It’s the last day of the blog tour for Spy Noon, and all my cute stories and things are at the last tour stops today:
I Love to Read and Review Books with a review & giveaway!
The Stubby Pencil with Mary Ann Dennis
Spy pickup lines at Tressa’s Wishful Endings, another giveaway and a review!
Thanks to everyone who participated in the blog tour! Back to our regularly scheduled writing programming tomorrow.
Every story borrows something from real life. Spy Noon borrows a little bit from mine. I’ve never had to work with a super-flirty coworker, but I did once know someone who reminded me just a little bit of Elliott.
Once upon a time, a guy asked me out on a date. His name was Ryan. He invited me to go hiking. In November. In the Utah mountains. Not being one to back down from a challenge (or a friend, as Ryan was), I accepted the invitation.
I didn’t own boots (yes, I lived without boots in Utah—still do), so I ended up wearing tennis shoes. Ryan picked me up in his truck, then stopped by his brother’s apartment to pick up . . . his brother Sean. We headed to a sandwich shop, and I think Ryan was offering to get me something, but I’d packed a lunch at home.
It only got better.
We drove up in the canyon and stopped at a recreational area. Ryan, who loved camping, hiking, and all that, was very prepared. Sean had just recently moved to Utah, and yet he was still better prepared for hiking than I was. In the knee-deep snow. In tennis shoes.
Again, I do not back down from a challenge easily, so we went forth. Ryan broke the trail, I walked in his footsteps, and Sean played caboose. After a little while, Ryan was a few feet ahead, and Sean reached up to knock me over sideways.
Apparently still being about nine years old, Sean found this hilarious. I remembered the schoolyard lesson that you should ignore your tormentors, and I wouldn’t let Sean get the best of me, so I popped up as quick as I could.
This delighted Sean to no end because he realized he could bug me without me whining about it. So every ten or twenty feet—while we are still hiking in the snow and snow is slipping into my shoes with every step—Sean would knock me over. I wouldn’t acknowledge him and got up before Ryan saw.
But Ryan knew something was happening with the devilish delight in his little brother’s grin. After a while, we turned back and headed to the car to enjoy our sandwiches. Now that he couldn’t knock me over, Sean found other ways to bother me.
It took a long time, but at some point, I’d had enough of Sean. I don’t remember exactly what he did to push me over the edge, but eventually I’d had enough. He did one more thing to bug me, and I turned to him and said, “Shut up, Sean!”
I think one reason I’d held back for so long was that I was worried I’d offend him, and in the split second after I’d finally had it, I really didn’t know how Sean would react.
But I didn’t need to worry. A slow smile grew across his face, like all he’d wanted all along was to get a rise out of me.
I wished I’d told him to shut up sooner.
But it was then I realized that Sean was the brother I’d never had. And never wanted. (When I told him that, he was a little offended, I think.)
That worked out perfectly in the end—because I married Ryan. (And he did give me permission to post this.)
Oh, and I know you’re wondering: yes, that is my husband in a kilt.
Read the scene inspired by this story at Getting Your Read On, and find out three of my guilty pleasures (gulp) with Lisa Swinton, Queen of Random, and (I think) find out what Cami Checketts thought of Spy Noon!
I’ll be honest: even at 99¢, my novella never sold as well as my novels. (At free, of course, it soundly beats them in numbers.) While lots of people out there are very excited about the apparent revival of shorter or mid-length fiction in the e-reader revolution, I’m still 
skeptical. I wrote my first novella because I wanted to be able to launch with more than one book, and because I wanted to be able to give away a freebie.
Um, that sounds pretty mercenary of me.
It’s worked, however—to an extent. I’ve given away thousands of copies of Mr. Nice Spy. Obviously I don’t know how many of those free books have actually been read, and what fraction of those readers went on to buy my novels, but . . . it hasn’t seemed like a ton have.
So why did I bother writing another novella?
I almost didn’t.
But the story really intrigued me. As soon as I knew what type of circumstances Elliott and Talia met under, I wanted to know the full story. Because it sounded like fun. I desperately needed fun.
So I blocked out some time—crazy short time— and sat down. And the story just flowed.
I’m a plotter by nature, but I went really really loose for this outline. Like, “In chapter 4, we have a chase of some kind. Or not.” And yet with such a short piece, the threads came together really quickly. Within just a few days, I had a really solid first draft—and possibly my best-ever spy plot.
Another advantage? Editing is so fast. You can change major story elements just by editing a few scenes. You can hold the whole story in your head really easily and jump around as needed. Beta readers get back to you super fast. Proofreading takes one morning.
As an indie publisher, I get to set my production schedule, and I set the bar too high last year (and quite possibly again this year). And yet I still managed to squeeze in this story in a day here and a weekend there.
