Category: Harry Potter

WALLFLOWER Release Day!

Yay, yay, yay!!!! It’s finally here, you guys!

Book baby #7 is now out in the world!

Happy Release Day to WALLFLOWER!!! <3

The cover and book still make me smile/sigh.

I hope WALLFLOWER gives you the warm fuzzies, too! I loved every second of writing this story. Oh, I hope people can see a bit of themselves in introverted, hopeless romantic Viola. She’s also a dog, movie and Harry Potter lover. Totally a girl after my own heart lol. And Dare. Gah! I am so in love with him. He’s confident, popular, a talented athlete–but it’s his thoughtfulness, awesome sense of humor, and his sincerity that I hope will win readers’ hearts. He definitely won mine :).

If you love YA romance, fake boyfriends, dogs, dorks, jocks, swoon-worthy kisses and laughing out loud, I hope you’ll give WALLFLOWER a try! This is my 7th book, you guys! And yes, one of those was a novella. But still! There are seven books in the Harry Potter series. So that must be a good sign, right???

Ah, I can’t believe it!

WALLFLOWER is now available!

May the Force, Harry Potter and all the good juju in the world be will you little book! I hope you bring anyone who reads you so much joy and love!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

Friday Feels

Hi everyone!

I know I haven’t posted in a while–which is crazy since I have a new release that I should be promoting the heck out of lol. Speaking of which, have you checked out The Good Girl’s Guide to Being Bad? I hear it’s a good read if you need to laugh/swoon :).

But back to why I haven’t posted.

It’s all the feels, you guys.

*****Warning: This post is a bit heavy–but there’s brightness at the end. Just skip down to the part after the ******.

There’s been a lot to process. Last week, for the first time, I resigned from one of my jobs. It wasn’t an easy decision. I’m a dance teacher who works with kids, have taught and watched them grow up for several years, and I really do love them. So telling them, making it real, nearly broke my heart.

(And my heart wasn’t whole to begin with, so this was another crack in the foundation.)

People have called me “softhearted,” and though I don’t see it, I do feel things deeply. Always have. I get attached. Loyalty means a lot to me. And in life, I am never the one to leave first.

Anyway, it took a lot to make me want to leave and think that would be the best option. Next week will be my last official class. I’m trying to stay positive, and I’ll still be teaching elsewhere–but man, I will miss the kids.

*****If you’ve been reading for the brightness, here it is.*****

I decided to be like Sadie in TGGGTBB and submitted one of my pieces to a choreography competition that I’ve long wanted to enter! Eep!

Self-doubt and low self-esteem have always held me back. But as I get older, I’ve realized that “winning” doesn’t come from someone else’s opinion.

You don’t need anyone else to validate you.

You can validate yourself.

And you should!

In fact, I wrote a guest post mentioning it on The YA Book Traveler Blog here! 🙂

Seriously, though, it’s taken me so long to understand this. Sadie, my character, got there before I did lol–which I know means it must’ve been inside me all along. But wow, you guys!

You have the power to validate yourself, your dreams and your worth.

Sidenote: There’s basically zero chance my piece will be selected for the final round of competition–but that’s not the point. By entering, by conquering that fear, I feel like I already won.

Hope you are well, and I wish you all the best!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

P.S. The Good Girl’s Guide to Being Bad was #1 on Amazon in one of its categories!!! And it’s next to J.K. Rowling! Woohoo, and thank you so much, bookworms! <3

ADORKABLE Audiobook Giveaway :)

As promised, it’s time for a giveaway!

ICYMI, the ADORKABLE audiobook came out last week!  That is definitely something worth celebrating, and I can’t think of a better way to to do that than to hold a giveaway to thank all of you awesome readers :).

The giveaway will run from today until midnight on July 20, 2018.  The prizes are: 5 ADORKABLE audiobooks and a $10 Amazon gift card.  That means there will be 6 winners!  I remembered to include a free entry (finally lol, I’ve been meaning to do that for all of them!), and there are other ways you can enter as well (such as commenting on this post ;)).  Just use the rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I also wanted to share this screenshot that made me smile.

Okay, so did anyone else notice all of the Harry Potter goodness going on in that picture???  Since ADORKABLE is now available on iTunes, when I click on the “related” tab, I am instantly transported to Hogwarts lol!  How freaking awesome is that?  I’m sure it’s because the HP books are the bestselling YA/kids audiobooks and are therefore related to everything, but it’s still cool.  I loved seeing that–and you know Sally would’ve loved it, too!

Good luck everyone on the giveaway, and I hope you are having an awesome summer!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

 

Tis The Season

It’s two days before Christmas.  I’m finally done shopping–thank goodness!–and now I can slow down and just rest for a bit :).

One of my good friends (one of my only friends lol.  Thanks, Nina!) got me the little mystery box pictured below.

