Former NHHS student develops successful career as published author

     Although Tracy Banghart might be a renowned young adult author with five published books, she’s still a Maryland girl at heart.

 Banghart’s novels can be found on the shelves on Barnes & Noble as well as many other bookstores. Her books Rebel Wing, By Blood and upcoming novel Grace and Fury plunge the readers into a world of fantasy, science fiction, and romance. All Banghart’s novels are about young girls proving themselves,  especially in her most recent piece.

    “My newest novel, GRACE AND FURY, which comes out in July 2018 from Little, Brown, is about two sisters, Nomi and Serina, who are fighting for their freedom in a world where women have no rights. One sister becomes an unwilling Grace to a cruel prince, and the other must fight for her life in a barbaric prison. They’re desperate to reunite, but in their dangerous, patriarchal world, one wrong move could cost them everything,” said the author.  “I  find writing about girls overcoming obstacles and learning to fight for themselves and respect themselves so inspiring.”     

Though she no longer lives in the area, Banghart commented that she “developed some amazing friendships at North Harford.”  As a student at the Hawks Nest, she took all the English and writing classes she could and she also participated in a creative writing camp through Johns Hopkins. “I appreciated all the encouragement I got from the NHHS teachers…I even started an all-country literary magazine that lasted for a couple years. That was a lot of fun!”  reflected Banghart.

    After her NHHS years Banghart went to Davidson College in North Carolina, where she got her bachelor’s degree in English. While in college she took a lot of creative writing classes encompassing poetry as well as short stories, although she says “I’m sad to report that my poetry writing is still subpar, but my novel writing is going pretty well.”

      The writer currently lives in Hawaii with her husband, young son, and pets. However, she won’t stay there long.  As an army wife, moving is a constant adjustment she needs to make, but Banghart says that she finds the “actual moving and adjustment to a new place difficult, but I love that I get to see so much of the world and experience so many different traditions and cultures.” Her next adventure will be in Kentucky where she will continue to write her novels and cheer on her favorite football team, “Go Ravens!”.