Tag Archives: spy fiction

News & Contests

Win a mini spy kit!

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If you missed it in my last huge post, Julie Coulter Bellon and I celebrating our new releases by hosting a Facebook & Twitter party on Tuesday (tons of prizes!), and a giveaway on our blogs. In our blog giveaway, we’re giving away our books, but also some cool gifts! Julie’s offering a book lover’s basket with a handmade lap blanket, Canadian chocolate and one of my hostage books your choice!

I’m giving away the “spy-on-the-fly” kit. What’s this? It’s a kit of small things that would come in handy for spies (and also non-spies, because nobody needs junk just sitting around their house). Check it out:

spy kit

Top row, left to right:

  • Zebra print zippered bag. Always stylin’.
  • Nonslip shoe pads. Normally, these go inside your shoes, but if you put them on the bottom of the soles, you can creep around quietly!
  • Electronic cleaning cloths. Get rid of your incriminating fingerprints.
  • Dual function mini flashlight. This tiny keyring flashlight doubles as a laser pointer. If you’re really in a pinch, it could even be a laser sight for your gun. (Not really; don’t even try that; it won’t work.)

Bottom row, left to right:

  • USB drive concealment. It’s not invisible, but it’s pretty darn good: carry (hide) up to four USB drives easily!
  • Window alarm. Protect your spy lair with an alarm that sounds when your window is opened!
  • Super glue. For breaking and entering without actually breaking.

Not pictured:

  • Quick disguise kit. Give your pursuers the slip with a quick change. (The winner can specify a favorite color, and I’ll see what I can come up with

Retail value: can you put a price on your life?!

How to win


Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway! Be sure to join me and Julie on Facebook & Twitter for more fun and prizes on Tuesday!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Works, News & Contests

Announcing Spy for a Spy!

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That’s right! I’ve got another novel coming up! The sequel to I, Spy will be released (I hope) November 12, 2013 (11-12-13!)

Already know you want to read it? Add Spy for a Spy on Goodreads.

Today, I’m especially excited to reveal my cover! But first, a little more about the book.

About the Book

Canada is probably the last place you’d expect to find an American spy. And it was the last place CIA operative Talia Reynolds expected to run into fellow operative Brand Copley. AKA her new boss. AKA her ex-boyfriend.

Just the guy every woman wants to face in the middle of planning her wedding. Once again, Talia’s lying to the man she loves, but this time, to protect his heart.

After Brand takes over Talia’s latest case and steals her newest agent, he assigns her to spy on her old boss—who’s suddenly giving her every reason not to trust him. With only weeks until the big day, planning falls by the wayside as she goes into damage control mode. But when Talia discovers Brand’s real motives, fighting him is the only option, no matter what the personal and professional cost.

And now for the cover!

SpyForSpy_CVR_LRG

More about Spy for a Spy | Add Spy for a Spy to Goodreads!
Join my mailing list for sneak peeks & a chance to get a review copy!

Advance praise

Spy for a Spy is the perfect followup to McCollum’s exciting debut, I, Spy. With more tension, more romance and higher stakes than ever, Talia’s story won’t let you go until you’ve come to the heart-stopping, surprising conclusion. Such a fun read!

— Emily Gray Clawson, author of A Way Back to You

 

 

Jordan McCollum’s talent for first person present tense narrative puts the reader in the driver’s seat for heart-pounding action in Spy for a Spy. . . . Talia is back along with her fiancé Danny, and many of the same great characters from I, Spy. We also meet a man from Talia’s past, a high ranking CIA operative with secrets that threaten the U.S. . . . This novel is a perfect blend of danger, intrigue, romance and even a little of the LDS religon. It is a great read the whole way through.

— Becki Clayson

 

 

Spy for a Spy is a story threaded with an unforgettable main character, high stakes espionage, and a case of wedding jitters that would try the patience of any groom. McCollum deftly keeps us on a tightrope of page-turning suspense balanced with witty romance that will not let you down. A great follow-up to I, Spy, and one you don’t want to miss!

— Julie Coulter Bellon, author of Ashes Ashes

 

Check back tomorrow for your first chance to get a sneak preview!

Confetti!

Many thanks to all those helping with the cover reveal today, including Laura at Colorimetry, Tressa’s Wishful Endings, Canda Mortensen’s InkBlast, Donna K. Weaver: Weaving a tale or two, Danyelle Ferguson: Queen of the Clan, RaShelle Workman, Christy Dorrity, Kathleen Brebes and Lisa Swinton!

In conjunction with the cover reveal, Laura at Colorimetry is holding a giveaway for a free e-copy of I, Spy!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Works, News & Contests

Announcing Mr. Nice Spy!

Yep, that’s right—I’m debuting another book! Mr. Nice Spy is a prequel novella to I, Spy, and it will be available in eBook format only. Join my mailing list for a chance to get a review copy!

About the novella

Canada is probably the last place you’d expect to find an American spy. CIA operative Elliott Monteith has made it work, just like he’s made things work with his longtime fiancée Shanna. Until Shanna lays out an ultimatum: move forward or move on. Meanwhile, Elliott and his best friend and fellow operative, Talia Reynolds, try to track an elusive leak at the American embassy.

