Ian Ross

Ian Ross is an English author of historical fiction stories, most known for the Twilight of Empire series.

Ian Ross studied painting before turning to write fiction. He has traveled widely and worked as a bookseller, tutor, and university lecturer while developing his writing abilities. A year in Italy teaching English and exploring the ruins of the empire reawakened his early love for ancient history, and he returned to the UK with a growing passion for late antiquity.

Ian Ross has been researching and writing about the later Roman world and its army for over a decade. His six-book Twilight of Empire series, set in the Roman Empire of the 4th Century AD, was published in the UK between 2015 and 2019.

"I usually spend two months on active research and planning for each book, which in this case included a trip to Italy to follow the course of the military campaign and visit the site on the anniversary of the battle (mainly to check the weather!). But I’m drawing on many years of previous reading and research; Roman history is so very rich and complex, there’s always something new to discover," said the author.

More recently he has turned his attention to the medieval period, and to the tumultuous world of 13th Century England.

His interests combine obsessive regard for accuracy and detail with a devotion to the craft of storytelling.

"It’s often sobering to be reminded, when writing of the violence of the distant past, of the ongoing violence of the present day," added Ian Ross.

His new novel Battle Song is to be published in the UK in March 2023.

Photo credit: ianjamesross.com