Authors Interviewing Characters Gemma Tizzard, speaking to Grace O’Connell from Grace of the Empire State.

A daring young woman takes her brother’s place to risk her life in New York City. A breathtaking historical novel full of heart and hope, family and friendship, and the sacrifices we make for love…

As the Great Depression bites, show dancer Grace’s Irish immigrant family can’t afford the rising rents, nor the medicine that her little sister urgently needs. When her twin brother is injured and can no longer work on the construction of the half-built Empire State Building, Grace steps up – literally. She trades her dancing shoes for worker boots, braving deadly metal work hundreds of feet in the sky.

But survival isn’t guaranteed. Failure could mean not only losing her job, but also her life, and the livelihood of her family and team. Sparks fly across the great metal beams, as a terrible accident and a split-second decision leaves Grace re-evaluating everything that she thought she knew about herself…

Gemma Tizzard, speaking to Grace O’Connell from Grace of the Empire State. 

Welcome, Grace, please take a seat. Lovely to see you, it’s been a while.

Hello, thanks, I’ll just sit here, shall I? I can’t stay long I’m afraid, I have a show in an hour, need to get to the theatre.

Yes, of course. How is that going?

Brilliantly, thanks. It seems like there is someone I know in the audience almost every night, which is nice, and for the first time I’m excited to see a man waiting for me at the stage door. Well, not just any man.

I know that smile…

He’s just the best person I’ve ever known. We’re so happy. Every day I love him more. Goodness, listen to me, I never used to be so sappy.  Enough of that! IIt’s a wonderful show, and it fills my heart with joy to dance every day. I pinch myself, can hardly believe this is my life now. Oh, that reminds me, I need to go and pick up a cake, it’s Betty’s birthday. 

It’s very different from clambering around on hot steel with dirt on your face! Remind me what your job role was up there?

You gave it to me, so you should know.! I was a riveter; more specifically, a catcher. So, my cousin Seamus would toss the hot rivets up to me, and I’d catch them, n—not in my hands, obviously, but with a can or a cone, ready for Joe and Frank to secure them in place. 

Ah yes, of course. It was a crazy plan, to take your brother’s place working on the construction of the Empire State Building. Whose idea was it really, yours or Patrick’s?

Ha! I look back and ask myself that question. I would think his, but I’m pretty sure it dawned on us at about the same time. We do that sometimes. I don’t know if it is a twin thing, or would happen to anyone who grew up together, and knew each other so well. I was quite proud he thought I could do it, to be honest, when he first floated the idea. Not that I would ever tell him that!. 

It was an incredibly brave thing to do.

You aren’t the first to say that, but no one really knows how brave they are until they have to be. What is it they say about necessity? I didn’t really have a choice, so I had to find a way. Keeping a roof over my family’s head, and my own, was quite a motivator. Connie means the world to me, and I might be biased, being her sister and all, but she really is the best girl, I’d do anything for her. If someone told me to walk over hot coals to keep her safe, I would do it, and this wasn’t quite as bad as that. I was just catching them. 

Not everyone could have done it; I certainly couldn’t. You’ve never been afraid of heights?

As a child I loved climbing trees with Patrick whenever we saw any. Both of us could always go pretty high—, our antics are probably what made Ma’s hair go grey. The steel is different. It’s so unforgiving, and at that height everyone is a little scared I think, whether they admit it or not. That’s what keeps you alive. It keeps your steps sure and measured, your wits about you. It’s very different to the ropes I walked in the circus. There, we had a net to catch us in case we fell. There’s no net on the steel.

Sounds terrifying. There were some pretty scary moments up there, what’s the biggest danger?

The weather can be pretty hard to navigate. The wind when you’re up so high, it definitely has a say in things, for better or worse. Machinery can break, people can lose concentration, a simple slip could kill you. You see a lot of things. Some of them I’ll never forget, and nor should we. People die doing this. And with the added pressure not to lose your job, you just have to keep going, if you can, whatever happens. Frank told me a story about a guy who accidentally cut his finger off on a job once, and he just shook it out of his glove and carried on working. Can you imagine?

Wow. It sounds pretty traumatic, were there any good bits?

Oh yes. The views, the sun on your face, spending time with Joe and Frank. Doing something I knew so few people would ever get to do. The feeling of getting into the rhythm and working as four parts of the same machine was exhilarating. Sometimes, when everything was going smoothly, and everyone just clicked, the movements became elegant, and the ache in my muscles was a good ache. When it was like that, it felt like dancing. 

It’s such an incredible achievement, why keep it a secret now? Don’t you want to shout it from the rooftops (or the skyscrapers), telling everyone what you have done?

Oh no, definitely not. More people know now than were ever meant to, but I think they will keep the secret, there’s too much trouble for everyone if it ever gets found out. I have no desire to tell anyone else. I don’t want that to be what defines my life. People would make such a fuss, don’t you think? I’m a dancer, I’d rather people talk about that. And besides, I didn’t do it for any glory, I only wanted to keep my family safe.

And now they are?

I hope so, for now. We have each other, which is a blessing, but I know one bad decision, one unlucky moment, and life can change forever. I’ve been very aware of that since my father died, but I’m trying not to think about that too much these days. I’d rather look to the future. Nothing makes you appreciate life and all you have quite like being up on the steel, living life on the edge. It was an experience like no other, that’s for sure. And look what it brought me. I’ll never regret it. 

There’s that smile again! I’m sure your future will glitter, Grace. Thank you for your time. Wish Betty a happy birthday from me.

‘A page-turning debut…that reminds us that women have been quietly saving the day since the dawn of time’ New York Times bestselling author Kristin Harmel

‘A wonderful story of courage, sacrifice, resilience and love. Heart-warming, romantic and at times utterly nerve-wracking, I loved every minute of it!’ Anita Frank

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Gemma Tizzard is from Berkshire, and currently lives in Southampton, where she works as a marketing manager by day, and writes historical fiction by evening. She can most often be found scribbling notes from research books about her latest obsession, or plastering the walls with Post-It notes. Whenever she’s not working, she can be found reading, or planning her next travel adventure. She has a degree in American Studies and a particular interest in untold women’s stories throughout the twentieth century. GRACE OF THE EMPIRE STATE is her debut novel, available in January 2025, with a second, set in Boston in 1942, due in 2026.

Gemma also writes rom-coms, and was longlisted for the Comedy Women in Print (CWIP) Unpublished Novel Prize in both 2021 and 2022.

 

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Category: Contemporary Women Writers, Interviews, On Writing