I’ve gotta admit: I was way too excited about what was in there.  Harry Potter lovers, you feel me on this, right?  It could be anything.  A thestral, dragon, pixie, owl, a Neville or *gasp* a Snape <3.  The mystery is the best part, so if you know any HP fans, I would definitely recommend!

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So, what you ask was in the box???

 

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A mini Harry Potter!!!!!  Awww, isn’t he just the cutest?  He is totally adorkable with his sorting hat and glasses <3.

Mini Mr. Potter definitely brightened my day, and I just wanted to say: Happy Holidays to all of you!  And if you’re someone who struggles through this time of year, I hope you know that you are not alone.  It can be hard, and I’m right there with you.  But I hope you find a bit of magic this holiday season, something to make it wonderful.  Merry Christmas, my lovely readers, I wish you only the best books and all of the best times with those you love!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

Just 2 Days!

Just a reminder: The NINJA GIRL paperback will be released on Thursday, December 14, 2017!!!

That’s this week, you guys, in just 2 days–or 1 depending on when you read this post.

Also…I knew it would look awesome on my shelf.  Le sigh <3 <3 <3.

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Of course, Mr. Potter approves ;).

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I hope you are all well and that your shelves are gorgeous and overflowing with amazing books!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

P.S. Oh my goodness, I really can’t believe NINJA GIRL is coming out in paperback this Thursday!!!!!  So, so excited!

Happy Birthday, Harry Potter!

It’s July 31st, and every muggle knows this is a very important day!

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Today, Harry James Potter was born.  The boy-who-lived came into the world; the lightning bolt symbol gained a whole new meaning; and love stood up against evil…and won.  These books changed my life.  They made me want to read.  7 books, a golden trio, a boy living in a cupboard under the stairs of number four Privet Drive, a school called Hogwarts that felt like home, and the amazing woman who created them all.  I can say with complete honesty that I wouldn’t have become a voracious book lover–or a writer, for that matter–without her or her magical world.

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So Mister Potter, I’d like to wish you and your lovely creator, J.K. Rowling, the happiest of happy birthdays!!!  Thank you for the books, the characters and the magic!

Happy reading (and Happy Birthday, Harry Potter!),

Cookie O’Gorman

P.S. My ADORKABLE character Sally would totally be celebrating this day with a party, cake, butter beer, chocolate frogs, Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans , the works!  She’d probably even have everyone (Becks, Hooker, Ash, Snow, all the parents and the Kent brothers) over for an HP movie marathon.  I have to work, but I will definitely be rocking my Snape/Lily earrings! 🙂  Also, I’ll have a giveaway coming up, so be on the lookout for that.  I hope you have a great day, my fellow muggles!

Never Give Up

Warning: This post may come off as a little kumbaya at times, jaded at others, but I always try to stay positive.  Here, I tried to keep it real.  You have been warned.

My favorite books are the ones where the hero wins in the end.

I mean, seriously, does that surprise you?  I wrote a book called ADORKABLE for crying out loud!

The girl gets her guy.  Good triumphs over evil.  The world is going to crap, crashing down all around us, but somehow…the dog lives in the end.

That is what I think makes a great story.

The difference between the younger books I read versus the adult books is that in YA and children’s books there is an innocence but, within that, a definitive sense of right and wrong.

Young adults read books like Harry Potter.  They grow up on these books.  They devour the pages and breathe the words in like oxygen.  Some may call it naive, but young people read books like Harry Potter, and they just know Voldemort will lose in the end.  They see someone who stands for hate and racism, a man who surrounds himself with deatheaters who want to get rid of all the “mudbloods” to keep the magical race “pure,” and they know, without a shadow of a doubt, that that.is.wrong.

They believe in the wisdom found inside HP’s magical pages like, “If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals,” and “We’ve all got both light and dark inside us.  What matters is the part we choose to act on.  That’s who we really are.”  Whether they remember the quote or not, young people absorb the meaning and truth of these words.

They see good people like Harry, Ron, and Hermione fighting back, doing all they can to keep us from returning to the dark ages, and they cheer them on.  They want the good guys to win.  They want the bad guys to lose.  It’s that simple.

Because really, how could we get to the end of book 7 of this best-series-in-the-entire-world only to find out that…Voldemort wins???

No.  Young people would never stand for it, readers would revolt, and a great author like J.K. Rowling would never let that happen.

This is one of the reasons I love YA and children’s books.  The worlds in these books, however bleak, are often full of hope.  Things may sometimes seem hopeless…but then you realize that you still have about 100 more pages left to read, and you know, you just know, that things will turn around.  The promise of a happy ending drives us to keep reading, keep hoping, to never give up.

I wish the world was more like the books I love so much.  (Although not The Hunger Games.  That would be pretty messed up.)

