Category: giveaway

5 Things: I’m Thankful For

Hi everyone!

It’s been a while since I’ve done a “5 Things” post. I love these for several reasons: first, lists rock; second, they help me focus; third, I ramble sometimes (like now), but when you limit yourself to five, there’s only so much rambling that can happen lol.

So, just in time for Thanksgiving, here is my list of “5 Things: I’m Thankful For.”

  1. Family. I usually save this one for last because I think it’s the most important. Today and always in my mind, it’s #1. I don’t have a large family, but the one I have is amazing. I love them so much. I’m so very thankful for their love, support, and friendship.
  2. Good health. People (myself included) sometimes take it for granted. But I’m so grateful for my health and that of those I love. Good health is something I wish for everyone. When I say “I hope you’re doing well,” I really mean it. A couple days ago, I got my booster vaccine, and though shots make me nervous, I am so thankful. I want to protect other people from getting sick. I pray and hope we can get out of this pandemic. Oh, I hope, I hope, I hope.
  3. Taylor Swift & Traveling Videos. Okay, so this one is a little different lol. I’ve been struggling, and I found some solace in Taylor Swift’s music (particularly the song “Evermore” which spoke to me on a very deep level during the crappy time) and short video reels of Edinburgh, Scotland, and Paris set to somber, moody music. It’s the little things ha.
  4. Dogs, Books & Movies. Because they truly make life, the world, and the bad days better.
  5. My readers. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: My readers are the best. Truly. The. Best. During my low times, they lift me up. They send the kindest messages of encouragement. They give my books and characters so much love. Just knowing anyone reads my books is still such a surprise–a very nice, unexpected, amazing surprise. My readers are wonderful, and I am so thankful for each and every one of them <3.

And those are my 5 Things!

To say thank you and because the CUPCAKE audiobook comes out today, yayyy, I’ve included a link to a giveaway below! The are 5 copies, so there will be 5 winners! You can enter here!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck, everyone!

Happy CUPCAKE Audiobook Release Day!!!

I hope you’re all well, and I hope you have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

CUPCAKE Goodreads Giveaway

Can you believe it’s October already? Gah, I can’t. September was a busy month which is why I haven’t posted in a while. But there’s so much I want to share with you guys!

Today, I have an awesome giveaway for you!

Entangled is doing a Goodreads giveaway to win a paperback copy of my upcoming YA romance CUPCAKE!!! It ends on November 1st, and there will be 5 winners! Hooray!

Here is the link if you’d like to enter!

Good luck, bookworms!!!

I’ll also be doing a giveaway closer to the release date which is on November 2nd.

Yes, you read that right.

CUPCAKE, Book Baby #9, my first ever traditionally published book from start to finish, my first #OwnVoices book, will come out in less than a month. Ahhh! Trying not to freak out over here (and mostly succeeding…maybe lol).

CUPCAKE is a swoon-worthy, fun and funny YA romance, featuring a plus-sized princess named Ariel who loves baking, movies, and…herself–just as she is <3. It also features Rhys, the golden-boy quarterback who is slightly broody, imperfect, and *sigh* absolutely wonderful.

There are already over 60 ratings/reviews.

Again, freaking out a bit ha!

I’ve never had a book release with that many reviews/ratings.

Several early readers have picked out some of my favorite parts of the story, reminding me why I love it so much, and I’m so grateful for them.

I love that CUPCAKE features a teen girl who just happens to be plus-sized and who loves herself.

I love the swoon-worthy romance/chemistry between Ariel & Rhys.

I love the female relationships. Ariel & Toni. Ariel & her mom. Ariel & Lana. Ariel & all of the girls on Homecoming Court.

I love the supportive mother/daughter relationship.

I love Rhys and that he isn’t perfect.

I also love Zander <3, the movies mentioned, the funny and heartfelt moments. I could keep going, but I’ll stop lol.

Anyway, I so hope readers will love CUPCAKE, too!

