Ann B Ross is the author of the bestselling Miss Julia cozy mystery series featuring the elderly widow living in Abbotsville, North Carolina.
Here are the Ann B Ross books in order for her series and standalone novels. Sadly, Ann B. Ross has retired from writing her popular series, with the final novel Miss Julia Happily Ever After.
Miss Julia Books in Publication Order
- Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind, 1999
- Miss Julia Takes Over, 2001
- Miss Julia Throws a Wedding, 2002
- Miss Julia Hits the Road, 2003
- Miss Julia Meets Her Match, 2004
- Miss Julia’s School of Beauty, 2005
- Miss Julia Stands Her Ground, 2006
- Miss Julia Strikes Back, 2007
- Miss Julia Paints the Town, 2008
- Miss Julia Delivers the Goods, 2009
- Miss Julia Renews Her Vows, 2010
- Miss Julia Rocks the Cradle, 2011
- Miss Julia to the Rescue, 2012
- Miss Julia Stirs Up Trouble, 2013
- Miss Julia’s Gift (#14.5), 2013
- Miss Julia’s Marvelous Makeover, 2014
- Etta Mae’s Worst Bad-Luck Day, 2014
- Miss Julia Lays Down the Law, 2015
- Miss Julia Inherits a Mess, 2016
- Miss Julia Weathers the Storm, 2017
- Miss Julia Raises the Roof, 2018
- Miss Julia Takes the Wheel, 2019
- Miss Julia Knows a Thing or Two, 2020
- Miss Julia Happily Ever After, 2021
Miss Julia Short Stories
- Miss Julia’s Gift (#14.5), 2013
Standalone Novels in Publication Order
- The Murder Cure, 1978
- The Murder Stroke, 1981
- The Pilgrimage, 1987
Ann B Ross Biography
Ann B. Ross grew up in a small town in the United States. She wanted to write books from a very young age. She wrote articles for the high school newspaper, however, after finishing high school, she decided to become a nurse. She earned her credentials from S.C. Baptist Hospital in Columbia.
Next, she attended the Armstrong College in Savannah, GA, where she got an Associate of Arts degree. However, soon after, she had to stop her studies and focus on her family and raising her three children.
In the 1960s she moved to Hendersonville, where she’s been living ever since. She never finished university, so after her children all grew up and she sent them to college, she went back to school as well. She enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, where she earned herself a degree in literature.
Next, she continued her studies and enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she got her masters degree, as well as a doctorate degree in English and Philosophy, majoring in Medieval Studies. After finishing her Ph.D. studies, she returned to Asheville at the University of North Carolina, where she began teaching literature and humanities.
In the early 1980s she wrote three books, although they never became as popular as her Miss Julia series. Currently, the three standalone Ann B Ross books are out of print. You can still find them in paperback editions on Amazon or second-hand bookstores, but they are no longer actively being published. As she wanted to write books, Ann decided to take additional classes in writing to learn about techniques that could help craft better books than her first three novels she had written several years before. And her courses paid her the reward.
Her real breakthrough came in 1999,long after she got her Ph.D., when her first Miss Julia book was published under the title Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind. This is when she knew she would make it as a writer and dedicated her full time to writing the series. The first book got reprinted no less than six times within one year and earned the author many accolades and positive critiques, landing the book on top lists in the country. Her books have been so far translated in several languages including German, Japanese, Polish, Croatian, and Italian.
Ann B. Ross writes every day (preferably 3-4 hours in the morning), dedicating her time in the morning to actively writing. With publishing one book every year, she is quite an active writer, with often adding to her manuscript seven days a week. This way, she can finish a book manuscript in little over half a year, following which it goes through a revising and editing process.
Often she is asked whether she is Miss Julia, and, although she is also living in a small Southern town just like Miss Julia does, Ann B. Ross always confesses that she is not her.
In several interviews, the author admitted that she is not planning out her books in advance. She rather is a ‘seat of the pants’ type of writer, who has an idea how the story will go and what the ending will be but finds her inspiration for the plot details while writing.
Praise for Ann B. Ross
Ross has a gift for elevating such everyday matters as marital strife and the hazards of middle age to high comedy, while painting her beautifully drawn characters with wit and sympathy. (Publisher Weekly)
Miss Julia is one of the most delightful characters to come along in years. Ann B. Ross has created what is sure to become a classic Southern comic novel. Hooray for Miss Julia, I could not have liked it more. (Fannie Flagg)
Yes, Miss Julia is back, and I, for one, am one happy camper. (J.A. Jance)
A charming, fun adventure with new relatives, old secrets and a will putting Miss Julia and the Abbotsville regulars in a true Southern mess. I loved it! (Duffy Brown)
[A] delightful yarn that’s light enough to entertain, but deep enough to leave a lasting impression on the reader.(Richmond Times-Dispatch on Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind)
A witty tale…replete with charm…it is impossible not to like this book. (Ft. Worth Morning Star-Telegram on Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind)
References:
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