Hal Ross originally held roles within the music industry, having worked with Decca Records and Phonodisc, the distributor in Canada for Motown. While in the music business, Hal got to work with a diverse group of recording artists, from Diana Ross to Roy Orbison and many others. In the late 60’s, he joined Irwin Toy in Toronto. He was involved in the introduction of a varied list of products, from Atari and Star Wars, to Strawberry Shortcake. He was instrumental in the launch of one of the most successful games of all time—Jenga.
After starting his own sales agency, he also gained recognition as one of the Vendors of the Year by Toys-R-Us after being successful with the distribution of the board game Tribond and the TV-advertised doll called Rosie.
During his time in the music and toy industries, Ross was considered a “closet fiction writer.” His first novel, The Fleur-de-lys-Affair, was published by Doubleday in North America and by New English Library in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. Hal’s second novel, The Doll Brokers, based on the toy industry, was published by TitleTown Publishing in 1998. TitleTown Publishing also published The Deadliest Game in 2013 and has recently released Hal’s fourth novel, Bonita Palms which, among other things, is a cautionary tale about prescription medication.
Hal now writes full-time. He and his wife spend their summer months in Alliston, Ontario and winters in Bradenton, Florida.