Sylvia Urso 36

Aaliya Sylvia Interviews Elizabeth Urso

(Rising Action, 2026)

Elizabeth Urso

Elizabeth Urso’s debut novel, Hail Mary (Release date: September 22, 2026), is an enrapturing new gothic mystery thriller from a genre-blending Canadian writer, and is perfect for fans of Simone St. James and Jennifer McMahon. With Hail Mary, Urso invites readers into the small North Shore Township where generational secrets and cold cases refuse to stay buried.

The story takes place on the shores of Lake Huron and follows Mary Foreman, a young woman who leaves her life in Toronto to return to the same hometown she fled from years ago. In the North Shore, the Foreman family has built their legacy on burying the dead – the same legacy Mary tried to escape. But when a political scandal resurrects past crimes and corruptions tying to the Foreman's and their infamous funeral services, Mary is summoned back to the gothic Foreman House, only to find herself unraveling a haunting, dark family secret thought to have been well buried with the dead long ago.

What follows is a conversation I had with Elizabeth Urso about her upcoming novel, her future writing plans, and what influences her work.

Aaliya Sylvia: The novel takes place in The North Shore, Ontario, and in some ways, the Township seems like it’s a character of its own rather than just a setting. Was that effect intentional? What was the main inspiration for the setting? Was there a certain moment or event that made you believe it was the perfect place for the story?

Elizabeth Urso: I love that you thought of the setting as a character unto itself! This makes me happy. Yes, this was intentional. Hail Mary isn’t the first novel I’ve written that’s set in North Shore Township. I wrote my sophomore novel Confession first (more on that later!), and I was thrilled to return to the setting for Hail Mary. There wasn’t a certain moment or event that made me believe the North Shore of Lake Huron was the perfect place for a story, but it's a real place that’s very near and dear to me and my family.

My fictional “North Shore Township” is inspired by Blind River, Ontario, and the Township of the North Shore. My mom was born and raised in Blind River, and I’ve been spending my summers there since I was four years old. It’s a stunning landscape, and being at the lake has always filled my creative well. That said, I knew I’d need to take some creative liberties with the population density, the geography, and the architecture. So, I chose to draw inspiration from the real North Shore and swap out the names of the towns instead. Folks familiar with the actual setting will still see some familiar landmarks. For example, Foreman House is across the street from Sellers Park, and the funeral home in Blind River is in the same place. There’s a scene early in the novel set upstairs at the Curling Club. My parents’ wedding reception was there. The Mill Yard is inspired by the Riverside Tavern. I could go on …

AS: Both Mary and Daphne face the burdens of the Foreman family legacy and generational trauma as women in a very patriarchal bloodline. What was your approach to writing their shared female rage while highlighting the generational conflict and views between Foreman men and women? What would you say characterizes Daphne’s vengeful actions, and how does your book push back on the societal double standards of women’s anger, which is often described as unhinged and hysterical and men’s anger as strong and authoritative, especially in Daphne’s narrative?

EU: Ah, I love this question. In and around the time I was developing Hail Mary, my father was diagnosed with terminal cancer. I spent a lot of time thinking about family and legacy and inheritance in the wake of his diagnosis. I was also incredibly angry at the hand my dad was dealt. I’d never experienced anger like that before. Rage would be more accurate. Daphne was an outlet for me, and I spent a lot of time reflecting on my own high school experience in developing her character. I went to a Catholic school for girls and spent far too much time investing in relationships that didn’t serve me. It was also in high school that I realized the power certain surnames have in small towns and how they can shield from accountability. Daphne is much braver than I ever was, and I appreciate her tenacity. We certainly don’t agree on everything (there are more efficient ways to get an “in” with a family of morticians than killing your mother!), but her story gave me space to explore things that were weighing on me at the time. I suppose Daphne is technically an antagonist in the story, but I don’t see her as the villain. I like that her journey had you contemplating double standards. That’s certainly the Foreman family to a tee. I like to think Daphne’s narrative pushes back on that; Anne, Hannah, Sarah, and Mary’s too.

AS: This story focuses a lot on religion and Catholicism, with the title itself being ‘Hail Mary’, having side characters named Peter, Mark, and John, and of course, one of our key antagonists being a corrupt nun. What drew you to this theme and using it as a main plot for the story? How did you go about exploring and writing this topic for an audience who might share your beliefs while also engaging readers of completely different backgrounds?

EU: This is a thread that I continued from Confession (which follows Charlotte Taylor, a precocious amateur sleuth who eavesdrops on confessions in a haunted church and overhears something that leads her to believe a man accused of murder is innocent). I suppose I was still drawn to explore it in Hail Mary because of my dad’s diagnosis. I was raised Catholic and regularly attended church until university. That’s when I stopped going. I thought I’d be drawn to it again after my dad got sick, but I wasn’t. I understand that not all readers will have an understanding of Catholicism, but I hope the way I’ve woven it into Hail Mary makes them curious about the institution.

