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My special\nguest and I have a fun and exciting conversation about our love of writing\nchildren\u2019s books. Even though today\u2019s episode is audio only for the most part,\nI get so excited to show off a new toy I made, that I forget that I don\u2019t have\nmy camera on, and turn it on for a brief second.so if you\u2019re listening on\nYouTube, please disregard my split second video shot. For those of you\nlistening, I\u2019ll share the picture of the crocheted ice cream I talked about as\npart of the show notes blogpost on my site.\nTONYA DUNCAN\nELLIS\xa0is author of the award-winning, 13-book, SOPHIE\nWASHINGTON children\u2019s chapter series and THEY BUILT ME FOR FREEDOM\n(HarperCollins, Balzer + Bray, 2024). She is a member of the Society of\nChildren\u2019s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), the Authors Guild, and the\nBrown Bookshelf\u2019s Highlights Foundation-sponsored Amplify Black Stories\nstoryteller cohort. Tonya has spoken and taught at writing conferences at the\nHighlights Foundation and for SCBWI in New York City and for SCBWI Houston and\nAustin, TX chapters. A former journalist and freelance magazine writer, she\nholds a BA degree in French from Centre College of Kentucky and an MBA degree\nfrom Washington University in St. Louis. Tonya is represented by Sara Megibow\nof\xa0kt Literary. She\nlives in Houston, Texas and is married with three children.\nThere are 13 books in the\xa0SOPHIE WASHINGTON\xa0chapter\nseries geared toward kids ages 8 to 12. African American preteen Sophie\nWashington and her friends deal with common tween issues like fighting off\nbullies, squabbling with siblings, managing social media and video games,\ngetting schoolwork done, fitting in, and puppy love, with a Texas-twist. Sophie\nlives in the suburbs of Houston, Texas and sees alligators on neighborhood bike\nrides, goes muttin\u2019 bustin\u2019 at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, and\nexperiences flooding and hurricanes, which makes for all kinds of exciting\nadventures. Books in the Sophie Washington series include\xa0Sophie\nWashington: Queen of the Bee, Sophie Washington: The Snitch, Sophie Washington:\nThings You Didn\u2019t Know About Sophie, Sophie Washington: The Gamer,\xa0Sophie\xa0Washington:\xa0Hurricane,\xa0Sophie\nWashington: Mission: Costa Rica, Sophie Washington: Secret Santa,\xa0Sophie\nWashington: Code One,\xa0Sophie Washington: Mismatch,\xa0Sophie\nWashington: My BFF,\xa0Sophie Washington: Class Retreat, Sophie\nWashington: Lemonade Day,\xa0and\xa0Sophie Washington: Treasure\nBeach.\xa0\nConnect with\nTonya at the following links:\nWebsite:\xa0www.tonyaduncanellis.com \nFacebook:\nhttps://www.facebook.com/tonyaellisbooks/\nInstagram:\nhttps://www.instagram.com/tonyaellisbooks/\nYouTube:\nhttps://www.youtube.com/@tonyaellisbooks\n\xa0\n\xa0\nVisit\nwww.everyday-excellence.com and use promo code Inspirational Journeys to get\n10% off any product on the site.\nSubscribe to\nthe 540 Writers Community for free, if you need some writing accountability,\nand you want\xa0 to participate inwriting\nworkshops. Visit:\nhttps://540writerscommunity.com/\nto sign up for\nthe newsletter and search for 540 writers community on Facebook.