Writer. Published author. Housecleaner.

Although Nancy Peacock quit cleaning houses about a year and a half ago, her experience as a housecleaner remains undeniably a part of her. It was her primary means of supporting herself for 15 years, even after she had published her first, acclaimed novel, "Life Without Water."

Peacock's latest book, "A Broom of One's Own: Words on Writing, Housecleaning, and Life," released last month, is a memoir of her dual life.

She said she would "go from a literary event to scrubbing toilets the next day."

The book is an often humorous look at the clients whose houses she cleaned, why she chose to be a housecleaner rather than anything else, and how she came to understand herself better through leading the author-housecleaner double life.

Peacock relates in the new book that when she told people what she did for a living, they often would act embarrassed for her. And then she would start to feel embarrassment for herself.

"[Housecleaning] was difficult trying to hide and shove under the rug, so to speak," she said. "I wanted to be who I am wherever I went."

In the book, she refers to other people's notions that she should have been a full-time writer: "'Writing is more important,' I was told. Usually the speaker said this very slowly, to make sure I got it. 'You need to give it your all. Don't hold back.'

"I guess they thought I was conflicted. That I couldn't decide between being a writer or being a maid. But I wasn't holding back. In fact, it was the opposite, because I knew if I held back a payment to the power company, they held back my electricity. It was the same with gas, phone, car insurance, and rent. Unfortunately, this was the arrangement I had made with all of them."

"I think every memoir is a little bit about wanting everyone know who you are," Peacock said.

Peacock wasn't always a housecleaner; she had worked at lots of different jobs: bartender, carpenter, locksmith, costumer, baker, waitress, assistant drum maker and newspaper deliverer. But none of them offered the solitude that housecleaning did -- and she needed solitude in order to be productive in the writing process.

"It gave me a lot of room for my unconscious mind to kick in," she said. "A lot of solitude, a lot of time to think about my writing."

Retail or other customer service work requires dealing with the public all day. Housecleaning, on the other hand, gave her ample opportunity to ponder her writing projects while she worked. She had flexibility and autonomy, which she liked. She had the freedom to drop clients she didn't like and look for other ones. And it was a job she could leave at work.

"I think, in a lot of ways, this book is about work and maintaining your sense of self while working," Peacock said. "Jobs can be brutal, and that's true across the board."

Writing the book was a healing process for her, she explained, because there were times when she resented housework. The book grew out of journal entries she had written about her emotions and experiences during her housecleaning phase. Once she was able to see the humor in it, she came to understand the value and irony in juggling her two professions.

Peacock, who lives in Chatham County, began leading a writing group in 2003. Since then, she's been teaching writing classes and leading other writers groups. As she grew more involved with that part of her life, she scaled back the housecleaning and eventually stopped altogether.

Now, with "A Broom of One's Own" published, she said she feels less ashamed and less secretive about what she did to survive as a struggling writer.

"It feels great to go out and have people know who I am, and not plump the pillows on other people's couches," Peacock said. "Through writing it, I realized my work as housecleaning and writing worked well together. Working hard is never a bad thing. You know, just working hard and paying your bills -- there's nothing shameful about that."

"It's not even a bad thing to hold a job you don't like," she said. "It's the difference between paying your bills and staying out of debt."