Category: doing what you love


Feb
2019

Good Girls & Goodreads!

categories: Adorkable, doing what you love, Goodreads, Ninja Girl, Romance, The Good Girl's Guide to Being Bad, Xpresso Book Tours, YA

Hi everyone!

So, I can’t hold it in anymore lol! It’s time to put my new book out there, and I’m so freaking excited to share it with you!!! The title and summary are now up, and you can add it to your Goodreads TBR pile here :).

The Good Girl’s Guide to Being Bad was soooo much fun to write, and I hope it will be just as much fun to read <3. It features Sadie, who was introduced in NINJA GIRL, and she is hilarious, loves dance/movies/kissing scenes and is a girl after my own heart. Oh, I really do love her! And OMG I cannot wait for you to meet the other characters in the book! Twin brothers, Kyle and Colton Bishop (sigh*fans self*get ready ladies, these boys will make you swoon till you can’t swoon anymore LOL!), and vivacious Betty! Ugh, the laughs, the romance, the kissing scenes! I hardly ever feel comfortable saying this, but:

I really think you’ll love this one! This is like my love letter to all of my readers who enjoyed my previous books <3.

If you have a blog and want to be part of the Cover Reveal, the Xpresso Book Tour sign-up is here! (Sidenote: It is gorgeous, you guys *__*)

If you’re a fan of amazing first kisses, smokin’ hot twin brothers, making lists and laughing out loud while you swoon, I’d be so thankful if you’d add The Good Girl’s Guide to Being Bad to your TBR!

I hope you’re all well and that you have an awesome weekend!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

P.S. I’ll post next week about something else I’m trying to put together with regards to TGGGTBB, so be on the lookout! 🙂


Feb
2019

NINJA GIRL for just $0.99!

categories: doing what you love, Kindle Countdown Deal, Ninja Girl, promotion, Romance, YA

Hello, reading ninjas!

As I mentioned, for this week only, NINJA GIRL is available for just $0.99!!! Yipee, woohoo, hi-yah :).If you’re a YA romance reader who likes to laugh while you swoon, I’d love for you to give Snow and Ash’s story a chance. My girl, Snow, is such a badass, and Ash is SO disarmingly charming/swoonworthy <3. If you do give it a shot, I hope you enjoy all the action scenes, the kissing scenes as well as the marshmallow fluff–oh and the kimchi!

Sidenote: If you loved Ash in ADORKABLE, you’ll love him here. *sigh*

Again, NINJA GIRL is just $0.99 this week! This sale will only last from Monday to Saturday, and I’d be ever so grateful if you’d help me spread the word (especially if you know any readers who need a pick-me-up/a taste of happily-ever-after ;)). Thank you so much in advance!

I hope you’re having an awesome week so far!

Happy Reading,

Cookie O’Gorman


Jan
2019

Hello 2019

categories: Adorkable, doing what you love, Happy Holidays, Nindzsalany, Ninja Girl, Romance, self-publishing, The Unbelievable Inconceivable Unforeseeable Truth About Ethan Wilder, writing, YA, YA mystery

Hello 2019, how are you doing? 🙂

It’s a new year, you guys, and I’m hoping for good things. For you, for myself and for every bookworm in the universe!

2018 brought some hard times, some difficult, sad times, and I’m still so thankful to all of you for being kind and awesome throughout everything <3. The lemons were definitely there but so was the lemonade. Case in point…

2018 also brought a whole bunch of bookish awesomeness: ADORKABLE was included as a Bookbub Featured Deal; I published book baby #3 The Unbelievable, Inconceivable, Unforeseeable Truth About Ethan Wilder (in ebook & paperback); the Hungarian version of NINJA GIRL was released; I got to attend a royal wedding (okay, so I watched from home, but Harry & Meghan looked just as beautiful on screen, and the tea was still wonderful!); I got to write the foreword for a YA romance anthology (thanks, Kelsie!); ADORKABLE came out as an audiobook; I participated in KM Shea’s summer reading event (thanks, Kitty!); ADORKABLE was included in a Top Ten list on Bustle; ADORKABLE was in The Bookworm Box for November; and I did my first Facebook Live video ever for an author takeover of The Bookworm Box FB page.

Some writing goals I hope to accomplish in 2019 are: Publish a book. Figure out how to market/promote better. Create a newsletter, and grow a mailing list. Increase social media presence (possibly start an Instagram account). Write a book. Write more. Write better. Attend a conference and/or event.

