Chuck Clendenen is embracing the field of writing as his third career, and this new calling promises to be as exciting as his first two professions. Chuck's professional careers have been characterized by two key elements – communications and technology – so it makes sense that these elements would be key features of Chuck's third career. A complicated series of events led Chuck to his first career as a Russian linguist in Army intelligence. That career spanned over 20 years, 11 of which were spent outside the United States. Chuck's intelligence specialty was Communications Intelligence, which is supported by some very sophisticated technology, so it was natural to gravitate towards high-tech in his follow-on endeavors.
After successfully completing a first career, Chuck set and attained his goal of working in the high-tech field, settling in the Silicon Hills of Austin, TX. He has progressed from software testing to information technology management to software professional services since entering this field. Most of his writing during this period has been tech writing and business writing, such as technical guidance, training and proposal writing, and rare for the high tech field, over nine years of this career has been spent with one company. In his spare time, however, Chuck has been preparing for that third career.
Chuck has been paying his dues in the freelance field for a couple of years. He won or received an honorable mention in a few monthly Writers Digest competitions and for a while was a regular contributor to one of the major how-to Websites. Like any aspiring writer, he has begun work on the next great American novel, and his first non-fiction book will be self-published in January 2010. Chuck is torn between fiction and non-fiction, but the latter is currently in the ascendency. His first couple of books will be in the field of religion and spirituality, but some self-help and how-to titles are on the back burner and will move to the foreground as time permits. The day job must take precedence, of course, but the overlapping third career is getting more and more time and attention. There certainly is no turning back now, but that has never been Chuck's style anyway.