We chat with author Lauren Draper about Return To Sender, which explores found family, first love, and one town’s tragedies, perfect for fans of Melina Marchetta, Kristin Dwyer, and Nina LaCour.
Hi, Lauren! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Sure! I’m a writer living in Melbourne, and I also work in the publishing industry (I like to tell people I chose one hobby and stuck with it). I released my first book, The Museum of Broken Things, in 2022 and Return to Sender is my second book. Writing this book got me through lockdown, so it has a special place in my heart. What else can I tell you? I read a lot, I hate mushrooms, I watch the Twilight movies at least once a year. That’s the short version.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I always loved stories – my Nan used to buy me boxes of second-hand books when I was little. They were full of The Baby-Sitters Club, Teen Power Inc, The Magic Far Away Tree – everything seemed a little bit more exciting and magical in those pages. I started “writing” as a teenager, and am eternally glad we didn’t have acess to the internet, because nobody needs to read those. But then I signed up for the RMIT Professional Writing and Editing course when I started uni, and stuck with it from there.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: The Chronicles of Narnia, but I started with The Magician’s Nephew. I was bitterly disappointed when we eventually moved into a townhouse and the attic did not lead anywhere magical.
- The one that made you want to become an author: Graceling by Kristin Cashore. I can’t even articulate what it was about that book – there was just a beat to it that sucked you in, a plot-twist that my teenaged brain didn’t see coming, and characters that felt alive and urgent. I sat down on the couch, read it until the sun came up, and thought: maybe I could do this. (Author’s note: I should be so lucky to write anything half as good. I still love that book).
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta – I read it in high school, and it’s actually partly an inspiration for Return to Sender. I loved the melding of past and present, the setting that’s both tragic and mundane, and a girl who is so angry at the world but equally desperate to be loved and understood. I was scared to re-read it until very recently, afraid that it wouldn’t quite live up the memory in my head. But of course, it was just as brilliant as it was all those years ago.
Your latest novel, Return to Sender, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Nostalgic, adventure, and second-chances.
What can readers expect?
Return to Sender tells the story of Brodie, who returns home after three years away. She’s angry at the world, angry at herself, and definitely angry at her former-best-friend-turned nemesis, Levi. I like to say the book is part mystery, part love story – but it’s not just the romantic love you think it might be. It’s really about Brodie finding her way home, to a place where she’s at peace, and setting the past right. It’s got adventure, and found-families, and a spooky old house that may or may not be filled with ghosts. Really, it’s got something for everyone.
Where did the inspiration for Return to Sender come from?
This is a fun question because there was such a strong “feeling” about what this book should be before I ever started writing. I had such a clear picture in my mind of three friends in the past, three friends in the present, linked by some chance of fate. I knew I wanted it to feel like a small town, where the rest of the world slipped away – it’s own place, with it’s own rules. I came back to movies like Now and Then, with duel timelines, and books set in cosy literary spaces like Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley. I also started writing just as Taylor Swift released the folklore album, and it felt almost as though that was the official soundtrack to the book – the woods and the history, twisted rumours and broken hearts.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
Coming up with the post office that Brodie lives in was so much fun – Dead Letter Offices are a real thing (where letters go when no one is left to claim them), though they’ve been largely forgotten about in the modern world. It was really enjoyable to research them and bring the idea back to life, and then to add some flair to it. The house is like an old friend now, and I love the way it come together almost as it’s own character; a little wonky, sometimes spooky, but mostly just filled with love and history.
What’s next for you?
I really need to paint my study, but the perfect shade of green eludes me. I can’t possible write anything else until I’ve figured that out. (I am writing something, but it’s a bit different from the first two books, so that’s the vague answer you’re stuck with).
Lastly, what books have you enjoyed so far this year and are there any that you can’t wait to get your hands on?
So much local Australian fiction – we are absolutely stacked with talent here! I loved Wrong Answers Only by Tobias Madden, which was such an incredible depiction of anxiety and the anguish of suddenly confronting “growing up” in that period between high-school and the real world. I read Love, Death and Other Stories by Nova Weetman, who usually writes middle-grade and YA – it’s a stunning memoir, and I highly recommend everyone read it. I’ve also just finished Lili Wilkinson’s Deep is the Fen, and I am thrilled that Australian publishing is embracing fantasy again – it’s so much fun. And I am DESPERATE to get my hands on the new Nina Kenwood rom-com.