But something changes between Elliott and Talia as they close in on the man selling out his country. Professional and personal lines blur and Elliott has to choose—his fiancée or his best friend.

Read an excerpt from Mr. Nice Spy

And now for the cover!

MrNiceSpy_CVR_LRG

More about Mr. Nice Spy
Join my mailing list for a chance to get a review copy!

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News & Contests, Works

Announcing I, Spy!

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My first novel is coming June 5, 2013!

Yes, I’m excited to announce that my first novel will be published in just a few short weeks. (In fact, keep your eyes peeled—it may be available early!) If you already want to read it, please add I, Spy on Goodreads.

Today, I’m especially excited to reveal my cover! But first, a little more about the book.

About the Book

Canada is probably the last place you’d expect to find an American spy. But even idyllic Ottawa has its deadly secrets—and so does CIA operative Talia Reynolds. She can climb through ventilation shafts, blend in at the occasional diplomatic function, even scale buildings (small ones). But there’s one thing she can’t do: tell her aerospace engineer boyfriend Danny about her Top Secret occupation.

It worked for a year, keeping Danny in the dark, keeping him away from danger, keeping her secrets. And then Talia finally catches a hot case: Fyodor Timofeyev. Russian. Aerospace executive. Possible spy?

She can make this work, too—until Danny needs her at the same time her country does. And when Fyodor targets Danny? Suddenly her schedule isn’t the only thing suffering. Now to save her secrets and her country, Talia must sacrifice the man she loves.

Read an excerpt from the first chapter

And now for the cover!

More about I, Spy | Add I, Spy to your Goodreads to-read list!
Join my mailing list for a chance to get a review copy!

Advance praise

Okay, I’ll admit it. I’m completely biased about this book. 🙂 I loved, loved, LOVED the TV show Alias, and this story follows in Sydney Bristow’s footsteps. Like the Alias TV show, I, Spy features a fantastic, likeable spy heroine who’s trying to juggle her personal life with her work life. Talia Reynolds struggles with doing the right thing while under pressure to catch the bad guys.

The edge-of-my-seat undercover operations kept me turning pages, and just when I thought the story would go one way, plot twists sent it down another path. Thrilling, adventurous, and romantic, this book has it all for an Alias fan.

— Jami Gold, award-winning author

 

 

Jordan McCollum’s debut novel is a delightful combination of mystery, action, and romance. Talia’s CIA training and almost OCD caution feed her quirky humor while exposing her very human fears and insecurities. Add in her boyfriend Danny, and it’s enough to twist your heart.

— Donna K. Weaver, author of A Change of Plans

 

 

Clever, suspenseful, and charged with political intrigue and romance, I, Spy is the perfect combination for a fun and captivating read!

— Michelle Davidson Argyle, author of Monarch

 

Read an excerpt from the first chapter

More about I, Spy | Add I, Spy on Goodreads today!
Join my mailing list for a chance to get a review copy!

Many thanks to everyone helping out with this cover reveal: Michelle Davidson Argyle, Deana Barnhart, Julie Coulter Bellon, Stephanie Black, Emily Gray Clawson, Heather Justesen and Donna K. Weaver.

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Reading

TBR Tuesday: Bond. James Bond.

Sometimes it’s easy to forget that fiction’s most famous spy started out on the page and not the silver screen. Although Ian Fleming’s books were bestsellers in the 1950s and 1960s, and remain in print, James Bond is probably better known to most through the two dozen major motion pictures starring the likes of Sean Connery, Roger Moore and now Daniel Craig.

While I like spies in fiction, most of the Bond films are a little too campy for my tastes, so naturally I wasn’t very interested in reading Fleming’s novels. But not all of the Bond books are like the movies—in fact, the one I’ve read was nothing like the films.

oatld

The fourteenth and final Bond novel by Fleming, Octopussy and The Living Daylights is actually a collection of several shorter works: “Octopussy,” “The Living Daylights” (surprise surprise), and in later versions, “Portrait of a Lady,” and “007 in New York.”

You’re probably thinking of these right now:


 

Yeah, not so much. Instead of the big show-stopping set pieces, stunts, gadgets, explosives and womanizing we’ve come to expect from the films, these stories show a different side of espionage—and Bond himself. In “Octopussy,” Bond is actually the story’s antagonist (though not the villain)—it’s about a British major retired to Jamaica. And it features a real octopus—but not a beautiful jewel smuggler in sight. However, “Portrait of a Lady” is about the Faberge auction featured in the movie version of Octopussy.

“The Living Daylights” is related to the movie of the same name: the short story describes the events of the film’s “action prologue“ (you know, the cellist-sniper and shooting the rifle out of her hands). However, it presents a Bond that’s a heck of a lot closer to Daniel Craig’s disaffected portrayal than any of his predecessors’.

“007 in New York” . . . was kind of forgettable. A little reminiscent of the end of Quantum of Solace, plot-wise, I guess.

In all, if you’re more into the spy side than the spectacle of Bond, you’d probably like this quick read. (In fact . . . I kind of read the paperback copy my mom sent for my brother-in-law while I was supposed to be wrapping it up for him. Yeah.)

What do you think? Do you like Bond? Ever read the novels? Who are your favorite fictional spies? Come share!

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