By Roberta Clayton
Did you ever wonder what it would be like to be a successful writer, but not know where to start? Have you had some compelling life experiences that keep coming to mind? Nancy Panko is living that dream. She and husband George are genial retirees who arrived here in Fuquay-Varina in 2008 from Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. As with so many of us, they found the home of their dreams and settled in to enjoy their retirement years. I had the privilege of interviewing Nancy and found her a willing tutor, ready to share her experience and wisdom.
Live your life according to your worthy goals and desires. Nancy always wanted to become a nurse. An able scholar, she plunged into the rigorous program at SUNY Alfred when she was 17. Life intervened, as it so often does, causing her to continue her education at age 35 in Pennsylvania. She was driving 52 miles a day round-trip for classes when her seven-year-old son, Tim, broke his leg playing soccer, which required a three-week hospitalization. “I was going to have to drop out of school, but my parents and George’s parents said, ‘Oh no you won’t. You are in this far, and you are doing so well, we’ll do what we can to help.’ Neighbors found out and helped as well. If it wasn’t for the kindness and generosity of these wonderful people, I would not have been able to realize my dream of becoming a nurse.”
George and Nancy juggled nights and days with Tim and with daughter Margie for three weeks. When Nancy fell asleep in class one day, the instructor would not let classmates wake her up, telling them, “She’s having a rough time right now, let her sleep. Besides that, she’s carrying an A in the class.” Nancy worked in nursing for 23 years and loved it. She even became the Supervisor of Health Services on the campus at Lock Haven, where she had been a student.
It’s never too late. Nancy was 74 years old when her first book, “Guiding Missal,” was published. It came about because three generations of her husband’s family had served similar military missions. George Panko, her father-in-law, served in the Army as a forward observer during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. He was a lone wolf, calling in strikes from behind enemy lines, equipped with his compass, a paper map, a radio, and his Colt 45 service revolver. George, Jr. was to become her husband. Known as Butch, he joined the Air Force in the 1960s and found himself deciphering top secret information in an underground bunker during the height of the Berlin Crisis. Then in 1992, George and Nancy’s new son-in-law was deployed to Africa, fighting to survive on the streets of war-torn Mogadishu, during what became known as Blackhawk Down. To protect his ongoing career, his name was fictionalized as T.O. Williams.
Each of the three men had carried with him the same prayerbook, My Military Missal, passed down and tucked into a pocket. It is smaller than a deck of playing cards, but mighty in uniting the men and highlighting their willingness to serve. Nancy has the missal mounted in a shadowbox, hanging on the wall. As the little book became tattered through all the combat, it amply represents the dangers of this world, and the faith needed to endure all of life’s trials. Nancy said aloud, “If only you could talk!” and a lightbulb went on in her head. She could write a story from the point of view of the tattered prayerbook that had survived so much.
Take all the free classes available. Nancy had already worked long and hard digging into old military records to have lost medals and badges replaced and grouped with mementos of a papal blessing as a surprise gift to her husband, but, she said, “My writing journey had just begun. I had to learn how to write fiction.” Hence her advice to take all the free classes available. She took classes at Wake Tech, at UNC, and online webinars.
She also joined several writers’ groups, seeking one to help her grow and improve. “My group, NC Scribes, has helped me beyond measure by offering constructive criticism in a loving way.” She calls it “gentle critique,” from which everyone learns. She and a friend went only once to a group where universal approval appeared to be the norm. Encouragement for a novice author is important, but it needs to be sincere.
Hone your craft. “Read good books on writing, such as Strunk and White’s ‘Essentials of Writing,’ which is excellent. Keep learning and keep writing. Editing can happen later; just get it all down on paper. And keep reading. One can’t be a good writer if one doesn’t read. One learns style, character development, point of view, sentence structure, and noun/verb agreement from reading.”
Expect to find mentors. “My first mentor was my friend, neighbor, and fellow author Ellen Kennedy, best known for her Miss Prentice cozy mysteries. She encouraged me in writing my first novel, ‘Guiding Missal,’ and my first story submission to the ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul’ books. Without Ellen’s guidance and editing suggestions, I would not be the writer I am today. My second mentor was the late Wally Turnbull of Torchflame Publishing in Durham, who believed in ‘Guiding Missal’ and took a chance on an unknown author, shepherding me through the publishing process. He did the same with my next novel, ‘Sheltering Angels,’ and with four of my children’s books.”
Never take “No” as an excuse to stop writing. The manuscript of her first novel was returned with a rejection letter and lots of corrections. This happened a second, and then a third time. The corrections were a treasure trove of editing tips. “When the work is rejected, and if one is fortunate enough to find out why, the process of refining, revising, and rewriting continues. Every successful writer has been rejected many times but kept on working to get better. Striving for success is the number one reason that writers must be persistent and willing to be critiqued.”
Nancy’s second book was published in 2020, three years after the first. “‘Sheltering Angels’ was easier to write because I had learned so much about the process, and I was a better writer at that point. I was telling a close friend about another incident in my life, and she said, ‘You should write another story about how angels affect our lives.’ It was easier, until I got to writing about my brother’s death. My editor, a Gold Star mother who had lost her only son in combat, was very helpful with that part. We had deep, meaningful conversations, laced with tears about the grieving process. Those conversations and insights helped me write that deeply emotional section of the book.”
In a lighter vein, Nancy began to publish children’s stories based on animals. Each one has delightful illustrations, a charming tale, and an adult-plus-child activity to work on together. She also has 27 “Chicken Soup” articles to date, as well as “Guideposts” and “Women’s World” magazine articles.
A potpourri of wisdom from Nancy:
Retain all rights to your work. Don’t give up your rights.
The industry has changed from 20 years ago. Don’t expect an editor, nor an advance.
Learn the business end of being an author and understand that you will never get rich from being a writer. There’s only one Tom Clancy or Nicholas Sparks.
Find a hook to begin your plot. Show, don’t tell. Her example from “Charlotte’s Web” is, “Where is Papa going with that ax?”
Bad guys don’t think they’re bad. Nancy helps the reader love the protagonist and hate the villain. She finds it useful to write a sheet about each character that helps determine how they will act.
Enjoy accolades of the craft. “Guiding Missal” won a silver medal for historical fiction. “Sheltering Angels” was a 2021 silver medal winner for literary fiction. There have been other medals, and interviews, and talk shows, and articles. One honor that she treasures is her selection as a book reviewer for the annual book contest of The Military Writers Society of America, which is nationwide. “This gives me a chance to offer constructive criticism to those authors who enter their books in the contest. I love encouraging first-time authors because I remember well what it was like to be one. The help and encouragement I received made me the writer I am today. Becoming a reviewer and adhering to industry standards to judge each book has made me a better writer.”
There are fine opportunities for giving back. Nancy is associated with the Military Missions in Action here in Fuquay-Varina, donating proceeds from online book sales of a compilation of stories from 17 authors, titled “9/11 That Beautiful, Broken Day.” She has been invited to elementary schools in Wake and Harnett counties to read her children’s books to grades 1 through 5. “This is something special that I love to do, having been a pediatric nurse for over twenty years.”
The day I visited Nancy she was preparing for a book signing at a shop she enjoys. The publisher had shipped a full carton of books for the event. Her husband was happy to carry them into the house from the porch. I could see they were used to sharing their successes and their burdens. That comradery is a treasure that is even better for the soul than chicken soup.
Read more about Nancy and her work at nancypanko.com.
