Meet the Author
Hello, I am Ross.
I grew up in the Northeast of Scotland, where a good conversation often begins with a simple question: How are you? Not as a passing greeting, but with enough time to hear the answer.
I have always been curious about people, the lives we build, and what happens when life takes us somewhere we never expected to go. My own journey has taken me across countries, through a long career, marriage, family, loss, and the quieter work of finding my way forward again.
Writing grew from that curiosity. It became a way of slowing things down, noticing what life was teaching me, and putting words around some of the questions many of us carry but do not always say aloud.
Through Songbird Cottage Press, I hope to share books and reflections that feel less like someone telling you what to do and more like a thoughtful conversation between two people.
So, wherever you happen to be in your own story, you are very welcome here.
From Scotland to Here
I grew up in the Northeast of Scotland in a family that taught me early that life could be both complicated and deeply loving.
Those early years shaped how I came to see people, change, hard work and the importance of those who quietly show up when they are needed.
As I grew older, work became a large part of my life. I built a long career in sales and business development, learning that good conversations are often less about having the right answer and more about asking the right question.
Along the way, I met Elizabeth. We married, raised two children and eventually moved from Scotland to the United States, where we built a life together.
Looking back, I can see how much of who I am today was shaped by those experiences, the people I shared them with, and the unexpected turns that came along the way.
What Stayed With Me
The years I shared with Elizabeth shaped much of the person I became. Together we built a family, raised our children, made a life in a new country and learned, as most couples do, that life rarely follows a perfectly straight line.
Elizabeth worked as a mental health therapist, and her ability to listen, ask thoughtful questions and see people with compassion influenced me more than I probably realised at the time.
When my own life later began to look very different, I found myself returning to some of those same ideas: slowing down, becoming curious, paying attention to what I was feeling and allowing questions to exist before trying to answer them.
That curiosity eventually led me to a blank journal, ninety days of writing and, much later, page 1.
Life Now
Today, my life is full in ways I could not always have imagined.
I continue to work in a career that has taught me a great deal about people, leadership and the value of good conversations. I spend time with family, enjoy walking and being outdoors, and remain curious about what each new chapter might bring.
I have also been fortunate to find love again, and to discover that moving forward does not mean leaving the past behind. Life can hold gratitude for what has been, appreciation for what is here now, and curiosity about what may still be ahead.
That perspective is at the heart of how I try to live, and much of what I hope to share through Songbird Cottage Press.
Why Songbird Cottage Press
Songbird Cottage Press grew from a simple belief that thoughtful words can sometimes help us see our lives a little differently.
I am not interested in writing from the position of having everything figured out. I am much more interested in the questions we carry, the experiences that shape us and the conversations that help us understand ourselves a little better.
My hope is that the books created here offer readers somewhere to pause, reflect and perhaps become curious about what might come next.