A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, James has been an actor, computer tech support operator, historic infotainment tour guide, armed self defense retailer, automotive petrol attendant, youth entertainment stock replacement specialist, mass market Italian chef, low priority courier, monthly printed media retailer, automotive industry miscellaneous task facilitator, and ditch digger.
The Radiation Angels: The Chimerium Gambit is his first novel and is followed by The Radiation Angels: The Key to Damocles.
James Daniel Ross shares a Dream Realm Award with the other others in Breach the Hull, and an EPPIE award with the others appearing in Bad Ass Faeries 2.
Most people are begging him to go back to ditch digging.
Jamesdanielross's Blog 
Hi James,
I just finished reading ‘I Know Not’ about twenty minutes ago—the first of your work I’ve seen—and then read a couple of your blog posts. I definitely agree with your comments about anyone getting to a high level of proficiency through lots of hard work (vs pure talent), but from my perspective—viewing your work after you’ve already put in the time—it sure seems like you’ve got ‘It.’
I’ve been devouring tons of kindle samples looking for good stories, and over 95% really are atrocious. (I guess I’m a little bit of a snob when it comes to fantasy/sci-fi). However, ‘I Know Not’ was really quite good. I felt that the writing was clear and of a much higher quality than many works out there. I’d read a review claiming that the writing was very visceral—literally, haha—but I thought the battle scenes contained just the right amount of vivid detail and realism without spilling over into absurdity.
The characters were all three-dimensional and the development was fantastic. I loved how Crow grew and lost and won his personal battles (inside and out)—and that would’ve made a great story on its own—but I think it was the development of the side characters (Aelia, Gelia, Theo, etc) who really fleshed out the story. And I appreciated how Roehm never wavered in his hatred of Crow to the end, something that I think lesser authors would’ve buckled and caved on.
Okay, I have to go back to my day job now, but as a beginning/aspiring writer (in my free time), I just wanted to say thanks for the encouragement. 🙂
-Jeff
p.s. Ever read anything by Matthew Woodring Stover? Heroes Die, Jericho Moon, Iron Dawn—all great books. Your story reminded me a lot of his work.
Thank you so much for the kind words. I appreciate the time it took to leave the comment, and I am humbled by your praise.
I have not read anything by Stover, but I shall have to check him out.
Thank you again, and I hope to provide more entertainment for the future.
Visceral. Bloody. Seriously great. “I Know Not” takes this type of story into uncharted land and succeeds. Although I’d like to have Simon as a friend, I’d probably want him to stay many hours away from me at all times. Just hang a POV camera over him and let me know next time he takes a trip. I’ll watch with great interest.
Doing the “Kindle Free-Sample Dance” the last few months, gathering samples of things that sound good. Pulled up “I Know Not” at random, and was hooked hard. Bought the full book today, and I’m plugging along. Very good — except all the typos are killin’ me! You really need a decent proof-reader.
Anyway, I’ll review it on my blog when I’m done. It’s always awesome to discover great new writers/novels.
Good luck in your future projects.
Hi Daniel:
I’ve read The Radiation Angels: The Chimerium Gambit and I Know Not. I enjoy them and am looking for other writings of yours but can’t find where to purchase them. I’m in Australia so I purchase mostly from amazon. I’m just wondering where I can find more of your work. Thank you
I write for small press, so it’s extremely difficult to get major retailers to stock the books. So, right now it may be possible for you can go into your local book store and ask them to order them (I believe that they can be found through Ingram – which won’t mean much to you but should to them). Sadly, other than that, we’re looking at BN.com, Amazon, and so forth. I’ll put up a fresh bibliography here in a minute on this blog.
Thank you so much for your support, and I’ll do my best to do even better in the future.
James, I was able to order I know not via Barnes & Noble. I liked the fact they were able to order it and ship to the store. I’d rather pay cash than use debit/credit any day.
