doing what you love – Page 11

Category: doing what you love

28
Mar
2017

Pre-Order & Promotion

categories: Adorkable, Amazon, doing what you love, Kindle Countdown Deal, Ninja Girl, promotion, Romance, self-publishing, YA

I did it, guys! NINJA GIRL is now available for pre-order!!! What’s even better? A few awesome people have already pre-ordered the book, and that just makes me over-the-moon ecstatic :).

If you want more awesome…

ADORKABLE will be available for just $0.99 for the next week! Yes, that’s right; it’s time for a Kindle Countdown Deal! I’m really hoping that the promotion will drive more traffic to the upcoming release of NINJA GIRL and make this kickass YA romance more visible. For whatever reason–fear, nervousness, self-doubt, take your pick–I’ve been reticent about promoting this release. And it makes me so frustrated will myself. Ugh.

This is one time when I wish I was less introverted and more scream-it-from-the-rootops-I-LOVE-THIS-BOOK extroverted. I love Ash. I love Snow. I love my second book baby, and I really hope readers will embrace and love it, too <3.

I hope you all have a great week–and I can’t believe NINJA GIRL comes out this Thursday!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

23
Mar
2017

NINJA GIRL Giveaway!

categories: doing what you love, fun, giveaway, Goodreads, Ninja Girl, promotion, Romance, self-publishing, writing, YA, YA Bound Book Tours

Okay, so a lot of things have happened in the past few days.

Several people helped with the cover reveal of NINJA GIRL last week, and I just gotta say: YOU ALL ROCK! Thank you so much for your support! I received some awesome book mail from my Hungarian publisher–which really brightened up my Saturday. <3 I reached my goal of 70 people adding NINJA GIRL to Goodreads pre-release (which is sweeet :)). And I set up the giveaway below–because of course, we had to have a giveaway to mark the awesome/kickass/splendiferous occasion of NINJA GIRL‘s upcoming release March 30, 2017.

And yes, I have always wanted to use the word “splendiferous” in a sentence. This seemed like the right time :).

The NINJA GIRL Giveaway will run from March 23 until April 13, and the winner will receive a $25 Amazon gift card! There are several ways to enter, and that means tons of chances to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now, I’m off to try and add NINJA GIRL on Amazon, hoping for no hiccups and that the process goes smoothly. I wish you all the best of luck with the giveaway, and I really hope you’ll check out NINJA GIRL when it comes out next Thursday!!! Ahh, can’t believe it’s so close!

Hope you have a great week!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

15
Mar
2017

NINJA GIRL cover reveal

categories: Adorkable, cover love, doing what you love, Goodreads, Ninja Girl, Romance, self-publishing, writing, YA

Hi everyone! It’s time for the cover reveal of my YA romance NINJA GIRL :). It was so much fun to create, and I’m thrilled with how it turned out. Seriously, I love it!!! I worked with Stephanie Mooney again, and she did a fantastic job! Ahhh, I can’t wait to finally share it!

Okay, deep breath…and thank you for being patient while I breathe lol.

Here is…

…your first look…

…at the cover…

…for NINJA GIRL :).

Gah…just…doesn’t it make your eyes smile?

The colors, the fence, the too-cool-for-school “lean” the models have going on ;). One of my most favorite parts is how it relates to ADORKABLE but still has its own vibe. They’d look great side by side…sigh. Here’s the link if you’d like to add NINJA GIRL on Goodreads <3.

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

10
Mar
2017

Hello Hungary!

categories: Adorkable, debut, doing what you love, Kamuzasok Kavarasok, Release Day, Romance, YA

Kamuzások, kavarások (the Hungarian version of ADORKABLE) is here!!! A few days ago, LOL posted some pictures of the book being made, and I just saw this beauty–which of course made my day. Sally and Becks are making their debut in Hungary, and I am so excited!

Sigh…imádom <3 <3 <3 (which means “I love it” in Hungarian; thank you, Tija, for teaching me that one :))

Honestly, I still have trouble believing that a physical, translated copy of my book is going to be available in another country. So cool and amazing, I can’t even! In honor of the Hungarian version’s book birthday, here is a song I love for a book I love <3.

