karen inglis