An award-winning author, Jordan McCollum can’t resist a story where good defeats evil and true love conquers all. I believe that fiction can entertain and change lives. I believe in real characters who grow and change. I write stories about love, lies, secrets and sometimes spies. I help writers craft their fiction to make their stories and their prose more engaging. I want to make the world a brighter place one story at a time. I tell the stories that I want to hear, and I share them because I’m passionate about them!

My first series is about CIA operative Talia Reynolds and her boyfriend, who doesn’t know she’s a spy. I, Spy; Spy for a Spy; Tomorrow We Spy; and prequel novel Spy by Night were all named Whitney Award Finalists. In 2015, I started a new series with my long-awaited Saints & Spies. Over my decade of publishing, I’ve put out thirty-three books under four names. Keep up with my publication schedule by joining my readers group—and get a free novella!

In addition to fiction, I love teaching and writing about writing. I have nonfiction books out on Character Arcs, Character Sympathy, and Character Depth. I served as the inaugural Education Director for Authors Incognito (now Storymakers Tribe), an online writers’ community, coordinating and teaching monthly writing classes for our 400+ members, plus occasional workshops and insane-goal-achieving drives. At writers conferences, I’ve taught (packed, much to my surprise) classes on character arcs, gesture crutches, structural self-editing and more. I also offer online writing courses through my site, so be sure to join my writers newsletter to hear about them before they fill up!

In my day job, I coerce people to do things they don’t want to, elicit information and generally manipulate the people I love most—I’m a mom (and I work in marketing, kind of the same thing). I hold a bachelor degree in American studies and linguistics, as well as a Master of Fine Arts in Writing. I’m also a Certified Teacher in the Enneagram Spectrum Method. When I catch a spare minute amidst being a wife, mother and writer, my hobbies include reading, blogging, knitting, and mysteries. I have five children, play five instruments and have studied eight languages.