Quick writing/life updates: I’ve been trying to write. It’s slow-going, but at least it’s coming, and I love the story so much!!! I hope to post more–life just got busy, and then I started to feel that fear again, like whatever I had to say didn’t matter; no one really wants to hear it anyway *sigh*. I’ve also been trying to stay positive.

And I’ll keep trying.

Whatever you have going on in your life, I hope you are well. I wish you so much joy and happiness. Positive vibes to you! I hope you’re having a wonderful October so far!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

P.S. CUPCAKE comes out in less than a month!!! Ahh, so excited! <3

Happy Reading

Hi everyone!

So, it’s the last Friday of February—can you believe the month went by so fast???

March is right around the corner, and I wanted to do a quick post to check-in :).

First, congratulations to Judy G.!!! She was the winner of my giveaway to celebrate ADORKABLE hitting 10,000 ratings on Goodreads! I hope you enjoy your gift card, Judy, and thank you so much to everyone who entered!

Second, I’ve been trying to write! I’m loving the book(s) I’m working on, but honestly, I haven’t quite mastered the skill of writing more than one project at a time lol. My brain takes a minute to flip between stories. I just want to be consistently productive. Still trying to get the hang of this!

And third, there’s less than a month until the release of WALLFLOWER, yayyy! I’ve been trying to make sure it’s ready. There’s a blog tour and blitz scheduled. I sent out a few ARCs. Trying to work up the nerve to contact some authors for newsletter swaps (cue the nerves LOL). I still need to work on my dedication and acknowledgments.

I’ll definitely be posting more about WALLFLOWER in the coming weeks :). I so love this book. I hope you will, too! Crossing my fingers so hard!

I’ve got a to-do list about a mile long and am slowly making my way through it. Also, in case you’re interested, my current WIPs are a co-authored YA and book 2 of the O’Brien Brothers, woop! What have you been up to? Anything interesting? 🙂

Hope you are well, bookworms!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

Focus on the Good

The other day I sent out a few ARCs for WALLFLOWER, eep! I was so excited—still am. Not going to lie, I was nervous though—still am lol. But it’s a good feeling to know the book is out there.

I think/hope the readers who enjoyed my other YA romances will enjoy this one. That’s not something I say lightly. Doubt comes easy to me; confidence is hard. But yeah, if you’re reading this, I think/hope you’ll love WALLFLOWER.

One important thing to know: This is not a sequel to ADORKABLE.

Viola is Sally & Becks’s daughter—but the book stands alone. This is why there’s no mention of ADORKABLE in the book summary as well. I hope people will love Viola & Dare’s romance regardless of if they’ve read any of my previous work.

Honestly, as I was writing, the parents just were Sally & Becks (at least in my head). Two or three awesome readers picked up on the “Kent” name and asked about it. I probably could’ve made Viola the child of one of the older Kent brothers—but I didn’t really think of that lol! Again, the parents just were Sally & Becks. Viola was the daughter I thought they would create together. I see bits of both characters in her. Her parents have an awesome relationship, and the family loves each other. I truly hope that comes across—along with the funny/swoon-worthy moments—which mostly involve Viola & Dare—because this is very much their book and not a sequel to my debut (both of which I love :D).

I gave up being negative and complaining for Lent (and a couple of other things). It’s challenging, but things are going okay so far! See there, no negativity :).

We’re in the last 24 hours of a giveaway to celebrate ADORKABLE reaching 10,000 ratings on Goodreads. Hooray!!! If you’d like to, you can enter here! Good luck to you!

I never thought one of my books could be that widely read. I always hope all of my books will reach people. I hope readers will love WALLFLOWER. May it find the readers and hearts it’s meant to. Hopefully, it will brighten someone’s day <3. There’s a little over a month before the book’s release on March 25th, gah! Can’t believe it’s coming up so soon. And now, I’ll stop rambling lol.

Whatever’s happening with you, I hope you’re able to focus on the good. Hope you’re doing well, bookworms! Positive vibes to you! Be safe out there!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

365 Giveaway and Writing Updates!

Hi everyone!

In an effort to make your Monday awesome…I have a giveaway for you!

