We were lucky to catch up with Peggy Stankiewicz recently and have shared our conversation below.

Peggy, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?

Oddly enough, this subject came up recently during a conversation with a friend who is also an author. My response was that my legacy would be that I followed my dream of becoming an author. I believe that even if I never reach the level of success I’ve always dreamed of, it’s okay because my stories will live forever. I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished and will accomplish for the remainder of my life. It’s a legacy I hope my children and grandchildren can be proud of.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

First and foremost, I am a writer, but growing up, I wanted to be an artist. Art was always my first love, as well as books. I’d spend hours alone as a child painting, drawing, writing, reading, and illustrating my homemade books that I’d bind with yarn and colored paper for the covers. I made all my own greeting cards for my family, complete with illustrations and poems. I still have a few that my mother saved. Throughout school, I was always called upon to help with any art projects. I even painted a mural in the sixth-grade hallway of my elementary school depicting historical events, including the signing of the Declaration of Independence and a nearly life-size Liberty Bell.
My love of the arts continued throughout my childhood, and in middle school, I wrote a play for a class project and enlisted my fellow students to participate as actors. As a child who loved reading, it must have helped me write the play as I received an A-plus on the project and realized my true love for writing. However, throughout my teenage years, poetry was my passion. I also joined the choir and became interested in drama, ending up in my high school musical, Grease, in my senior year.
In high school, I became so dedicated to visual art that I gave up my lunch period to take an extra art class, volunteered for every art show and project the school needed help with, and at my graduation from The Western High School in Baltimore, which at the time was the oldest all-female public high school in the United States and more like a four-year college than a high school, I was awarded a full scholarship to the Maryland Institute College of Art.
This award ended in disaster.
I spent the entire summer of 1982 putting my portfolio together. I’d received my welcome package in the mail, and the only hurdle was a one-week orientation in late August. I was petrified but confident this would be a wonderful experience. On the final day of orientation, I went to my last interview to show my portfolio and what I assumed would be to receive my schedule for the first semester. Instead, I was called to the financial office.
Most of this is a blur because I was in complete shock. The financial manager explained to me that they’d made a mistake. The college only awarded this scholarship to Western every four years, and they’d given it to another girl who graduated in 1981. I knew the girl and had taken art classes with her. The woman explained that the girl had married over the summer of 1981 and registered under her married name but was still attending college there, so they couldn’t afford to give out another full ride. My scholarship was taken away due to a paperwork error.
I fell into some kind of shock. I don’t even remember driving home, and I can’t remember much other than my father threatening to call his lawyer and me crying for a few days. The dean of students called and apologized and offered to accept me the following semester if I could raise the tuition through financial aid or grants, but it was far too late. There was no money anywhere left for these things.
My life, goals, and dreams weren’t only derailed, they were on fire, and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it. I attended a private art school for one semester but couldn’t afford the tuition working a part-time job. I gave up, went to work to find a full-time job, and moved on with my life.
I didn’t pick up a pencil or a paintbrush for at least five years.
Somehow, I found myself working in a grocery store as a checkout girl. It didn’t pay a lot, but I could pay my bills. Over time, I moved up and realized I still had a knack for art and began using my talent again, creating beautiful signage. From there, that position evolved into pricing and marketing. I was able to use my art and writing abilities, and it felt good to use my talents and get paid for it. By this time, I was married with two young children, so we needed my income. I worked in that position for 17 years.
After a four-year stint in administration at the University of Maryland Hospital for Children, my Mom became ill, and I needed a job closer to home. I interviewed for a position with an office machine company as a sales and marketing specialist. The hours were great, no more weekends, and it was 11 minutes from my house.
The company was still in its early years and growth phase, and I jumped into my role with both feet.
I found I had a gift for copywriting. I started the monthly newsletter, designed and managed the website, created our social media presence, managed all our partner relationships with the major brands, and designed and managed all of the advertising as well as inside equipment sales and leasing. I took online classes and training to hone my craft and learn as much as possible to be successful and take the company to the next level.
I was determined to be the best I could be. It was in the middle of all this when the story of a little boy with a magical gift hit me, and my old dream to write a book returned, so I did that too.
Fast forward seven books later, the company was booming, and then Covid hit.
I was furloughed 16 hours per month and decided to start freelancing. I joined Fiverr and set up my account as a freelance copywriter. My goal was to complete 100 jobs in one year and hold a five-star rating across the board, and I did in less than nine months! My specialties were landing pages, sales pages, and copy for websites. I loved it! I not only met my income goal per month, but I exceeded it. My reviews were terrific, and I was able to work with clients from all across the globe. I often worked late into the night, and even when businesses returned to normal and I went back to work full time, I continued working freelance, expanding my offerings to include book editing and blog writing. I also assist other authors with self-publishing as I have a lot of experience in that area.
I also completed my 8th novel, Broken Shutters, and three novellas during this time. Some may call me a workaholic, but when you love what you do, it isn’t work; it’s passion. I don’t watch television and haven’t in years, so with my evenings primarily free except for family gatherings and my English Dart League, I spend most of my time doing what I love.
I still work full-time as a marketing director, but my evenings are devoted to writing books, working with other authors, and reading as much historical fiction as possible.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I touched on this in my previous answer but’ll focus solely on this experience here.

During Covid, our sales office staff for my day job was forced to work from home. Selling from home is not an easy task, and with so much of the office machine business focused IN the office, naturally, the company’s business fell off dramatically.
We returned to work quite early during the pandemic as our company was deemed “essential” because we serviced many hospitals, laboratories, and clinics. However, we were furloughed 16 hours a month. This loss cut deeply into my income and, thus, led me to set up my Fiverr account and start my freelance copywriting business. Since many companies depended on the Internet for business, my workload grew quickly, assisting people from around the globe. I took online classes to hone my craft and then expanded my offerings to editing books and papers for my clients. I also acquired clients outside of Fiverr, who I still work with to this day. Some of my clients are also authors who I work with, from editing to self-publishing. I love this part of my job the best.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My mission is always to exceed my client’s expectations. Period. My personal goal is to become a best-selling, critically acclaimed author in my own right. I’ve recently started my thirteenth novel. As with most of the other books I’ve written, I’ll submit it to literary agents when it’s polished and ready but plan B; self-publishing is always an option. I always work on my own goals when I’m not working for my clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://psbartlett.me/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/author_p.s.bartlett/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PSBartlett
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peggystankiewicz/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/stankiewicz_p