Will I write another novella? I have one more prequel novella bouncing around in my brain, and now I think it really needs to be shared. But only if I can have fun with it 😉 .
What do you think? Have you ever written a novella? Why or why not?
Go visit Jae Randall & Rebecca Shelley!
But before we get to that—AMAZING NEWS.
I know January was filled with all kinds of great news for me, but the end of the month brought the best. The 2013 finalists for the Whitney Awards—prestigious awards for all LDS authors—were announced.
And I, Spy is one of the five Whitney Award finalists for Mystery & Suspense.
And so is Spy for a Spy.
Sometimes it sets in and I get excited and humbled and flattered and thrilled. Most of the time, I’m still just . . . stunned. I worked so so so hard on these books, but still . . . I don’t know how this happened. I’m not entirely convinced it did.
Another fun fact of going up against myself: I have double the chance of winning, yes (if it were statistical, which it isn’t), but no matter who wins . . . I will also lose. Which also means I’m guaranteed the traditional Whitneys loser pie!
Now, somehow, I have to move on from that amazing announcement for another. Spy Noon is here!
We’re celebrating the launch of Spy Noon, a prequel novella to I, Spy! You can also find Spy Noon at the special 99¢ launch discount through Singles Awareness Day (Feb 14) on Amazon, Kobo, Barnes & Noble and JordanMcCollum.com!
It’s the day a significant proportion of the population dreads—a day they are reminded of everything they don’t have—a day that lives in infamy. You may know it as “Valentine’s Day,” but if you’re unattached, a better name might be . . . Singles Awareness Day.
On the other hand, there are worse fates than being alone, even on Valentine’s Day. For example, a totally hot guy you can’t seem to get away from, pursuing you when you’re really not interested—and he can’t take a hint. CIA operative Talia Reynolds doesn’t do romance, but her new coworker doesn’t care.
Canada’s the last place you’d expect to find an American spy, but CIA operative Talia Reynolds has problems piling up higher than a Canadian snowbank. When Elliott Monteith, her ridiculously handsome new coworker, shows up (and shows her up), Talia decides it’s game on. She’ll be the first to track down a dangerous counter-spy, and she’ll give Elliott an unforgettable souvenir of his time in Ottawa: some humble pie.
Her plans don’t work as well as she expects, though. Elliott’s over-the-top flirting dredges up too many painful memories for Talia and undermines the confidence she’s worked hard to regain. To do her job and keep her integrity intact, she’ll have to keep her personal feelings at bay. Now Talia must find a way to work alongside Elliott—and maybe even trust him—to outsmart the enemy.
More about Spy Noon |Â Add Spy Noon to Goodreads!Â
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| I, Spy Book One |
Spy for a Spy Book Two |
Mr. Nice SpyFREE Prequel novella |
| To save her secrets and her country, CIA operative Talia Reynolds must sacrifice the man she loves. | Talia’s new boss is her ex-boyfriend. And that’s the just beginning of her problems. | Elliott Monteith must choose between his fiancée and his fellow spy. Cake. |
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Chronologically, Spy Noon is the first in the series.
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A fast-paced, crisply written story with entertaining plot twists, told in a first person, wryly self-deprecating narrative voice. . . . I, Spy is a well-crafted romantic suspense with humor, heart, and a uniquely engaging heroine.
— Vanessa Kelly, Love Rocks column, BarnesAndNobleReview.com
I knew by the first page that I was going to love [I, Spy]. I absolutely loved Talia’s inner voice. . . . The plot is enjoyable and I loved the action! I really could not guess what was going to happen next. There were so many surprises at the turn of each page, especially during the climax, it didn’t matter what time it was, I had to finish.
— Mindy Holt, LDS Women’s Book Review
One of her top reads of 2013
The series has this great combination of sarcasm and wit in the MC, great chemistry and dialogue between her and her love interest, and then a whole slue of spying, deception, intrigue, and danger. Especially of that last one. . . .
I thoroughly enjoyed [Spy for a Spy]! I would definitely read it again and I am highly anticipating the next book that Jordan McCollum writes! If you enjoy action-adventure, suspense, or books about characters who are spies and some romance, then I would definitely recommend this.
— Tressa, Tressa’s Wishful Endings
An award-winning author, Jordan McCollum can’t resist a story where good defeats evil and true love conquers all. In her day job, she coerces people to do things they don’t want to, elicits information and generally manipulates the people she loves most—she’s a mom.
Jordan holds a degree in American Studies and Linguistics from Brigham Young University. When she catches a spare minute, her hobbies include reading, knitting and music. She lives with her husband and four children in Utah.
