Orna Ross facts for kids

Orna Ross is the writing name, or pen name, of Aine McCarthy. She was born in 1960. Orna is an Irish author, a former literary agent, and a blogger. She also supports something called creativism, which is about using your imagination.

Orna Ross started the Alliance for Independent Authors. This is a group for writers who publish their own books. She has been named one of the top 100 most important people in publishing by The Bookseller magazine in the UK.

Orna Ross's Early Life and Education

Orna Ross was born in Waterford, Ireland. She grew up in Murrintown, which is in County Wexford. She went to Murrintown National School and Loreto Convent Wexford.

Later, she studied at University College Dublin. She earned two degrees there. One was in English Literature, which is about books and stories. The other was a Master’s Degree in Women’s Studies. For some years, she also taught at the university. She taught a special course about creativity and imagination. This course later helped her write her Go Creative! book series.

Orna Ross is related to some other interesting people. Her relatives include the author and historian Nicholas Furlong. She is also related to Paula Panczenko, who is a director at Tandem Press.

Orna Ross's Writing Career

Orna Ross started her writing journey by publishing her first two books. These books were called A Lover's Hollow and A Dance in Time. They were published by a big company called Penguin Books.

In 2012, she decided to try something different. She self-published her next two books. This means she published them herself, without a big company. These books were The Irish Trilogy I: After the Rising and The Irish Trilogy II: Before the Fall. They are part of a series of three books. After that, she self-published two more fiction books. These were Blue Mercy and The Secret Rose, which was a special book honoring the famous writer W. B. Yeats.

In 2015, Orna Ross worked with six other women writers. They created a collection of novels called Outside the Box: Women Writing Women. Many of Orna's stories are set in her home country of Ireland. They are often family dramas. Her books have been praised by newspapers like the Sunday Independent and Irish Times.

Helping Other Writers: The Alliance of Independent Authors

Orna Ross strongly believes that self-publishing is a great way for writers to share their stories. It helps both new writers and those who are already famous. In 2012, she started the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi). This is a group that helps protect writers' rights. It also helps promote books that authors have self-published.

As the head of ALLi, Orna has given advice to important groups like the BBC. She has talked about how much it costs for an author to publish their own book. In 2014, The Guardian newspaper called her an "indie star" in the writing world. She was also featured on their Books Podcast.

Orna Ross's Works

Orna Ross has written many different kinds of books.

Fiction Books

• Lovers’ Hollow, Penguin, 2005
• A Dance in Time, Penguin, 2008
• After the Rising, Orna Ross, 2012
• Before the Fall, Orna Ross, 2012
• Blue Mercy, Orna Ross, 2013
• Outside the Box: Women Writing Women, Orna Ross and Joni Rodgers, 2015

Poetry Books

• Ten Thoughts About Love, Orna Ross, 2011
• Ten More Thoughts About Love, Orna Ross, 2013
• Ten More Thoughts About Love 2, Orna Ross, 2013
• Poetry for Christmas: Twelve Inspirational Poems for the Holiday Season, Orna Ross, 2013

Non-fiction Books

• F-R-E-E Writing Notebook: A Go! Creative Tool. OrnaRoss, 2013
• Opening Up To Indie Authors: A Guide for Bookstores, Libraries, Reviewers, Literary Event Organisers ... and Self-Publishing Writers, Alliance for Independent Authors, 2013 (with Dan Holloway and Debbie Young)
• Choosing A Self Publishing Service 2014: The Alliance of Independent Authors Guide. Alliance for Independent Authors, 2014 (with Mick Rooney and GiacomoGiammatteo)
• A Compendium For Creativists: How To Apply Creative Principles to Life: An Anthology, Orna Ross, 2015

Podcast Appearances

Orna Ross has also appeared on several podcasts, sharing her knowledge and experiences.

• Guardian Books Podcast (9 May 2014): She talked about how self-publishing is changing the world of books.
• T E Shepherd (2014): She discussed self-publishing on BBC Radio 4.
• Creative Penn by Joanna Penn (2014): She talked about creating money and meaning through writing.

Orna Ross's Personal Life

Aine McCarthy has been married for over thirty years. She has two children named Ornagh and Ross. She combined their names to create her pen name, Orna Ross. Today, she lives and writes in London.