Tag Archives: free books

I, Spy book blast!

If you’ve been on the fence about picking up I, Spy, now’s your big chance: next week, if you purchase I, Spy, you’ll receive 11 other books and samples FREE!

book blast banner

What you have to do

Step 1: Buy the book any day from September 19 to September 22. Any retailer will do!

Step 2: Email me a copy of the receipt (jordan at jordanmccollum.com). Yes, even if you buy the book from my site, I need to know you want to receive the freebies.

Step 3: Wait with bated breath.

What you’re going to get

EVERYONE who participates gets fabulous prizes, including 8 free books and samples from wonderful authors!

The fabulous prizes!

Note that all freebies will be in electronic format. I will try to match the format to the format you bought if you purchased an e-book; if you purchased a print copy, I’ll send the freebies in PDF (unless you specify otherwise).

What if I’ve already bought I, Spy?

First of all, THANK YOU!! If you take a picture of you with your copy of I, Spy (or the cover on your reading device) and post it somewhere I can see it on the Internet—a Facebook post I’d have permissions to view (or maybe on my Facebook page), a Tweet, Flickr, Tumblr, Instagram, sky’s the limit—send me the link and you can have these fabulous prizes too!

So spread the word! The more, the merrier!

TBR Tuesday: Summer Reading

I remember the summer reading programs at the library as a child very vividly. I remember the cardstock 11×17 folders with all the blank lines to fill with the titles of books we read. I remember the lofty goals. I do remember writing down lots of books . . . but I don’t remember actually filling the whole folder, or parties or prizes or much of anything else.

Summer Reading table.I shared my summer reading list with LDS Women’s Book Review, most of which I’ve shared with you already (two down so far!). But today I’m thinking more about my kids’ list.

We’ve done a few library reading programs, but we never seem to be around for the parties at the end of summer. One year the kids got shirts just for signing up, which was cool. But my favorite summer reading program so far is Barnes & Noble’s: kids read eight books and get a ninth one free! My seven-year-old has probably already burned through 8, but we need to keep track of the titles. There are a couple books on the list of free book choices that I know each of my kids would love.

Summer reading assignments? Not so much. (Fortunately, my kids are all too young for those.)

How does your family read during the summer?

Photo by San José Library

Writing events (not just mine!)

Book launch event

You might remember the missing persons case of Susan Cox Powell. Her husband, Josh, was a person of interest in the case, but the police could never find enough evidence to charge him. More than a year after she disappeared, during a custodial visitation, Josh took the lives of their young sons before committing suicide.

Josh’s dark inner life was heavily influenced—perhaps even engineered—by his father. Yet the tragedy might have been avoided. Josh’s sister, Jennifer Graves, grew up in the same household. But her choices led to a very kind of different life: one of faith, hope and happiness.

In her new book, A Light In Dark Places, co-authored with my friend Emily Gray Clawson, Jennifer talks about what it was like to grow up in a household where evil was engineered—and how to break that chain and escape.

That book is out today! Come celebrate tonight at Paradigm High School (11577 S 3600 W, South Jordan, Utah) from 7-9:30 PM. Nathan Osmond and Jessie Clark Funk will both be performing, and proceeds from book sales (and sales at the nearby Wendy’s) will go to the Susan Cox Powell and ChainBreakers Foundations.

(Also, come so I have someone to talk to, mmkay?)

Book blast!

Author Linda Weaver Clarke is celebrating her newest release by offering ten free ebooks to anyone who purchases her new sweet romance, The Rebels Of Cordovia, this week—including Mr. Nice Spy!

Centuries after the legendary Robin Hood, a group of men and women find themselves fighting for the same cause: for their rights, for freedom of speech, and equality. Robin’s Rebels realize they must fight against the tyranny of a wicked king and help the people survive this oppression. In the small country of Cordovia, small groups of rebels begin springing up, but its Robin’s Rebels who get the attention of the king. In this battle for freedom, a tender love story begins to blossom. Daniel, a rogue and a leader of the Freemen, doesn’t realize that the sweet feminine woman he has met and is falling for happens to be the leader of Robin’s Rebels. Realizing the importance of uniting all the rebel groups, Daniel tries to recruit Robin’s Rebels but they refuse. Now he has to find a way to convince them. When he finds out the leader is actually a woman, what will his reaction be?

Here’s how to get your free books!

My next event

I also have an event coming up with my friend Julie Coulter Bellon: our Canada Day Book-e-bration! Next Monday, come celebrate Canada Day with us at the Pleasant Grove City Library, 7-9 PM.

  • Door prizes and drawings
  • Canada fun facts
  • Canada coloring pages
  • Canadian treat samples
  • Canada storytelling

canada day1

TBR Tuesday: Double Crossed

Here’s what I’m reading right now: I’m a big fan of Ally Carter’s two YA series: the Gallagher Girls books, about the adventures of girls in a secret boarding school for teenage spies-in-training, and the Heist Society books, about the adventures of a girl in a family of storied thieves.

