About Royce:
Intrepid writer and freelance beachcomber, Royce can disappear for two days or two months behind the jewel-toned flaps of a Moroccan-tent, the ultimate writing studio by the sea.
Royce describes it this way,
"I love the challenge and uncertainty of writing. The magic of transforming thought into recognizable symbols is creative alchemy. Figuring out where the story will take me each day is part of the grand adventure, the addictive 'elixir' that keeps me returning to the page. I like to think my imagination joins forces with a reader's imagination, allowing us to travel together on the creative journey."
Royce is currently working on her first novel, a spherical love story that will move you from a seemingly fairy-tale side of a successful life into the darkness of family betrayals, heartbreak and financial devastation; arriving, full circle, in the tropical sunlight of enchanted Key West. The story will ask and explore one of the most important questions that seems to find us all, at one time or another: How do we transform cataclysmic personal and professional losses into experiences that teach, enrich and deepen our lives?
Royce enjoys living in Key West with Mr. Wonderful, the Love of her Life and their amazing companions, French Fry: The Greta Garbo of French Bulldogs, Rudyard: The Lion-Hearted German Shepherd, Bentley: The Coolest Cat in Town and Ralph Ernest: The loving prankster of a kitten rescued from Hemingway House.
According to reliable gypsy fortune-telling sources, ROYCE is the reincarnation of a 14th Century rebel warrior-monk-scribe who won 'honourable mention' in the 1307 Monastic Calligrapher Battle of The Quills.
ROYCE is currently:
A Beachcomber, A Baker, A Shell-Art Maker
A Writer, A Windmill Fighter, A Creativity Lighter
A Thinker, A Tinker, A Mischievous Winker
ROYCE seems to enjoy being:
A Blogger
A Self-Flogger
A Warm-Blanket Hogger
ROYCE has been ( The 'Has-Been-ian' Resume) :
Entrepreneur
Architectural/Interior Designer
Commercial General Contractor
Fund Raiser
Advocate for: The Native American, Women in Business, and Animals
Public Speaker, Business Management Consultant and Project Manager
Administrator, Negotiator, Imaginative Innovator
Mentor, Tutor, Lunch-Counter Philosophy Suitor
A Perpetual Student
Often Not Prudent
A Lifeguard, An Athlete, and PeeWee Free-Throw Champion of Marin 1965
A Fresh-From-The-Tree Cherry & Lemonade Stand Mogul
A Reliable Dishwasher, Dogwasher & Handwasher
Winner of Three Gold Stars on Every Spelling Test in the Third Grade
Potty-Trained at Six Months
NEED A CURE FOR INSOMNIA? READ ON.
Royce Addington’s entrepreneurial career began auspiciously when, in 1977, at the age of 22, she was offered full-partnership with a new design/construction company and moved to the majestic mountains of western Montana. There, she designed everything her imagination could conceive for their clients,
“I think people are born to do certain things throughout life. Entrepreneurial blood, adventure and creativity run through my veins.
I possess a deep and abiding passion for all things imaginative and creative.”
After realizing how much she missed the Pacific Ocean, Royce returned from Montana to Marin County, California. There, she started a commercial painting and decorating company with the love of her life.
Even after thirty-three years, Royce and Mr. Wonderful sit, side-by-side, arms waving high in the air, looking forward to the thrilling, often treacherous, roller-coaster ride through life. She will enthusiastically describe him as her best friend, lover, co-adventurer, confidante and a respected intellectual maverick.
In the early 80s, Royce accepted the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work with some of the most creative minds on the planet at Skywalker, a division of Lucasfilm Ltd. Working with Marcia and George Lucas, the Skywalker Design team transformed a former 2500 acre dairy ranch, hidden in the Marin County hills, into an idyllic complex of sophisticated and technological buildings that were designed and built as authentic Victorians, melded with the best techniques of the Arts and Crafts Movement.
Architectural Digest describes it perfectly, “Skywalker Ranch…resembles an idealized turn-of-the-last-century town…a visual sleight-of-hand, a brand-new concoction cunningly designed to look as if it had always been there…’I’ve always been a frustrated architect,’ he confesses. ‘But I couldn’t get past the math.’” Royce loved this about George Lucas, as she could never get pass the math either.
“…The filmmaker ( and film editor, Marcia Lucas) established their own (design division), art-glass, (lighting) studio and mill shop on the grounds and then hired talented (designers, architects) and artisans to craft everything… Lucas says. ‘When you want to do something authentic, you can't just buy the stuff off the shelf. Ultimately, it was kind of like the Craftsman Movement.’”
The beautiful art glass rose window, lovingly crafted by the Art Glass & Lighting Studio as a farewell gift to Royce, remains one of her most treasured possessions.
Once her work was done at Skywalker, Royce became an independent designer. This work introduced her to the urgent need for preservation of exceptional historic buildings in San Francisco, many ear-marked for demolition if they did not meet seismic upgrade standards.
Royce’s pioneering-entrepreneurial grandmother, the daughter of a Cherokee, persuaded her to start a WBE/MBE (woman/minority business enterprise) contracting company targeting the restoration of historic buildings in San Francisco.
At a time, the early-90s, when there was an appalling lack of respect for women and minorities in the architectural, design and construction industry; Royce worked closely with the Human Rights Commission of San Francisco and Mayor Willie Brown’s office to establish recognition of women and the Native American as viable minority-owned contracting businesses.
Throughout her life and career, Royce's love of transforming imaginative concepts into form and words has led her on a remarkable journey. Born on Coronado Island in California, Royce's soul-connection to the sea follows her through life. With the dawn of a New Millennium, the sandy yellow-brick road led Royce from Stinson Beach, California to the enchanted island of Key West, Florida.
Personal and professional experiences have taught Royce the most joyous gifts offered us can disappear in an instant. Loss and grief have taught her to cherish each moment and live every day with an attitude of gratitude.
Twenty-six words, advice from an ex-Buddhist monk, written on a dinner napkin and pushed silently across the table, changed the direction of her life: He who clings to a moment of joy,does the winged life destroy. But he who kisses the joy as it flies,lives in Eternity’s sunrise.
Royce is currently working on her first novel about love, family betrayal and healing. The project is an astounding creative challenge, teaching her to kiss the joy as it flies.