My #1 goal from the beginning to now remains the same: To get my books into the hands and hearts of the readers who will love them <3.

I also have some personal goals, but those are the same every year. I hope to help others, make someone’s life better, spread kindness and love, be a better person, renew/restore my faith, and figure out what I should do with my life.

On December 31st, I completed my latest book, yayyy, and I hope to release it this year!!! I am absolutely in love with this story, and I hope you will love it, too! So so excited about this!

Thank you so much for all of your support in the ups and downs of this writing/publishing journey! Happy New Year, readers, and I hope 2019 is awesome for you!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman



Dec
2018

Ethan Wilder in Paperback!!!

categories: Amazon, doing what you love, giveaway, Happy Holidays Giveaway, Release Day, Romance, self-publishing, The Unbelievable Inconceivable Unforeseeable Truth About Ethan Wilder, YA, YA mystery

It’s here, it’s here (and just in time for Christmas)!

The Unbelievable, Inconceivable, Unforeseeable Truth About Ethan Wilder is available in paperback.  Hooray!!! 😀

Honestly, it was kind of a crap day yesterday because I kept waiting…and waiting…and waiting for the book to publish.  Amazon does say it can take up to “72 hours for your book to be available,” but I’d never experienced this before.  It’s only taken 3-5 hours tops for my previous books.  But thankfully, after all the worry that I’d done something wrong, that KDP Publishing might come back and say nope, please resend, Book Baby #3 went live about 21 hours after I hit publish.

Delilah & Ethan’s story is now out there in physical form, a book that you can hold in your hands, flip through the pages and add to your shelves.  Gah, I’m so excited to add this one :).

I hope my little YA romance murder mystery 1) makes you fall in love with Ethan, Delilah, George, Aunt B and all the quirky characters of Bowie, 2) makes you swoon, and 3) keeps you guessing until the end.  Oh, and I truly hope you enjoy the heck out of it!

If you do, please let me know!  Hearing from readers is one of my most favorite things <3.  Ahhh, Ethan Wilder in paperback.

Inconceivable :).

I hope everyone has an awesome weekend!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

P.S. You can still enter the Happy Holidays Giveaway!  There are a bunch of prizes and several ways to enter (using the rafflecopter near the end of the post linked above).  Good luck, everyone!


Nov
2018

You’ve Got Mail!

categories: Adorkable, doing what you love, fun, Romance, The Bookworm Box, The Unbelievable Inconceivable Unforeseeable Truth About Ethan Wilder, YA

Okay everyone, several really awesome bookish things have been happening, and I’m so excited to share them with you!!!

Awesome thing #1: The Bookworm Box!

About a month ago, I was contacted by The Bookworm Box!  What is The Bookworm Box, you ask?  Well, it’s a subscription service founded by superstar author Colleen Hoover that features a different signed book (or books) by different authors each month as well as other awesome bookish goodies.  The best part about it is that the funds they raise go to charity!  They’ve actually already given over 1 million dollars to various charities, hence the slogan: Good deeds to Great reads :).  Ah, it is so awesome, you guys.  Their mission really spoke to me because I have always wanted to give back.  I think we all do.  My books have allowed me to do this (through a charity event that I founded last year to help children with cancer and now through this book box!), and I am so very thankful!

They asked if I’d like to have one of my books featured in their YA box–and of course, I said YES!!!

I got to sign lots of these beauties (each box has a signed book, remember?), and they sent some of the cutest Bookworm Box swag (which I appreciated because even after I sent the pages back, it let me know this wasn’t just a dream lol!).

I told no one besides my family.  Half the fun of receiving a box each month is the surprise, the mystery, which I totally understand!  You know the little mystery boxes near checkout at B&N? Yeah well, I get excited over those, so I could only imagine the excitement of a whole box with a mystery book inside, eep!  So yes, I told no one, but I also ordered my mom and Aunt Colleen boxes–because hello, it’s for charity :).

And last week they were sent out, sigh <3 <3 <3.

Mom and my Aunt Colleen loved their boxes!

I hope everyone else who got one loved it, too–and that they fall in love with ADORKABLE!!! <3  The Bookworm Box is amazing, you guys, and I’m so grateful to them for this opportunity and for everything they do!

