With the exception of glancing at book jacket photos, readers virtually never lay eyes on their favorite book authors. But that’s exactly what happened for several lucky student groups at Redwood Middle School this week.

A visit from Mountain View author Audrey Shafer was the culmination of this year’s Napa County Reads program, which is sponsored by the Napa County Office of Education in hopes of piquing students’ interest in reading.

Shafer, who authored “The Mailbox” — this year’s featured book — visited students in Redwood’s library Thursday for intimate discussions about the book’s characters and what inspired her to become an author.

Suzanne Fox, a librarian at Redwood, said the visit was intended as a reward for students who read Shafer’s book early, before the start of this school year.

In addition to her work as an author, Shafer also teaches at Stanford University’s School of Medicine and is as an anesthesiologist at the Veterans Hospital in Palo Alto. She told the students Thursday that she wrote “The Mailbox” in 2003, as part of a personal reaction to the Iraq War and her work with veterans.

“Right before patients were going into the (operating room) ... what happened to me is that they started talking to me about their own war experiences. ... I was very moved by that and that’s really what got me started on the book,” she said.

Shafer then launched a slide show for the students which helped them get an insider’s view of her work in the OR and insight into how the book’s characters developed.

The story features a sixth-grade foster child named Gabe who comes to live with his Uncle Vernon, a Vietnam war veteran. Gabe returns home one day to find his uncle dead — and later receives a strange letter in the mailbox after his uncle’s body suddenly vanishes.

As Shafer addressed the hushed crowd of students Thursday, Aurora Corona, a sixth-grader, sat in the audience alongside her cousin, avid reader Juan Vargas.

“I like that she told us about the characters and the setting,” Juan said, adding that he is also a fan of Sammy Keyes mysteries, a series by Wendelin Van Draanen.

“I love reading,” said 11-year-old Tim O’Hare. “It’s one of my favorite pastimes to do besides playing sports.”

After Shafer fielded questions from the students, she autographed a few books, including a copy belonging to seventh-grader Miryam Gil. Miryam said one of the reasons she enjoyed the book was that she could identify with its protagonist.

“I like that she had Gabe be a sixth-grader. ... He even has a dog, like me,” she said.

Besides featuring a sixth-grader as a main character in “The Mailbox,” Shafer said the book’s success depended heavily on the input of a young person of the same age. Her daughter, Rebecca, was a sixth-grader when she authored the book. Shafer said her daughter — to whom she dedicated the book — not only offered tips to her mother about how sixth-grade students act and talk, but she also helped to edit the story itself.

For her part, Shafer said she enjoyed getting to know some of her young readers and fielding their questions.

“I love it. I think it’s really fun. They come up with some wonderful questions and I like their persistence of asking whether there will be a sequel,” she said.

Napa County Office of Education Superintendent Barbara Nemko said Shafer’s visit to the school provided students with a rare opportunity.

“It’s so powerful for the kids. ... They get to ask the questions that they otherwise would never know the answers to,” she said.

As part of the Napa County Reads program, Nemko said, students who read Shafer’s book also crafted mailboxes which were sold Thursday at a silent auction.

Audrey Shafer, author of the children’s book “The Mailbox,” is scheduled for a public appearance today at 3 p.m. at the Napa City-County Library, 580 Coombs St. Info, 253-4235.