Hail Mary began as a single image: a woman teaching at her own alma mater digs up a time capsule and inside is a rosary with teeth strung up like prayer beads. I didn’t know who the woman was, why she’d taken that teaching job, or how (if at all) she was connected to the time capsule. But I knew it was a striking, spooky image that I wanted to explore further. There’s really no way to write about that discovery without the other threads, and when Tom found his way into this story (he’s a young boy in Confession, and I’m excited for readers to meet 1992 “Tommy”) the pieces started to come together. I’d also recently watched the TVO documentary Prey (which profiles events at St. Charles College in Sudbury, Ontario, which was an all-boys school at the time [my dad went there]). Ontario lawyer Robert Talach (who’s featured in Prey) inspired Tom’s career in Hail Mary. I always knew that Tom would grow up to be a lawyer, I just didn’t know what his practice area would be until I watched Prey. I recommend that folks watch the documentary if they haven’t already. It’s a very important story.

AS: Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Raven”, specifically the phrase “nevermore”, is referenced many times and is a large part of Daphne’s relationship with Isaac Foreman. Why was this connotation of love significant for you to include for them and what message did you hope to convey through Daphne’s relationship and Edgar Allan Poe’s work with it? Additionally, was the image of the raven a metaphor for Mary’s character and her looming family burden?

EU: I’m a big Poe fan! When I was developing this story, Mike Flanagan’s The Fall of the House of Usher was announced and I completely panicked. I contemplated cutting the Poe subplot. But then the show came out and I inhaled it and it only made me want to include it more (I will never get over that first episode - the finest television!). The raven is an important image for both Daphne and Mary. It’s also a large part of the lore surrounding the crime Mary’s mother, Sarah, stood trial for. I like to think of it as the thread that ties the Foreman women together. There’s no shortage of Poe references in pop culture and Hail Mary is a small part of that much larger conversation. Art is fun.

AS: Mary has the ability to see spirits, and in the epilogue, it is revealed that she is a conduit between the living and the dead. What are your beliefs in the supernatural and ghosts? Have you ever experienced a supernatural event, and did it possibly spark this gothic story?

EU: I have not experienced a supernatural event, but oh boy, do I want to. I would love to be a ghost. I think I’d be quite proficient in haunting. I would love to buy a haunted house. If it was disclosed as part of a purchase and sale that someone died in a house, I’d be more inclined to buy it.

AS: Aside from Edgar Allan Poe, there are a number of other literary references such as Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot that Mary makes. Who are your current favourite gothic/mystery/horror writers, and did any of them or their works inspire your writing in the genre and/or Hail Mary?

EU: Ah yes! My mom is a huge mystery fan. I grew up reading her Nancy Drew hardcovers (is there anything better than the smell of an old book?) and watching Murder She Wrote episodes with her. Agatha Christie is the GOAT. I named Daphne after Daphne Du Maurier (Rebecca was a big influence). I love supernatural/Gothic suspense. It’s my first love. Mystery is a close second. When Taylor Swift was on Stephen Colbert and described her ideal book (an old rambling mansion covered in moss or ivy, a man who’s not what he seems, a murder that happened in the past, a ghost, etc.), I remember thinking: “same, girl.” As for my current faves… this is tough. A few stand-out Gothic reads for me would be Mexican Gothic (Silvia Moreno-Garcia) and Vantage Point (Sara Sligar). I’m really looking forward to An Immaculate Deception (Isabela Livino), which is also out this September. Auto-buy mystery/thriller and horror authors include Rene Denfeld, Simone St. James, Jennifer McMahon, Andrew F. Sullivan, and Jason Rekulak.

AS: Lastly, do you have future plans for a North Shore Township series, or with extending Mary’s character and her supernatural abilities? Do Mary and Tom perhaps make an appearance in your upcoming project, Confession?

EU: Yes! I would love to keep writing North Shore novels. How fun would that be? Confession is set in 1992 (so before the events of Hail Mary). It’s not technically a prequel, but it gives that energy. Readers can catch an excerpt in the back of Hail Mary. Our beloved Tom Pearson makes an appearance. So do the Foremans. Not Mary, though. You’ll see her again should there be a Book 3!

Elizabeth Urso is a Canadian author of genre-blending suspense novels. If you enjoy atmospheric settings, haunted people, and unsolved crimes, you’re in the right place. Her debut novel, Hail Mary, publishes in September 2026 with Rising Action Publishing (distributed by Simon & Schuster).

Elizabeth is a graduate of Laurentian University, the University of New Brunswick Faculty of Law, and the Humber School for Writers. Born and raised in Sudbury, Ontario, she now lives wherever her partner—an Infantry Officer in the Canadian Armed Forces—is posted, along with their dog Harriet (the Spy).

Aaliya Sylvia is a writer from Winnipeg, Manitoba. She holds a BA from the University of Winnipeg, where she studied English and Creative Writing. Alongside writing reviews and curating book listicles, Aaliya has also been working on her dark academia psychological horror novel.