Website/Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Email newsletterÂ
Readalot Rhonda + review
Shooting Stars Reviews
Today, my self-publishing nuts-and-bolts column premieres at Janice Hardy’s blog, The Other Side of the Story! Come find out if you’re good enough: evaluating whether you’re ready for self-publishing!
Many thanks to everyone who voted in New LDS Fiction’s 2013 Mystery/Suspense Cover Contest—I, Spy won! And the competition was awesome! Today is the last day to vote for the best cover overall, so go choose your favorite!
I, Spy was reviewed by BarnesandNobleReview.com columnist Vanessa Kelly, and her kind words have kept me dancing for two days! Plus the review was picked up on the Nook blog.
Due to technical difficulties, the linky for the Indie Author Resources Blog Fest malfunctioned. I’ll keep it open a while longer for anyone who tried to participate but couldn’t!
And on to today’s biggest news!
It’s the day a significant proportion of the population dreads—a day they are reminded of everything they don’t have—a day that lives in infamy. You may know it as “Valentine’s Day,” but if you’re unattached, a better name might be . . . Singles Awareness Day.
On the other hand, there are worse fates than being alone, even on Valentine’s Day. For example, a totally hot guy you can’t seem to get away from, pursuing you when you’re really not interested—and he can’t take a hint. CIA operative Talia Reynolds doesn’t do romance, but her new coworker doesn’t care. Spy Noon, an “anti-romance” and a prequel novella to I, Spy, is coming February 3, 2014!
Already know you’re going to read it? Add Spy Noon on Goodreads.
Today, I’m especially excited to reveal the cover and give away an ARC! But first, a little more about the book.
Canada’s the last place you’d expect to find an American spy, but CIA operative Talia Reynolds has problems piling up higher than a Canadian snowbank. When Elliott Monteith, her ridiculously handsome new coworker, shows up (and shows her up), Talia decides it’s game on. She’ll be the first to track down a dangerous counter-spy, and she’ll give Elliott an unforgettable souvenir of his time in Ottawa: some humble pie.
Her plans don’t work as well as she expects, though. Elliott’s over-the-top flirting dredges up too many painful memories for Talia and undermines the confidence she’s worked hard to regain. To do her job and keep her integrity intact, she’ll have to keep her personal feelings at bay. Now Talia must find a way to work alongside Elliott—and maybe even trust him—to outsmart the enemy.
|
|
|
|
| I, Spy Book One |
Spy for a Spy Book Two |
Mr. Nice Spy FREE Prequel novella |
| To save her secrets and her country, CIA operative Talia Reynolds must sacrifice the man she loves. | Talia’s new boss is her ex-boyfriend. And that’s the just beginning of her problems. | Elliott Monteith must choose between his fiancée and his fellow spy. Cake. |
|
Chronologically, Spy Noon is the first in the series.
|
||
A fast-paced, crisply written story with entertaining plot twists, told in a first person, wryly self-deprecating narrative voice. . . . I, Spy is a well-crafted romantic suspense with humor, heart, and a uniquely engaging heroine.
— Vanessa Kelly, Love Rocks column, BarnesAndNobleReview.com
I knew by the first page that I was going to love [I, Spy]. I absolutely loved Talia’s inner voice. . . . The plot is enjoyable and I loved the action! I really could not guess what was going to happen next. There were so many surprises at the turn of each page, especially during the climax, it didn’t matter what time it was, I had to finish.
— Mindy Holt, LDS Women’s Book Review
One of her top reads of 2013
The series has this great combination of sarcasm and wit in the MC, great chemistry and dialogue between her and her love interest, and then a whole slue of spying, deception, intrigue, and danger. Especially of that last one. . . .
I thoroughly enjoyed [Spy for a Spy]! I would definitely read it again and I am highly anticipating the next book that Jordan McCollum writes! If you enjoy action-adventure, suspense, or books about characters who are spies and some romance, then I would definitely recommend this.
— Tressa, Tressa’s Wishful Endings
Enter to win an electronic Advance Reader Copy of Spy Noon!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
An award-winning author, Jordan McCollum can’t resist a story where good defeats evil and true love conquers all. In her day job, she coerces people to do things they don’t want to, elicits information and generally manipulates the people she loves most—she’s a mom.
Jordan holds a degree in American Studies and Linguistics from Brigham Young University. When she catches a spare minute, her hobbies include reading, knitting and music. She lives with her husband and four children in Utah.
Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Email newsletter
Add Spy Noon on Goodreads today!
Many thanks to everyone helping out with the cover reveal today: Mindy Holt, Tressa’s Wishful Endings, Julie Coulter Bellon & Emily Gray Clawson!