Also, full disclosure, I added the flowers because I thought they’d look nice in the pic lol.

Awesome thing #2: Ethan Wilder!

Last Saturday, I got the proofs for the paperback of The Unbelievable, Inconceivable, Unforeseeable Truth About Ethan Wilder! *__*  This is the first time I’ve used KDP Publishing vs. Createspace.  And maybe it’s just me, but the guy on the cover still looks awesome even with the line over his mouth lol.  That being said, the line is only for the proofs and will NOT be on the acutal paperbacks ;).

Sigh, it’s been a long time coming, but Ethan Wilder should be out in paperback later next week, just in time for the holidays!  I don’t know about you, but I’m so excited to add the book to my shelves! 😀

And as I said in the last post, I’ve been writing.  It’s been going well so far (knock on wood).  I’m at about 54,000+ words and still hoping to finish before the end of the year.  I’ll be posting more soon, will definitely have to do a giveaway to celebrate all this awesomeness.  Did you guys get any awesome mail recently?  Were there books involved? 🙂  Have you ever subscribed to a monthly book box?  I’d love to hear all about it, and I hope you are all well!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman


Oct
2018

If You Liked This, Then You’ll Like That

categories: Adorkable, Be Yourself, doing what you love, fun, nice surprise, Romance, YA

A while ago, I mentioned something about ADORKABLE being an if-you-liked-this-then-you’ll-like-that book.  You’re probably thinking, “What the heck does that mean?”  Well…although I’m a little uncomfortable comparing my books to others, I noticed a few times where people have mentioned my debut/me in connection to other books! 🙂  It was surprising and actually pretty sweet.  I just love seeing my books mentioned; I think it’s an author thing.  No, you say?  It’s just you and your weirdness lol?  Well okay, I’ll own it then.  I love seeing people mention my books–when it’s something nice, of course ;).

Here are some if-this-then-that things I thought were cool and thought you might like, too.

This first one is from a blog called Bookcrushin’ posted by Kelli Spear.  She basically says that if you liked Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, you may like ADORKABLE.  What I found so freakin’ hilarious was that she hoped she wouldn’t “catch heat,” hoped it wasn’t “sacrilegious” to say such a thing–and those were my thoughts exactly LOL!!!  I love Rainbow Rowell.  She’s one of my all-time favorite authors.  And while I admit I haven’t read all of the other books in this post (yet), I have read Fangirl.  And yeah…that is a high bar right there.  I’m not even touching that lol!  But I gotta say…I love her for saying it! <3  Thank you so much Kelli for even mentioning ADORKABLE in connection with anything Rainbow Rowell-related.  You’re lovely!

This next one is from a review written by Jen from Star-Crossed Book Blog about a book called Glitter and Sparkle by Shari L. Tapscott.  Jenn writes, “If you’re a fan of Cookie O’Gorman, or even the feelings you got while watching the movie Clueless, then you definitely have to give this one a try!” First off, Jen rocks.  Second, she has great taste in books, and I’ve found several through her awesome reviews.  Then she had to go and mention Clueless, which made my heart go gooey.  I love Clueless, and I love that Jen thought of me when writing a review for a book she loved!  It was such an awesome suprise–and Glitter and Sparkle is definitely now on my TBR list!

The third screenshot is from the blurb for a book called My Fake Valentine by Kellie McAllen.  This is the first (and only) time I’ve ever seen another author say if you liked ADORKABLE, you’ll like my book, too.  And it was so cool!  Now, I haven’t read this book, but it was still all kinds of fantastic to see that someone thought ADORKABLE was worth a mention :).

And lastly, of course, I have to include this amazing article written by Kerri Jarema from Bustle called 10 Rom-Com Novels With Fake Relationships That Will Give You Serious Lara Jean & Peter Kavinsky Vibes.  Okay, so I don’t know Kerri.  I have no idea how she found ADORKABLE.  I do know that several readers compared it to Jenny Han’s To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, and that that is what drove me to read the book last year.  Having ADORKABLE mentioned on Bustle (Bustle, you guys!) in the same post as this awesome book right around the time the awesome Netflix movie was released?  My mind was officially blown.  But one of the best parts about it?  My Aunt Pat, who I love so much and miss every single day, used to LOVE Jennifer Crusie–and one of Crusie’s books, Strange Bedpersons, is right above ADORKABLE.  I really think Pat would’ve liked that.