I re-read “I Know Not” recently, which in and of itself is unique… I’ve never re-read a book so soon after the first reading. It was every bit as great as I remembered. But I also picked up “The Last Dragoon” and started it today… I had to put it down after the first chapter in order to come here and say this: I’ve read a couple hundred fantasy books over the past five or six years, and I’m trying to bring to mind another book – any other book – that has a more kick-ass opening chapter than the Last Dragoon does. With that one opening chapter, you’ve broken into the top 10, as far as my favorite fantasy authors. Prior, I was a fan, but having only read one book, who knows? Perhaps it was a fluke? But now, if the book holds up, I am going to become an official JDR Cheerleader.
Hey James,
I have enjoyed your works. I know Not, Last Dragoon and – Radiation Angels. Why is the second book in Radiation Angels not available for kindle? I’d like to read it but cannot find it online. If it is ebook available where is the link to wherever I can find it and why is it not available on Amazon?
Speaking of which – I really like your writing and realize that the skill set for being a writer has little overlap with being a small business owner but I think your work is suffering from a lack of quality marketing, web presence and especially ease of purchase. Why doesn’t your blog have an easy link to purchase all your books? That way you would even get a further cut as an Amazon affiliate for example. I urge you to hire someone who can help you if you hate dealing with the business aspects of publishing. I say this in hopes that with better sales and revenue you will have more free time to devote to writing.
Your stuff, in my opinion, is at the top of the self-published heap and better than an awful lot of stuff coming out of the large publishing houses. I think that if you can get invested as the author in a series and can keep yourself working in the same world to make at least a trilogy or something even longer you are talented enough to break through and build a supportive fan base. There is a reason that the publishing firms like series and minimally trilogies. It maximizes marketing and brand recognition. You may hate the idea of being stuck in the same world – although you set up I know Not with a huge lantern saying – “This way to the sequel” so I doubt this is a creative issue.
So, to repeat – why or where is the second radiation angels book aviallable in ebook format? Please invest in a little marketing help so you can get the financial support to write more. And Finally Thanks for the fun reads thus far.
Hi James! My name is Cameron Von St. James and I had a quick question for you & was wondering if you could please email me when you have a free moment. Thanks! I really hope to hear from you soon and appreciate you taking the time. ☺ cvonstjames AT gmail DOT com
Hello James. I love your, “I Know Not” story. One of the best in the last few years. How do I get in touch with you about contract writing work? I look forward to your response. Have a great day.
Just read “I know not” and the “Last Dragoon” during the weekend. Both books were great reads and I enjoyed reading (or rather devouring them) immensely. I’m here at this blog now not really to praise, just to nose around for when a new fantasy book written by you will be available 🙂
Keep up the good work!
I am gratified beyond words that you enjoyed the books. I have a new update to the blog with what I have been keeping myself busy. I hope to produce more in the coming year and to continue to be worthy of your time.
And i am in awe that you took the time to respond and very grateful for the update: Bought The Whispering of Dragons (you had me hooked at “These men moved like an army of wolves: All teeth, no parade” in the Amazon.com excerpt 🙂
Hopefully i wont have to wait to long for the The Opus Discordia. I added the “I know not” and “Last Dragoon” to the Grimdark list on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/35446.The_Grimdarks?
Hopefully more grimdark enthusiasts will find them and enjoy them as well:)
First, one word: Brilliant! The prose is good and the story lines immersive, but the emotional depth is pretty much what makes it click.
More than one comment has made use of the word “visceral” and I have to agree. “I Know Not”, “Last Dragoon”, “Salient Dreams”, “A Saga of Those Before” aren’t just read, they’re felt.
Some of it is dark, some of it brooding, some of it uplifting, some of it damn funny. But it’s all fulfilling, which cannot be said of much on the market these days. Knocks you on your ass, buys you an ale and then drinks with you (possibly while lifting your purse). Good sh*t, my friend.
That said, keep it up and don’t lose the spark. Too many authors seem to go dark into that good night with their writing (apologies to Thomas), whether for personal or commercial reasons (Britain, Jordan, Haydon, Brett, among others). Give me Fox Crow any day.
Best of luck with the journey, wherever it may take you.