Hardly anyone was surprised to learn that Charles Clark, Sr., M.D. had completed and published his first book in July, 2003—-a feat that represented the culmination of two years work. It has never been unusual for Clark to tackle more than one project at the same time. Simultaneously with writing, Clark serves as a medical director for Corpus Christi Medical Center, a large hospital system in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Long after most doctors would have retired from active practice and vanished into a life of golf and travel, Clark remained actively engaged in medical management in the very hospital that he founded. After forty years of primary care practice he left his private practice in the hands of younger associates and moved into hospital administration in a physician advisor role.


The RanchBorn and raised in a small West Texas town, his earlier life consisted of school and, at any time he was not in school, ranch work on the family ranch.

He learned the importance of values and integrity in the medical field from
Three generations of Clark, M.D.his country-doctor father. There was no question that he would follow the path in medicine set by his father and his older brother.
                                                                        After graduation from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, after post-graduate training, and after a stint in the Navy he moved to Corpus Christi where he has been since. He and his wife have seven children, fourteen grandchildren plus seven great-grandchildren. One son is an Orthopedic Surgeon in Corpus Christi and two sons are pharmacists; one daughter, an administrative executive, lives in Corpus Christi; another, with the Texas Medicaid Program in Austin; and his artist daughter, designer all of his book covers, resides in Fredericksburg.

In his first of six books published, Trails to Dos Encinos, he has called on his ranching experience as well as his rich heritage of pioneer Texas cattlemen and has blended the romance of a rugged Texas cattleman and a young girl, washed ashore from a shipwreck on her way to America, into an emotionally charged love story that captures the reader’s attention from the first chapter.

Clark’s second book, Suit Up in Scrubs, is a story of a successful young heart surgeon whose failed marriage from his wife’s infidelity leads to charges of murder when his wife’s lover dies under mysterious circumstances. The author keeps the reader on the edge of its seat as he weaves a shocking surprise ending.

His third book, Dark Side Hospital, published in December, 2004 portrays what could happen in a hospital when a dishonest administrator betrays the trust of his position as CEO of the hospital as well as the trust of his medical director, his mentor of years past. 

Return to Dos Encinos, published in 2006 is a sequel to Trails to Dos Encinos. The heroine, Sarah Levin, pursues her dream to editorialize and campaign for women’s rights in the late 1800s.

The fifth published novel, CODE PINK!  is a story of an infant abducted from a hospital nursery, of the mystery and intrique related to attempts at recovery of the baby, and of the disclosure of illegal, unethical practices of a hospital system.

His most recently published book, THE IMMIGRANT, is an emotionally charged, suspense-filled novel about an eleven-year-old boy, orphaned when his parents are killed during their illegal entry into the United States.

What does Charles Clark, Sr., M.D. do when he is not writing? He loves staying knowledgeable in medicine and in keeping abreast of the many new innovations that he sees evolving in the medical field. He especially enjoys working alongside the volunteers at the Corpus Christ Medical Center. “I relate to these people,” he says. “A day never passes that I don’t gain from my association with our volunteers. I marvel at their dedication to their work and at their wisdom.”

And what about writing? “Once you’re hooked on writing, there’s no cure,” he says. He has been heard to say repeatedly, when discussing one of his books: “If you miss reading it, just wait for the movie.”

         From Coastal Bend Medicine in 2005 by John Pettigrove, M.D. Updated May 2007 by Charles Clark.