What exact readership are you aiming this book at?
Karen Andrea: Children aged 8 to12. Parents also seem to really enjoy the story because it is a family story, and other adults who are in touch with their "inner child".

The Enchanted Library is certainly a good advertisement for books, but do you think that maybe things have gone too far and that young people have given up reading books in favour of other forms of entertainment?
Karen Andrea: Nowadays competition for young people’s attention is fierce, especially with so many alternative digital forms of entertainment. That said, it is in children’s natures to be imaginative; kids love to read and write stories themselves, and books are brilliant for firing up children’s imaginations. The great thing about reading books is that no one will ever imagine the story in exactly the same way you do - your imagination is unique!

I believe that there will always be young people who read, but publishers may have to package books differently to compete with a generation of children used to digital technology. Some kids will want their stories downloadable in the form of e.Books on a Sony Reader or I. Phone; others will remain loyal to the traditional paper book, loving its feel, its smell, the sound of rusting pages as they turn...

Is any of the story of The Enchanted Library based on personal experience?
Karen Andrea: Like many authors’ books, mine was inspired by a dream. I lived in Spain a few years ago and would visit a local bookshop to remind myself of my dream of becoming a published author. The bookshop was promoting one author who died hundreds of years ago and another young modern author as the two best selling Spanish authors of all time. When I began thinking over the key to the young author’s success, I imagined the elderly author’s spirit instructing the young author from beyond the grave. That night I dreamed vividly of a young boy discovering the magic of an abandoned library and reawakening its spell, and The Enchanted Library was born...

What are the top five books that you think all children should read?
Karen Andrea: That’s a tricky one. I’ll have to cheat here with a few series/ trilogies, and in no particular order:
His Dark Materials (Philip Pullman)
The Noughts & Crosses trilogy (Malorie Blackman)
To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
Tom’s Midnight Garden (Philippa Pearce)
The Lord of the Flies (William Golding)

There are some quite difficult implications in the book about the relationship between reader and text. Have children picked up on this?
Karen Andrea: Yes. Kids are generally very smart and they seem to instinctively understand the metaphor about books needing readers to stay alive; that it’s their life’s purpose to be read and enjoyed.

They also understand how their imagination can bring the text to life, and how books can lure them inside their pages and into a world beyond.

How have children reacted to The Enchanted Library so far?
Karen Andrea: Feedback has been brilliant - from children, parents, teachers and librarians. The kids in London enjoy the use of modern language. They love that Max is this urban kid in a culturally diverse classroom that reflects their own experience, and also that he is an outsider - this abandoned kid from a care home who triumphs over his problems. My adult readers enjoy that The Enchanted Library is a good story that encourages literacy and self-belief.

The greatest compliment I’ve had is that it seems to have attracted many kids who are generally reluctant to read. Once I met a young boy who had never bought a book in his life. He bought The Enchanted Library after my workshop, and said that he’d definitely consider buying more books from now on. Those kinds of exchanges are heartwarming as an author; your greatest hope is that you’ll get kids interested in reading not just your book, but open them to the world of books in general.

I would like more of Max Milford. Have you thought of expanding this into a series?
Karen Andrea: I’ve had such positive feedback from readers asking to hear more of Max’s exploits, and I’m itching to start penning his next adventure! I’ve got notebooks stuffed with ideas for several sequels, and hope to start writing the second book later this year.