Becca Grischow Interview: ‘I’ll Get Back To You’

Featured by Publisher’s Marketplace as one of the buzziest debuts of 2024, Becca Grischow’s debut has been praised as a sapphic Emily Henry novel by many in the book community. 

 I’ll Get Back to You is about opening your heart to possibility. It’s a giddy love letter to anyone who needs a bit of bravery to step up to the plate. And to the unending process of finding yourself.

Murphy was supposed to be settling into her junior year at the University of Illinois with her best friend, Kat. Instead, she’s stuck in a hellish suburban holding pattern. She lives with her parents, is failing the same class that kept her from graduating the first time, and making minimum wage at the same coffee shop she’s worked at since she was sixteen. 

When she and Kat’s long-awaited reunion is plagued by stuttering conversation and uninvited guests, Murphy’s resentment threatens to boil over. That is until a miracle appears in the form of Ellie Meyers. Enter a former classmate who is way cuter and not nearly as straight as Murphy remembers. Their heavy flirting holds the promise of something more. That is, until Murphy learns that Ellie’s mom is the very professor preparing to flunk Murphy for a second semester in a row. Talk about killing the vibe.

Ellie could be Murphy’s key to getting into Professor Meyers’ good graces and finally getting out of Geneva. And Murphy—well-versed in defying parental expectations—might be Ellie’s chance to get her mother onboard with her dreams. Together, they hatch a plot: fake a relationship for a holiday weekend at the Meyers’ house. If everything goes according to plan, Ellie will be living her dream halfway across the country, and Murphy will finally be able to graduate from community college and start her life in earnest. 

Becca Grischow is a Chicago-based content creator, gossip, and ghostwriter for celebrity memoirs. She grew up in Geneva, Illinois, and the middle school rumors about her bisexuality were true. You can find her at your local coffee shop or sharing writing advice on TikTok and Instagram @BeeGriz.

We talked to Grischow about growing up in the suburb of her novel, her areas of growth as a writer, and her views on LGBTQ+ representation in mainstream media (along with a shout-out to the iconic Midwestern princess herself, Chapelle Roan.)

Your hometown is the same as the one in I’ll Get Back to You. Were there certain memories or inspirations you pulled from your childhood for the book? How did your real-life hometown differ from what you portrayed in the story? 

The Geneva where I’ll Get Back to You takes place is nearly identical to the real-life Geneva, Illinois, where I grew up. Third Street is just as magical around Christmas as I describe it to be. And, at least when I lived there, the queer dating scene was exactly as nonexistent in real life as it is for Murphy. Geneva is an adorable town that I highly recommend visiting. But growing up there, I didn’t see the magic. Like Murphy, I only saw how much I didn’t fit in with the Hallmark-iness of it all. I didn’t live in Geneva after graduating high school, but I always wondered about the people. Specifically queer people – who decided to stay in the area. I never understood those people until I wrote a book from the perspective of a young queer person who decided to stay in the suburbs.  

There was a real coffee shop called Graham’s 318 that inspired Sip, the coffee shop in the book. But it closed down just a few months before the book was published. I was – and still am – devastated over the loss. What’s still around, however, are the friendships made in my hometown. None of the characters in I’ll Get Back to You are fictionalized versions of any one person. But there’s a little bit of my four closest childhood friends – and myself – in Kat, Ellie, and Murphy. Our evolving definitions of love and friendship fueled the earliest stages of this book. They’re all funny as hell, so their humor definitely shines through in the dialogue. 

Tea connoisseur myself, I was so happy to read you included Murphy’s recipe for the highly anticipated coffee-chai hybrid: the chaicoffski. What is the secret to the best chai latte? 

The secret to the best chai latte is that it simply must include espresso and it must be made by someone you have a crush on. 

How did you find your identity and previous work experience of being a content creator and ghostwriter to a published author change? What were some areas of growth for you that you’ve taken away from this milestone? 

This is something I’m very much still in the throes of. Being a ghostwriter and a content creator is very task-driven, at least for me. There’s an assignment – write this book or create that video – and I’m expected to channel my creativity into completing the task in a way that will engage a specific audience. Being an author isn’t like that. It’s a lot more vulnerable and requires me to dig a lot deeper into myself. To think about the kind of art I want to make and why I want to make it. To ask larger, more philosophical questions about my life. While I’ll Get Back to You may read like a fluffy queer holiday book for some people, the process of writing it involved a lot of reflection.

What is the difference between a friendship that lasts and one that doesn’t? Can a person commit to a relationship when there are so many unknowns in their life? How do queer people like me who have been out for a long time relate (or not relate) to those who have just stepped out of the closet? I didn’t have to think about those things when I was writing someone else’s book. 

The transition from ghostwriter and content creator to author has involved a lot of me sobbing and asking my husband, “will you still love me if I’m an artist?” I’m still learning so much about myself. I’m excited to see how I grow through the revision and release of the second book. 

I’ll Get Back to You surrounds Thanksgiving and Murphy finds herself at the Meyers house for it. The Meyers celebrate the holiday by sharing what they’re thankful for in a memorable way. Do you have any Thanksgiving traditions that inspired the Meyers? If not, what are some that you’ve encountered through the years that have stuck out to you? 

It’s not an annual tradition, but there were two Thanksgivings hosted at our house growing up where we had a big poster board where everyone was supposed to write down what they were thankful for. It was such a mix of really sweet things. Like my grandparents writing out their thanks for family and Christ. Then kind of trashy things. Like my cousin writing that he was thankful for weed and the lawyer that helped with his DUI. That totally inspired the notebook that the Meyers family keeps up with every year. My family also loves looking through the Black Friday newspaper ads and watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Both of which appear in the book.

This book is dubbed a “sapphic Emily Henry novel” by reviewers. What was in your mind when it came to writing this queer holiday novel? Why do you think the comparison was to Emily Henry especially since Henry’s love stories follow heterosexual couples? I’d love to hear some of your thoughts on LGBTQ+ representation in mainstream romance.  

I think Emily Henry’s books are funny, honest, a tiny bit Hallmark-y, and deeply midwestern. All of which can definitely describe my writing too. It’s an extremely kind comparison. I hope I can continue to live up to it! Emily’s books were really pivotal in making contemporary romance novels mainstream in the early 2020s. My dream is to do the same with queer love stories. Having IGBTY on Target shelves this holiday season felt like a big step towards that goal! 

So much happens in this book yet Murphy and Ellie’s love story ends in such an open way that could perhaps lead one to wonder if you have a sequel in mind. Any comments or thoughts about this? 

Since Ellie and Murphy are both so young, it didn’t feel right to end this book with a true happily ever after. An achievable happy for now and a willingness to take on the inevitable challenges of a relationship feels like a more realistic ending to this love story. I do have a portion of an outline written for a sequel that takes place five years later where Ellie and Murphy have broken up and find one another again in Geneva over Christmas. Maybe if enough people want it, my publisher will let me write it! 

Is there anything else you’d like to comment on or express when it comes to the publication of your debut that you’d like readers to know? 

I started dreaming of this book in early 2021. I had no way of knowing at the time that 2024 would be the year of Chappell Roan and the dawn of the midwest princess and queer midwestern stories. It feels surreal to have sapphic stories have such a moment in culture right now. Specifically as a queer midwesterner, I feel so incredibly lucky to exist at a time where stories I can relate to – stories like Murphy and Ellie’s – have a place on Target shelves. Queer stories belong in the mainstream. Will and Grace changed people’s minds about gay marriage, and silly little sapphic stories have the power to change the world. 

I’ll Get Back to You is now available for purchase.