I think the world needs more hope and less hate.  More happy endings and less tragedies.  More heroines and less bad guys.

I’ve got to be honest with you.  Right now, I don’t see a whole lot of light.  There is darkness everywhere.  I’m not giving up, and I don’t think anyone who feels like I do should either.  But my faith in people has been shaken.  I do not know how people could dismiss a man’s despicable actions, hateful words and beliefs and support him anyway.  I just…don’t.

So that’s where I am.  To try and end on a positive, I’ll leave you with some words said by a smart man, created by the mind of an even smarter woman:

“Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.”–J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

The next blog post will be lighter, I promise.  Hope everyone has a great week.

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

 

We have a winner…and a Gryffindor :)

At midnight, a winner was randomly chosen for the ADORKABLE 3 Month Anniversary Giveaway!!!

And…

her name is…

Natasha!!!

Huge congratulations to Natasha, and thank you to everyone who entered.  There were quite a few entries, and again, just thank you so much for helping me celebrate ADORKABLE.  It really made the three month anniversary special :-).

Also, I went to Hogwarts and was sorted!  Okay, so I didn’t really go to Hogwarts, but I did join Pottermore.  I took the test–unfortunately, there was no sorting hat.  I answered all of the questions as honestly as possible, without any expectations.  Not going to lie, some of the questions were pretty deep and took a lot of thought.

But now, I can officially say: I am a Gryffindor.

My main character Sally would be so proud lol!  It came as somewhat of a surprise but a very welcome one :).  Go Gryffindor!

In writing news, I have been working on getting everything ready for the print version of ADORKABLE as well as editing Ash’s book.  More on that later, but in case you were wondering what I’ve been working on, there you go.  Hope you have a great weekend!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

Pottermore

Full disclosure: I have taken several Harry Potter quizzes (ones to determine: the house I would be in, which HP character I am, what my patronus is, what I would teach if I was a teacher at Hogwarts etc.).  BUT I have yet to actually go onto J.K. Rowling’s official site, Pottermore, and be sorted.

I know!  It’s crazy, and I can’t, absolutely cannot, believe I’ve waited this long!

And now, apparently there is an American wizarding school :-D.

My goal for this weekend (one of many, but an important one!) is to finally find out which house I will be sorted into.

Hogwarts

From past quizzes, I’m fully expecting a Hufflepuff-ian outcome–but maybe not.  I’ve always considered myself more of a Gryffindor, but heck, I love books and reading.  Ravenclaw qualities, but Hermione loved those things, too, and she ended up in Gryffindor.  Severus Snape was my favorite HP character.  Hands down.  Always.  So maybe, I’m actually Slytherin at heart?  Though I also loved Neville and Harry, Ron and Hermione, of course.  Oh, and Luna!  Something also draws me to the Malfoys–I’m pretty sure it’s the hair lol!

Anyway, the point is I really don’t know what the sorting hat will say.

I will also be taking the quiz for the American wizarding school, Ilvermorny.  But let’s just be honest, Hogwarts is really the thing!  I also can’t wait to find out what my wand will be made of.  Yes, I am completely letting my geek flag/Harry Potter fangirl side have free reign right now lol!

I’m nervous and excited to see where I end up.  I mean, it’s Hogwarts!!!

Have you been sorted?  Did you get the house you thought you would?

Hope you have a great weekend, and I’ll let you know how everything goes :).

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

P.S. ADORKABLE was #1 in Germany and Canada this week in one of its categories!  Huzzah!

P.P.S.  There’s still time to enter the ADORKABLE 3 Month Anniversary Giveaway!  You can enter here.  Good luck!

The ADORKABLE Challenge

Gryffindor jersey

Yes, that’s me in my Gryffindor jersey and Lily & Snape earrings <3.  The Adorkable Book Blitz is this week, and with the posts, you’ll notice a special giveaway!!!  The ADORKABLE Challenge is a go, and I hope you all enter for a chance to win!

I wanted to do something special and fun to celebrate the release of my debut novel ADORKABLE.  Since the book is all about the dorky, the awkward, and embracing your inner-nerd, I came up with the ADORKABLE Challenge!

Here’s how it works:

1) Take a picture of yourself being adorkable.

2) Post that picture on social media (facebook, twitter, instagram etc.) with the hashtag #AdorkableChallenge.

3) Enter the link to your picture in the Rafflecopter and earn as many extra entries as you can.

4) Sit back and relax while 4 adorably dorky winners are randomly chosen :).

3 winning runners up will each receive: $10 Amazon gift card.

The ADORKABLE Challenge Champion will receive: $50 Amazon gift card.

And that’s it!  If you’re adorkable and you know it, this is your time to shine.  I can’t wait to check out all of your pictures.  Now, show me your ADORKABLE!

Cookie O’Gorman