Zola Helen Ross

Zola Helen Ross (May 9, 1912 – November 14, 1989) (née Girdey) was an American Pacific Northwest writer. She also taught writing and co-founded the Pacific Northwest Writers Association^[1] with Lucile Saunders McDonald of The Seattle Times.^[2][3] She wrote in various genres, including adventure, children's fiction, crime, mystery, and suspense. She was also the author of several Western historical novels; her male counterpart was Louis L'Amour.^[4] The Pacific Northwest and the Great Basin are the settings for her stories, and they include the towns of Reno, San Francisco, and Seattle.^[5] Ross occasionally wrote under the pseudonyms Helen Arre and Bert Iles. She taught writing at the University of Washington and the Lake Washington schools in Kirkland, Washington.^[6] She was married to William Frank Ross, and lived in Seattle, Washington.^[7]