Ross Manuel isn't an award writing author. He's not even a published author. What he is is a Australian nursing student, cosplayer, and wargamer who happens to write stories inbetween lectures and conventions.

In the past he has written mostly fan-fictions, in tandem with cosplay. writing backstories for original characters.

That all changed in 2011 when he started writing Chicago Sunset. (though technically he wrote another story back in 1999, but it never went anywhere).

Then he found Leanpub.