Charles Royce

Charles Royce, born Charles (Chuck) Royce Hargett in Vicksburg, MS, grew up on the banks of the Mississippi River. From childhood, he was an avid reader, devouring hundreds of books through elementary school and well in high school. He wrote his first "novel" at age 10:

"Ever since I was little, I can remember writing. I wrote my first book when I was ten. Well, 'book' is a bit of an overstatement. It’s roughly 20 pages about a little girl with cancer, with the title “In Other Words, You’re Dying” in huge adolescent cursive on the front cover. I don’t remember what was happening at the time, but clearly I was trying to work through something. I devoured hundreds of books as a child and well into high school. Essays were always my favorite test-taking form. Creative writing courses in college led to me being fashion editor of our university newspaper. In the early nineties, I wrote a lost episode of “Friends,” thinking that somehow NBC would pick it up, and I could play Chandler’s long lost brother when it hit the small screen. I also wrote an original script about a struggling record company called “Off The Record,” a vehicle for Kirstie Alley because I couldn’t bear thinking that “Cheers” would never return." —Charles Royce

From there, much like the characters in his current and upcoming novels, being comfortable in the inherent duality of the human experience has enhanced his life. He describes it like this:

"My own life experience reminds me that the characters in my novel Naive inhabit a world I know all too well—where superficiality meets authenticity, where shadow meets light. For example, I’ve written double-platinum, Dove Award nominated, number-one songs for the Christian music industry, then I began drowning my demons in alcohol and drugs (I’ve been sober now since 2006). I’ve worked as creative director for an major entertainment publication in LA, even opened an advertising agency in NYC, then I gave it all up to open a small southern bakery in my hometown. Most recently I’ve studied mental health diagnosis and counseling in a master’s degree program, then I wrote Naïve, a novel where the protagonist may or may not be a psychopath. Currently I am a freelance creative director residing in Nashville with my partner of 5 years, who used to love me unconditionally. Then he read Naïve. Now he sleeps with one eye open."