So yeah, apparently ADORKABLE is an if-you-liked-this-then-you’ll-like-that book.  Who knew? 🙂  I hope you’re all doing well and having a great fall so far!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman


Oct
2018

Congrats, Thank You & A “Cruel” Book Recommendation

categories: Adorkable, book recommendation, doing what you love, giveaway, Ninja Girl, Romance, YA

Hi everyone!  I’m sorry this is a bit late, but I wanted to say thank you so much to everyone who entered the NINJA GIRL Reader Giveaway!  Again, I was never sure NINJA GIRL would reach 1,000+ readers/ratings on Goodreads, so it was definitely a milestone/goal/amazing piece of awesome when it did :).  Thank you to all of the readers who helped get it there!  You ninjas are adorkable and unbelievable ;).

Without further ado, the winner is…

Stephanie!!!

Congratulations, Stephanie, and thank you so much for entering!  Your $25 Amazon gift card is on the way (in fact, it should be there already by the time I post this lol).  Congrats again, and I hope you enjoy your gift card!

I also wanted to say a heartfelt, infinite THANK YOU to everyone who reached out to me after my last post.  You did not have to do that.  It was very unexpected and yet so appreciated.  Like everyone, feelings, especially the unhappy ones, are something I struggle with.  I only have maybe one or two people I can share/talk about it with when I am feeling down.  And I’ve always thought my readers are awesome, not just awesome bookworms but awesome people, but then, they go out and prove it by sending such amazing comments and emails of support.  Each one was read, each one was taken to heart, and each one helped me in some way.  So again, thank you all so so much.

On Sunday, I spent all day reading.  Like literally, it was one of those days when you do nothing else but seclude yourself in a room, bury your head between the pages of a great book and don’t come up until…well, the last page.  It was, in a word, glorious :).  A much needed escape, and I wanted to share that book with you.

The Cruel Prince is most definitely the best book I have read in some time, possibly/probably my favorite book of the year.  This is a YA fantasy romance that revolves around a girl named Jude and her twin Taryn, both mortals, who have been taken to live in Faerie.  Now, I will say I love fairies.  The courts, the intrigues, the deceptive beauty, the secrets, and the thought of mortals living alongside immortals, all of it is interesting to me.  But no one writes fairies better than Holly Black.   The characters were amazing (I loved Jude so freaking much!).  The world was so well-drawn and picturesque.  I loved the dialogue, pacing, side characters (each one had their own agenda and goals, and they were all just so interesting), the plot twists, and yes, the amazing ending.  I didn’t know at first, but The Cruel Prince is the first book in a trilogy–something I usually avoid until at least two of the books are out–but Book 2 comes out in early January, so at least, the wait won’t be too long lol.  The romance was just right, in my opinion.  And Prince Cardan, youngest of six in the royal family, Jude’s nemesis, too beautiful to be real, uncaring, unfeeling, arrogant, clever, cruel…but possibly still likeable?  Ah, I loved him.  Cardan was terrible and wonderful, and I love it when an author can pull off a character like this.  Loved Cardan, loved Jude, loved Holly Black’s writing, and definitely loved this book!

I’d recommend The Cruel Prince to anyone and everyone <3.  I hope it brings you as much entertainment/escapism/joy as it did me.

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

P.S.  ADORKABLE reached 500 reviews on Amazon!!!  This is another thing I never thought would happen (because I always doubt and with Amazon’s disappearing reviews etc.), but it finally did–and I took a screenshot to prove it lol.  I just want to say again: Thank you so much readers!  You guys are amazing!!!

 


Sep
2018

1000+ Ninja Girl (And Boy) Readers!

categories: doing what you love, Fan Art, Nindzsalany, Ninja Girl, Romance, YA

Yes, it’s true!  I actually noticed this a little while ago, but I was waiting to post anything in case it was a hallucination lol (but seriously).

NINJA GIRL now has over 1,000 readers on Goodreads, you guys!!!  Yayyyyy, woohoo, hi-yah!  *__*

I couldn’t believe it at first.  Truthfully, I watch my numbers like a hawk (it’s an awful habit, and I definitely don’t recommend it.  But it is what it is), and I wasn’t sure if book baby #2 would ever reach that number.  But it did, and I am so thankful for that!

