Power Q & A with Elizabeth Urso
Elizabeth Urso’s debut Gothic suspense novel, Hail Mary (Rising Action Publishing, September 22, 2026) follows Mary Foreman, who returns to her hometown to help her estranged family during a scandal-plagued election. But when the opening of a decades-old time capsule draws her into a criminal investigation tied to her family’s funeral empire, she must fight to prove her innocence. Not only of recent crimes, but past ones, too. For this is the North Shore of Lake Huron, and the past is always present where the dead don’t die.
Q: Hail Mary is set on the North Shore of Lake Huron, and the setting feels like a character unto itself. But the towns Providence, Houghton, and Clarksville don’t actually exist between Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie (other locations mentioned in the novel). Why did you choose to fictionalize the area? What towns inspired your setting?
The North Shore of Lake Huron is a place that’s very near and dear to me and my family.
My mom was born and raised in Blind River, Ontario, and I’ve spent my summers there since I was four years old. Little Elizabeth spent most drives from Sudbury to Blind River whining are we there yet? in the back of a Dodge Caravan, but I feel differently about those drives now. Blind River is one of the only places that consistently refills my creative well, and I always thought it would make a terrific setting for a mystery. It’s small enough where everyone knows everyone. It has a rich history. The views are spectacular (just go to the Boom Camp and soak it all in). The forests are stunning, but also a bit spooky. I leaned into that. All that said, when I was developing my fictional North Shore universe, I knew I’d have to take some creative liberties. I needed slightly different population densities. Different architecture. I also needed a Catholic school for girls. So, I decided to take those liberties, rename the towns, and pay homage to key landmarks instead.
In Hail Mary, Foreman House (the site of the original Foreman Family Funerals) is across the street from Sellers Park. If you’re standing on the beach at the actual Sellers Park and turn around, you’ll find a funeral home. It’s not haunted (at least, I don’t think it is). One of Hail Mary’s early chapters takes place upstairs at the Curling Club, which is where my parents had their wedding reception. Mary’s favourite bar, the Mill Yard, was inspired by the Riverside Tavern (my dad always said they had the coldest beer!). Building my fictional North Shore Township around the North Shore that I know and love was a joy. I don’t subscribe to the idea that books need to be set in the United States or some kind of ambiguously American setting to appeal to a wide readership. Ontario is my home, and I wanted it to be Mary’s too. I hope my renaming doesn’t detract from that. It would be so cool if a reader was inclined to journey up to the real North Shore of Lake Huron after reading my work. If they do, I hope they visit the Timber Village Museum and the TVM Art Gallery at the Blind River Marina. There’s so much talent there.
Elizabeth Urso (Amanda Thirkill Photography)
About Elizabeth Urso:
Elizabeth Urso 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).