Hosted by Tina Donahue, who recently celebrated a new release (if you’re into hot paranormal romance/reverse harem, you might want to check her out!), she let a whole bunch of authors be a part of her giveaway! Yay!

The prize is $365 in gift cards as well as a ton of ebooks–including The Best Mistake!

Enter here for a chance to win! And good luck, bookworms!

Also, an update on my writing progress :).

I hit 20K on my WIP this Saturday!!! Woohoo!

It’s a milestone for each of my manuscripts, and I’m so thankful to have reached it! The story is a YA romance, and I am absolutely loving it! Seriously, sometimes the joy of the process gets lost. It’s easy to celebrate the final product, but I really enjoy the writing–especially when I fall head-over-heels for the characters and their love story *sigh*.

Oh, I hope you’ll like it, too!

The downside is this means I haven’t been working on my next O’Brien Brothers book…BUT I do plan to write more in the series!

I’ve gotten questions about whether I’m going to continue the series, and every single time, it makes my heart glad <3. My first foray into the NA romance world has been going well! People are actually reading The Best Mistake! Honestly, I wish even more people would read Archer & Honor’s story! Ugh, I just love it! But I’m so grateful to the readers who have read and taken the time to send me their kind words and leave a review! It means more than they will ever know!

This weekend I formatted the paperback, and I’ve contacted my cover designer about the print cover, woop! So hopefully, that will be coming soon! I promise, I’ll let you know as soon as it’s ready :)!

Also, I’ve been in talks with Entangled about possibly doing another book with them, so yay! Hoping and crossing my fingers that wonderful things come from this!

And that’s pretty much all I’ve got. Just trying to hang in there, stay hopeful, and keep creating during this frankly awful time in the world.

I hope you’re doing well, my lovely readers! Hope you have a wonderful week!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

Road Tripping with Entangled Teen!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, everyone!!! I’ve got something really fun for your guys today!

I’m so glad to be a part of Entangled Teen’s Road Trip (aka blog hop)! Each day there will be a new stop with new authors and giveaways just for you!

Today’s stop is Chariot, North Carolina–the setting for my YA romance ADORKABLE! Chariot is a small fictional town and home to a whole cast of quirky characters–including Sally Spitz who asks her best friend, Becks, to be her fake boyfriend for a month. The problem: She’s been in love with him all her life–and he’s completely clueless :).

Here’s an excerpt from one of my most favorite scenes in the book (get ready to swoon <3):

     Gently, Becks placed his hand on top of mine.

     I didn’t jump this time, but my body was like a live wire, lit up from the inside.

     “Jeez,” Becks said quietly, running the tips of his fingers up and down my arm.  “You’re shaking, Sal.”

     Mortified, I looked down to see that he was right.  Every time his fingers passed a certain place on my skin, gooseflesh appeared first followed by a tiny quiver.

     “Sorry,” I said, completely at a loss.

     As much as I tried, I couldn’t command myself to not react. Why was my body betraying me like this?  Didn’t it realize that if Becks saw how much I loved his touch, how much it moved me, he would know?

     Just as I feared it might already be too late, he said, “This isn’t working.”  Removing his hand, he sat back, shaking his head.  “I don’t know why I freak you out so much, but we need to try something different.”

     I was a lot of things, but “freaked out” was definitely not one of them.

“Here,” he said, moving a bit closer.  “You do me.”

ADORKABLE by Cookie O’Gorman

Gah, I really do love that scene and Sally & Becks *sigh*!!!

ADORKABLE is such a fun, romantic, happy, dorky and swoon-worthy story! If you decide to check it out, I truly hope it brightens your day!

Here is the complete schedule for the road trip–and don’t forget to check out the next stop with author Lindsey Duga!