One of those awesome readers made this beautiful collage, paired with a great review for Nindzsalány (the hungarian version of NINJA GIRL), and I love it <333.  I don’t speak Hungarian, but I know how to use Google Translate ;). Imádom!  Thank you so much, Patti!

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bk6m9mLFpzr/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

Another awesome reader, Abbey, took this incredible picture and chose NINJA GIRL‘s Snow as her strong female lead for a challenge–which ahhhh!  Thank you, Abbey, I love everything about this! <3

And did you know that out of those 1,000+ readers, there’s a wonderful mix of female and male ninjas?

Of all of the books I’ve released so far, I think NINJA GIRL has had the most male readers (at least judging by the usernames which I know aren’t always accurate…and sometimes they can be girl or boy names but still…).  It was something I noticed early on, and it was such a surprise!  With YA romance, I’d think my target audience is mostly made up of young female readers which rocks!  But I’m also glad that boys/men read my books because 1) YA romance is awesome and 2) I hope everyone can enjoy it :).

Maybe it’s a ninja thing?  Idk, but again, I’m just so thankful for every single reader!

Thank you, ninjas, for reading and supporting my books!  Thank you for embracing Snow and Ash, Sally and Becks, Delilah and Ethan!

You all rock, and I hope you know it.

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

P.S. I will be doing a giveaway next week to celebrate!!! 🙂


Aug
2018

Thank You, Netflix

categories: Adorkable, doing what you love, nice surprise, Romance, YA

It’s official: Netflix is awesome.

I recently watched two different book-to-movie adaptations on Netflix, and they were fantastic.  I’ll start with To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before because gah!  They actually did the book justice <3.

Not gonna lie, I was nervous they’d mess it up somehow.  To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before was my first read by Jenny Han.  I read it because several readers mentioned it in their reviews of ADORKABLE, and of course, I ended up loving the book!  I read it on the plane back from England to the U.S. last summer–which I didn’t realize would be so perfect, but if you’ve read To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, you know in the beginning they talk about how Margot (Lara Jean’s oldest sister) is going to college in Scotland and how they’ll plan a trip to Paris.  And we were returning from a cruise to Ireland/Scotland/France!!!

Anyway, like I said, I devoured it.  I bought the second book right when I got home because with the ending it was impossible not to lol!  (Note: The movie ends a bit differently–which is a good thing as movie #2, P.S. I Still Love You, doesn’t exist (yet)!)

Lara Jean was brought to life by the absolutely amazing Lana Condor.  She was flawless.  I believed her as Lara Jean, and her personality matched the narrator’s “voice” I had in my head while reading the book.  Then there was Peter Kavinsky.  *Sigh*  Oh my goodness, this actor!  He was the one I was most nervous about just because…well, it’s Peter!  And he’s the main love interest, and we have to fall for him.  The actor, Noah Centineo, was wonderful!!!  The chemistry he had with Lana/Lara Jean was off the charts.  The screenplay was well done, and I enjoyed it SO much!

Disclaimer: I still loved the book more than the movie, so I’d definitely recommend reading it first!  BUT after that, watch the Netflix movie because it’s awesome-swoony-romance goodness!

The other movie I watched/loved is called The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

It was, in a word, beautiful.  The story was complex, the characters utterly likable, and the setting of Guernsey was breathtaking.  I also loved the costumes, and of course, the romance.  Juliet and Dawsey were such a great love match.  Watching the movie honestly felt like a breath of fresh air, and although I haven’t read the book, I’d recommend this one to anyone who enjoys romance.

Sometimes book-to-movie adaptations aren’t the best–especially if you’ve read and loved the book–but these two were awesome imo.  If ADORKABLE ever gets made into a movie, I hope it will be done this well.  And I know you’re thinking, “Keep dreaming, Cookie!  Like your little book would ever be made into a movie?  HA!”

Or maybe that’s the voice in my head lol.

Dreams are good for you, though, so…if ADORKABLE ever was made into movie (or any of my books for that matter), I hope the people making it love the story and show as much care with the adaptation as these directors/actors/screenwriters seemed to.

Have you seen these movies?  I’d loved to hear what you thought!  If you have any recommendations, I’d love to hear those, too :).

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman


Jul
2018

ADORKABLE Audiobook Giveaway :)

categories: Adorkable, ADORKABLE Audiobook Giveaway, doing what you love, giveaway, Harry Potter, Romance, YA

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