Today we’d like to introduce you to Chuck Driskell.
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?
My path was, and is, winding. By day, I’m the managing director of a branding agency, GLIMMA Americas. GLIMMA started in Europe and the name is a portmanteau of Global Image Management. By morning, I’m a novelist and a screenwriter. That, literally, started by accident.
I’m the youngest of five, and the only boy. Daddy really wanted a son. Unfortunately, he passed away from cancer when I was a sophomore in high school. This sent me off my axis. I managed to finish school, but without much focus or direction. Following a brief “stay” at college, I enlisted in the Army – one of the best decisions of my life.
While in the Army, I learned the values of hard work and discipline. I was also fortunate enough to be stationed in Germany for about three years, a place I would visit time and time again. (Still do!) Following my time in Europe, I was stationed at Fort Bragg and attended Airborne school. This opened my eyes to a completely new thrill: jumping out of airplanes. Thus, while I was a military paratrooper, I also became a recreational skydiver and found an appetite for all sorts of thrill-seeking activities.
After five years of service, I made the decision to exit the Army and go back to school. While at school, I continued to pursue my love of skydiving.
Following my schooling, I entered the business world, beginning in sales, where I sold office supply and office furniture contracts. One of my sales calls was at a CBS Television station and, by luck, I managed to pitch the CEO of not just that station, but 12 television stations. He listened with mild interest, asking me afterward if I’d like to come to work for him, selling advertising. I accepted, and set out in the advertising field.
I took an instant liking to advertising. Using messaging, both visual and verbal, to sway consumer’s purchasing habits was fascinating to me, and still is. In 2001, a friend and I started a new company, B2B Media, aimed at utilizing company-owned assets for branding and advertising. While 2001 was not an ideal time to begin a business, we made it, eventually named South Carolina’s 2nd fastest growing company. In 2011, we sold the business to Vomela Corporation out of St. Paul, Minnesota, and I remained on until 2017.
In 2018, I decided to make a change. I approached my friends at GLIMMA, asking them if they’d like to partner with me and enter the market in the Americas. They agreed, and we started GLIMMA Americas, providing brand implementation services to large brand owners. We have a wonderful team and service accounts such as Delta Air Lines and Accenture.
While I’d switched from television advertising to physical branding in 2001, I’d also undergone another significant change during that time, the one that would lead me to writing. In late 1999, I suffered a serious accident resulting from a parachute jump. This one, however, wasn’t from an airplane or helicopter – it happened during a BASE jump (BASE stands for Building, Antenna, Span, Earth) at the 876-foot high New River Gorge Bridge in West Virginia.
This left me with a shattered left leg and ankle, and the realization that I was not immortal. I would ultimately need six surgeries, and had been struck with the realization that my body would never be the same again. Thankfully, after all the surgeries, few people would know I’d been in an accident. The limp is now gone and I get along fine, but I decided to stop skydiving and BASE jumping altogether.
Even though our new business was thriving, I was left feeling hollow and empty after my accident and my unwillingness to put myself at further risk. In 2003, my best friend from the Army suggested I try writing about my feelings. Writing? Feelings? Was he serious? Well, he wasn’t my best buddy for nothing, so I heeded his advice and wrote my story. Then, another story – this one fiction. Then, another. Before long, I was writing every morning and have since penned 14 novels and host of screenplays, some of which have actually been sold to Hollywood (but none made…yet!)
Thankfully, just as I was working out my feelings by writing, I met the lady who would ultimately become my wife, Chrissy Driskell. We have two wonderful children. Our daughter is Kaidyn, now 18 years old and headed to Clemson this fall. And Wyatt, our son, a 15 year-old freshman at Eastside High School. Both of my kids are excellent soccer players and even better human beings. They, along with Chrissy, bring me so much joy.
Brand & Marketing by day; novelist by morning (and sometimes) night; husband and daddy all the time. I am richly blessed.
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?
Definitely not smooth, but always fun.
-Grew up relatively poor (but loved by two parents)
-Lost my dad when I was 15, my mom when I was 27, and my sister when I was 40…all to cancer I hate cancer.
-I was a very late bloomer, and was super young for my grade. I didn’t turn 18 until October of my freshman year at college…probably why I ended up in the Army
All this to say…struggles, yes, but life has been very good to me!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’ve penned 14 novels, six of which are in the Gage Hartline series. The remainder of my novels are standalones, many dealing with the Second World War. I like to combine suspense, thrills, and crime in an effort to entertain readers.
My inspiration comes from the time I lived in Germany, my military service, extensive travel – all combined with a ton of reading of my own, and an overactive imagination.
I’ve also written more than a dozen pilots and screenplays. Some of those are adapted from my novels, and others are original screenplays. In 2022, I was chosen as a Raindance Fellow, the largest film festival in the U.K. This helped me refine my craft and get more of my scripts in front of producers.
Several years ago, using a pseudonym, I wrote the biography of a well known soldier and mercenary. The reason for the pseudonym? The content was so sensitive (much of it involving the drug trade in South and Central America) I couldn’t attach my name.
I’ve never written my books or screenplays with the intent to sell more. I write what I would want to read, or see.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Listen to your elders! Actively seek out mentors, and listen to their advice. They’ve learned the hard way. You can learn from them.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://chuckdriskell.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chuck.driskell.9
- Twitter: @chuckdriskell