And last month, Ally combined the two series in a free novella, Double Crossed!

Macey McHenry—Glamorous society girl or spy-in-training?

W.W. Hale V—Heir to an American dynasty or master thief?

There are two sides to every coin. Whether these two can work together is a tossup.

Born into privilege, Macey and Hale are experts at mingling with the upper class. But even if they’ve never raised an eyebrow at the glitz, neither teenager has ever felt at home with the glamour.

When Macey and Hale meet at a society gala, the party takes a dangerous turn. Suddenly they’re at the center of a hostage situation, and it’s up to them to stop the thugs from becoming hostile. Will Macey’s spy skills and Hale’s con-man ways be enough to outsmart a ruthless gang? Or will they have to seek out the ultimate inside girl to help?

The worlds of Heist Society and the Gallagher Girls collide in Ally Carter’s fast-paced, high-stakes and tantalizing new story. Get a behind the scenes glimpse as Ally delivers an irresistible thriller that is full of her signature style and savvy twists.

The free crossover novella is available in digital formats only (so if you want to read it, pick up a Kindle app for your phone, tablet or computer!)—and it comes out just in time for the third Heist Society novel, Perfect Scoundrels, which releases today! (Uh, yeah, I’m excited.)

The sixth and final book in the Gallagher Girls series will also come out later this year.

What’s on your to-be-read pile? What are you reading now? Any other Ally Carter fans out there?

TBR Tuesday: Free reads!

From time to time, I post freebies on my Facebook page (two this past weekend!) but here are a couple books that are currently free for Kindle. (No Kindle? You can use an app on your smartphone or computer to read them as well!)

My friend CK Bryant is offering Bound, the first book in the Crystor series, for free!

When a photo shoot ends in tragedy, Kira discovers her best friend, Lydia, has been keeping a secret. Knowing the truth, and accepting it, will change Kira’s life forever and thrust her into a world of ancient curses, magical objects, and savage enemies. What happens next will challenge everything Kira knows about her world, herself and the shape-shifting warrior she’s falling in love with. No longer the timid mouse her mother accused her of being, but a woman who finds the mental and physical strength to endure and survive.

BOUND is a heroic tale of true friendship, infinite sacrifice and untamed love.

My take (from Goodreads): “I don’t normally read in this genre, but I found especially the second half of this book really fast moving, and it compelled me to read. The ending hooked me for the sequel, too.”

Broken, the second book of the series is out now, and the third (the conclusion, I believe?), Beloved, is due out soon.


Next up, we’ve got Ali Cross’s Become.

Sixteen-year old Desolation Black wants nothing more than to stay in Hell where it’s cold and lonely and totally predictable. Instead, she’s sent back to Earth where she must face the evil she despises and the good she always feared.

When Desi is forced to embrace her inner demon, she assumes her choice has been made—that she has no hope of being anything other than what her father, Lucifer, has created her to be. What she doesn’t count on, is finding a reason to change—something she’s never had before—a friend.

My take (gack! I’ve never reviewed this anywhere!): I read this book so fast, but I wanted to savor every word. This book is painfully beautiful. It explores a feeling I think we’ve all experienced, feeling like we’re past hope. Desi discovers that she isn’t beyond hope or beyond help, she isn’t useless or extraneous, and that she still has a choice and the power to affect who she is and who she will become.

The other installments in the series, Desolate and Destined, are out now, and Ali recently announced that she’s planning some companion novellas to the series as well.


Do your tastes run more to the classical? Again, I haven’t read this one, but, you know, I’ve seen the movie (from the ’90s) and the musical. Maybe the book actually explains what those students were revolting about.

It’s Les Misérables, in all its 959-page glory!

In case you live under a rock:

Les Misérables apparently holds the Guinness world record for longest musical about a minor parole violation. It tells the utterly pointless tale of an ex-con as he tries to elude a bumbling parole officer for 20 years. . . . The criminal guy, could have just, you know, MOVED OUT OF THE FREAKING CITY IF HE DIDN’T WANT TO BE CAUGHT. Instead this whole game of cat-and-mouse between [Jean Valjean] and [Javert] takes place in one neighborhood. The dumbest criminal of the millennium vs. a law enforcement officer that makes every Leslie Nielsen character look like Sherlock Holmes in comparison.

Oh wait, that’s this hilarious review of the new movie version. They say the book is always better, right?


I also picked up Sarah Eden’s latest Regency romance, Drops of Gold for $3.99 today. I’ve heard such good things; I’m excited!

What do you think? What are you reading? Picked up any good free reads lately? Come join the discussion!