Ross has always had an interest in the written word and has been a constant reader of current events magazines and newspapers. As a youngster, he used to grab his elder sister's magazines that came from England and read about boarding schools with secret tunnels and mysterious headmistresses who invariably disappeared and were replaced by a draconian assistant. He preferred these stories to those in the boys' magazines of the time that were mainly about sports or war. As a teenager, he'd slip into the local library and read overseas newspapers to pick up exotic stories or study the advertisements or television programs of far-away cities. He preferred articles where his mind was pulled to distant places and adventures. Later, he wrote stories to stimulate the children he taught in his classes and ideas were expanded into full-length stories that disappeared into dusty files. He found writing fiction for children was not stimulating enough, so he switched to writing adult novels and that continues to the present time.

     In his suburban home, Ross pounds away on an ancient Macintosh to form the plots for his novels. After his wife and daughter go off to work every morning, he shares his work space with a black-and-white cat who demands to be fed at least six times a day and a goldfish called Survivor. The name comes from the fish's ability to survive after having been dropped in a glass aquarium that totally shattered and outlived her compatriots when poisoned water plants were inadvertently added to their bowl.

     When he is not writing, Ross enjoys drawing, usually on the computer. Other interests include wandering in the countryside and, in the summer, swimming in mountain streams or bounding through the rapids in a large inner tube tire.

     His interest in current events and international incidents serves as a backdrop for many of his novels. Ordinary people rather than the super-rich, super-powerful, or violent are the main characters in his stories. Often, a tiny article is expanded into a full-sized novel after research and then using his vivid imagination. His plots also reflect his interest in the rural lifestyle as well as the cross-section of personalities encountered during his years as a teacher.

     "Liberty and Opportunity" is an attempt to show how the twentieth century affected ordinary people who were thrust into extraordinary situations by the period of time in which they lived and how aspirations and human behavior haven't really changed even after a century of progress. It is total fiction, but his characters come alive to reflect the era in which they lived. It is Ross's first saga after having written several contemporary novels.

     At the moment, he is writing "Eagle's Claw Lake," the story of three young women who escape from a religious commune in Washington State. This should be completed by late 2000.