Hal originally held a variety of roles in the music industry, working with a diverse group of recording artists, from Diana Ross and the Supremes, to Roy Orbison, and many others. Later, after joining the toy industry, 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, 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 the 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, who also released Hal’s third novel, Bonita Palms, which, among other things, is a cautionary tale about prescription medication. Hal's fourth novel Zapwired: A Gaming Thriller, was released in 2023.
Hal now writes full-time, and is working on the sequel to Zapwired.