James Ross

James Ross (1911–1990) was an American fiction author. His only published book, They Don't Dance Much, is an early example of what Daniel Woodrell identifies as "country noir", or a noir novel with a rural setting.

Life James Ross was born in rural Stanly County, North Carolina, in 1911. He briefly worked as a writer for the Savannah Morning News and then for the Greensboro Daily News (now News & Record), covering North Carolina politics and legislation. He died in 1990.

They Don't Dance Much The novel is set in a Western North Carolina roadhouse in the fictional crossroads town of Corinth. It is narrated by a failed farmer who, upon taking a job at a filling station, becomes involved in a murder.

The novel, despite being praised by authors such as Raymond Chandler, William Gay, and Flannery O'Connor, has been largely forgotten.