About Tonya

Tonya Preece writes romance and contemporary young adult fiction and incorporates music into all her books in one way or another. She lives near Austin, TX where she’s a small business manager for a forensic engineering firm. She and her husband enjoy traveling, live music, wine, and spoiling their fur babies.

As an active SCBWI member since 2015, Tonya has volunteered for several conferences, and has served as a critique group facilitator. She joined Writer’s League of Texas and The Author’s Guild in 2021. She serves as the WriteOnCon Financial Administrator and Critique Boutique Coordinator.

Tonya’s 2022 debut, Whiskey on Our Shoes, was selected for the 2019 #WriteMentor program. One of her YA novels, THE MISSING MEMORIES OF CORDY O’REILLY, earned her a 2020 scholarship/mentorship with Austin SCBWI and was a finalist at the 2018 Houston SCBWI conference. 

An avid consumer of written stories, Tonya reads and/or listens to an average of 75 books a year. Some of her favorite YA authors include Jeff Zentner, Julie Buxbaum, Sarah Dessen, and Robin Benway. In adult romance – Kate Clayborn, Christina Lauren, Helena Hunting, Emily Henry, and Abby Jimenez. Series she tries to keep up to date on: Rhys Bowen’s Royal Spyness and Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum. Mainstream faves are Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens and Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid.

Sam Bond Photography

Five Fun Facts about Tonya that aren’t reading or writing related:

  1. She volunteers at a local food pantry, where she’s enjoyed serving weekly since 2017.
  2. Her travel bucket list includes Italy, Ireland, and Bora Bora. Australia would be awesome, too!
  3. She loves ziplining, indoor skydiving, and rollercoasters.
  4. She’s a fan of bands like With Confidence, Broadside, All Time Low, State Champs, Sleeping with Sirens, and As It Is. 
  5. In her free time, she can be found indulging a jigsaw puzzle habit and/or binging shows like Outer Banks, Never Have I Ever, Downton Abbey, Bridgerton, Good Girls, Veronica Mars, and iZombie.

Broadside at Warped Tour, Nashville 2018