March 16 – Jus Accardo
March 16- AK Wilder
March 17- Cookie O’Gorman — You are here! 🙂
March 17- Lindsey Duga
March 18- Katie Delahanty
March 18- T.H. Hernandez 
March 19- Chris Cannon
March 19- Barb Han
March 20- Lisa Brown Roberts
March 20- Marlene Perez
March 21- Pintip Dunn
March 22- Brenda Drake 
March 23- Kelly Anne Blount
March 24- Emily McKay
March 25- Entangled Teen Facebook Event at 6 pm PST/9 pm EST

The road trip culminates on March 25th @ 6 pm PST/9 pm EST with a big party on the Entangled Teen Facebook page! I’ll be giving away a $10 Amazon gift card, yay! Hope to see you there!

Again, bookworms, I hope you’re all doing well and staying safe! This is a very scary and uncertain time for so many. May you live long and prosper. May the odds be ever in your favor. May COVID-19 stay far, far away from you. I wish you all the best–the best health, the best books, and the best times with those you love!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

Good Girls & Giveaways!

Hi bookworms! How is everyone? Are you ready for Christmas in *gasp* four days? Have you been feeling the holiday spirit? Witnessed any awesome acts of kindness?

Please let me know about any or all of those! I’d love to hear from you—and let’s face it; we could all use a little more kindness.

Because it’s Christmas, and in hopes of giving you some holiday cheer, I’m doing a Kindle Countdown Deal! My latest release, The Good Girl’s Guide to Being Bad, is available now for just $0.99!!!

Yes, you read that right! For a limited time, from now until December 26th, The Good Girl’s Guide to Being Bad is just $0.99! Here are the links for Amazon and Amazon UK.

I hope you love Sadie & Colton *sigh*!!!!!

Also, there are a couple of giveaways going on now! If you’re subscribed to my newsletter, you already know about them :).

The 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway is a collaboration between a bunch of wonderful authors and myself! There will be three winners and each will get a $40 Amazon Gift card! Yay!!! Here’s the rafflecopter to enter!

Annnd I’m doing my own personal giveaway for a paperback copy of The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang (aka my favorite book of 2019)!!! It’s really amazing, you guys! You can enter to win here!

Good luck, everyone! I hope you’re doing well, and I hope your holidays are filled with only the best things!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

P.S. ADORKABLE (the paperback version that came out on Dec. 3rd and is available in Target, Barnes & Noble etc.) is a #1 New Release in one of its categories!!!!! Ahhhh, it was so cool to see that!

P.P.S. Book signing #2 is today, gah! If you’re feeling extra kind, cross your fingers for me, you guys!

5 Things: I Learned @ the Writers Conference

Hi everyone!

First, I want to announce the winners of The Good Girl’s Guide to Being Bad Audiobook Giveaway!!! Thank you to everyone who entered and helped spread the word about Sadie & Colton’s story! <3 You rock!

Without further ado, the winners are:

Alyssa C., Michelle H., Cassandra D. and Grace B.!

Congrats, you guys!!! I’ll be sending your prizes ASAP, and I hope you love The Good Girl’s Guide to Being Bad!

Second, since it’s Friday, I wanted to do a fun post about the 5 Things: I Learned @ the M & M Writers Conference :). (Sidenote: I learned more, but I like lists of five ha ;))

Plus, since it’s NaNoWriMo, I thought it might give some of my writerly peeps some inspiration!

Here are my 5 Things:

  1. Someone out there needs your book. Every day started with a motivational talk from one of the big authors attending. The first was Alyssa Day, and though I’ve not read her books, what she said resonated with me. Her favorite thing was hearing from readers, and if you’ve followed me on my publishing journey, you’ll know that hearing from my readers is my most favorite thing as well! She read us 10 messages she’d received, some funny, others saying her books had helped them in some vital way. It reaffirmed my belief that writing is important, and books can change the world.
  2. Market vs. Heart. I’ve heard this before, but in one class, they posed a question all writers have to ask themselves. Am I going to write to market or what’s in my heart? My answer: Both. I always write what’s in my heart, and my books just happen to be commercial. So, I don’t think you have to make a choice here. I think you can do both, write from the heart and still be successful. In fact, I don’t know how you can do it any other way.
  3. Ads, Ads, Ads! Most of the classes I attended mentioned ads; most authors were doing them (some with greater success than others), and everyone kept saying how you have to run ads now to be visible. In other words, there are so many books out there that running ads is imperative if an author doesn’t want their books to fade into oblivion or wants to build their author brand. I will tell you: I’ve only run 2 Amazon ads. Ever. For two different books. They ran for a month and were at least semi-successful…I guess. I didn’t lose or gain a lot of money. It always seems to me like a crapshoot. The problem is I don’t understand ads (there are so many factors!) or the whole putting-money-in-to-get-twice/triple/more-on-the-return etc. Also, how do you know if your book’s success is due to the ad, something else or just people organically finding the book? Anyway, I hope to learn more, maybe run ads, but for now, my books have done pretty well.
  4. Author Swag. One of the coolest things was the goodie room :). Maybe it’s because this was only my second conference, but I thought it was awesome seeing all of the author swag! Pens, chapsticks, bookmarks, magnets, all the book stuff! I’ll be having my first book signing next month for the Entangled print edition of ADORKABLE coming on Dec. 3, 2019 (YAYYY!!!), and I bought some swag for anyone who comes out! Hopefully, I’ll get to give some of it away lol!
  5. Books save lives. Again, my favorite part of the conference (besides getting to hang with my awesome family) was the motivational speeches. One of them was from Jennifer L. Armentrout!!!!!! 😀 If you just squee’d that was me when I found out she was going to be there LOL! Anyway, her speech was wonderful. She told us so much about her journey as a writer, her amazing success, as well as her eye condition that she was recently diagnosed with that will eventually end up taking her sight. I nearly cried four times while she was speaking. She told us not to listen when people say mean things about writing romance. Told us romance and books save lives. She also told us to stop denying our hard work, to stop telling people our success was just “luck” because we tend to give everyone else the credit and never give ourselves any. We diminish ourselves, all the work we put in, our achievements by doing this. Again, I nearly cried four times (“nearly” because I was in a banquet room full of people), but everything she said was so motivational, so right on. I loved hearing her and hope she writes for a very long time to come!

So, those are my 5 Things! If you’re doing NaNoWriMo, I wish you so much good luck and fantastic writing days! Hope you are all well!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

The Good Girl’s Guide to Being Bad Audiobook Giveaway!

Hi everyone!

I’m holding a giveaway for 4 copies of The Good Girl’s Guide to Being Bad audiobook!!! Hooray! Since it’s almost Halloween, just consider this my treat to you ;).

If you’d like to enter, please use the rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I love how the narrator Madeleine was able to capture Sadie’s voice and the feel of the book! Hoping to perhaps get over my fear, and do a video so you can hear a bit of the audio as well–and see my dorky reactions lol. But if not, you can check out TGGGTBB audiobook and give it a listen yourself! It’s so good, you guys!

Good luck, everyone, and I hope you’re reading (and listening) to wonderful books!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

P.S. I wrote 2,000+ words today, woop!

Cover Reveal: ADORKABLE (print edition)!

Hi everyone!

Today I have a very ADORKABLE cover to reveal! Woohoo!!! I apologize in advance if you get this twice. I also posted in my newsletter bc it’s just so exciting! The print edition from Entangled will be released on December 3rd and will have exclusive bonus content :D.

Ready to see the awesome cover?

Possibly for the second time today ;)?

Here is the cover of the upcoming print edition of ADORKABLE!

Ah, I love it and can’t wait for the release!

Again, there’s a giveaway on Instagram to celebrate the cover reveal hosted by MTMC Tours, and oh my gosh, you guys! If I can figure out how to insert Instagram posts into my blog posts (I’ve done it before, but I don’t remember how lol!), I will have to share them with you because wow! So many beautiful pics <3.

Here are the awesome tour hosts in case you’d like to go check them out and enter the giveaway:

@paperfury
@thereaderandthechef
@tata.lifepages
@my_heart_is_booked
@beauty_in_books17

@l.m.durand  
@ya.its.lit
@nerdy_little_julith
@the.word.traveler
@mixed_matched_socks

Hope you are well, bookworms, and having a very happy Friday!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman