Today we’d like to introduce you to Gillian Royes.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Some people have a short and direct route to where they are today. Mine is exactly the opposite since I’ve always moved as the opportunities and my will — should I say my gut — directed me. In high school in Jamaica, I could only see past the next class, the next exam, and I focused on that, little else. Afterwards, I enjoyed my gap year immensely, working in the Sheraton Hotel in Kingston. It was my sister who made me apply for a scholarship to a US college, because I was enjoying the here and now so much. Thanks to that opportunity, I ended up at Colorado College. Thus, my meandering around the globe and my life began.
Eventually, I got a Ph.D. from Emory in Social History and Communications and started teaching on the university level.
But, wait! I went on to own five small businesses, most dealing in art and craft distribution, two of them successful enough to support me.
As time went on, I married, had a daughter, and moved between four countries.
Perhaps the most meaningful career I’ve had has been as a writer. I was fortunate enough to have Simon & Schuster publish a four-book series about an amateur detective’s exploits and foibles. It’s called the Shad Series, Shad being a bartender in a shabby North Coast bar in Jamaica. After that I wrote a play called How to Be an Immigrant, which was produced at the Academy Theatre in Hapeville, Atlanta.
After the sudden death of my partner, I wrote a book to handle a grief, a book called Third Act Dating about finding love in one’s senior years. To my surprise, it became an Amazon Number One Bestseller! I went on to expand the brand by creating an online course and a play by the same name. I even taught workshops and classes on senior dating.
To top it off, I got married for the third time at the end of 2023. And so goes my life. With more to come!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There is never a smooth road, is there? From being a single mother, to facing sexism and racism in schools and workplaces, lots of obstacles have presented themselves, but I’ve always believed that every hurdle is a learning. I try to reflect, once the obstacle is overcome, on what it was supposed to bring to my life. How can I grow from this?
I also believe in pivoting if I keep meeting a brick wall. When I had an art distribution company in the 1980s, and no major corporation in Atlanta would buy art by black artists, my partner and I started selling art to wealthy black professionals — and it worked. Creativity is what’s needed to meet every challenge.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m most known for my writing. I’ve written since I was a child and eventually worked in many aspects of communication, from teaching it in colleges, to being a writer of fiction and nonfiction. So far I have written seven books and two plays.
Most of my writing has been around Caribbean themes and characters. I write about my experience being an immigrant, trying to be as honest as possible. And I cloak some hard truths in humor.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
Following my gut has been my most important lesson. I almost always end up happy with the result.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.gillianroyes.com and www.thirdactdating.com
- Instagram: @groyes
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gillian.royes