I may be “miles from Budapest,” but I hope Hungary welcomes you with open arms, little book!!! Have a great week, everyone!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

01
Mar
2017

Nerds and Ninjas

categories: Adorkable, doing what you love, Goodreads, Ninja Girl, Romance, self-publishing, writing, YA

The wait is over! I uploaded the summary to Ash’s book :). You can finally read what NINJA GIRL, my second soon-to-be-published YA romance, is all about. I hope you like what you see, and I really hope the book summary makes you want to read Ash’s story–even new readers who haven’t met Ash yet…sigh <3. And Snow–you finally know her name! Yayyy!!! She is seriously cool, you guys.

I did mention that I have a thing for “nerds and ninjas,” right?

Well, here is the proof!

Snow and Ash will have alternating chapters in which we get a sneak peek into their thoughts and emotions. Pretty cool, right? I hope so anyway lol! Also, a quick disclaimer: NINJA GIRL does contain more cursing than ADORKABLE. If the book were a movie, it would still be rated PG-13, but I just wanted to make sure you are aware.

BUT I do hope you will give this book a chance and that it makes you laugh out loud :). I hope that you fall in love with Ash and Snow just as hard as you did with Becks and Sally. I saw the finished cover today, and I absolutely love it, can’t wait for the reveal!

Here is a link if you’d like to add NINJA GIRL to your Goodreads TBR pile.

Annnd it feels awesome to be able to say that! Hope your week is going well!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

22
Feb
2017

Bookish News

categories: Adorkable, Amazon, cover love, doing what you love, Kamuzasok Kavarasok, Romance, YA

So I have some news–of the bookish variety :).

Next month, I should have 2 new releases coming out!

The two books will be: Kamuzások, Kavarások (the Hungarian version of ADORKABLE <3) and Ash’s book (title and summary to be revealed soon!). I’m so excited and of course nervous as all get out. But I’ll try and stick with excitement.

The cover for Kamuzások, Kavarások was revealed last week, and it is…gah, so gorgeous *__*. Absolutely gorgeous! You can check it out here! Seeing the Hungarian cover, looking over the Hungarian-translated text–which I wish I could read!–and working with the team at LOL has been such a wonderful experience. I still feel like it’s all a dream some days. I think that’s why I’ve held off announcing it, the fear that I would jinx it or something.

Yes, I am completely serious.

But I guess, it’s time–and that Hungarian cover is just too beautiful not to share <3.

As for Ash’s book, it should be coming out in late March. I say “should” because to be honest? The road to publication for this one has been so much bumpier than the one for ADORKABLE. I’ve had problems with the formatting (which were corrected quickly, but they set me back a bit) as well as problems with emails not coming through from my cover designer. Sigh. I still don’t know why this is happening, and I’m one of those people who don’t want to be pushy, so I wait…and wait…and get worried. Until finally, I send a check-in email and find out the cover designer sent an email days ago that didn’t come through. Sigh :(.

Again, this has not been smooth sailing, but I’m going to try and release the book in March as promised. But it will be late March–and hopefully the fact that I’m running a few weeks behind won’t affect it too much.

Hopefully readers will still find and want to read the book.

So that is my bookish news! Pretty cool stuff coming up; I’m just trying to get everything ready and staying hopeful.

And if you are one of the amazing LOL readers who said such nice things about Kamuzások, Kavarások: THANK YOU!!! You are so lovely, and your comments made me smile :). I hope you love Sally and Becks <3.

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

14
Feb
2017

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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

I’ve been saving this for today lol!

Not sure when I found the link, but I thought these Valentine’s Day cards were so cute/funny :).

Sally would’ve been all about that Yoda card–and Becks would’ve loved it because it was from his girl. Sigh…seriously, so ADORKABLE!!! If you haven’t found that special someone to tell you “Yoda one for me,” don’t let it get you down! Go out and buy a heart-shaped box of candy for yourself. Pull out your favorite chick flick (book or movie, doesn’t matter) and have a swoon fest. Or heck, get dressed up and go out dancing if that’s what you love to do. Tell the person you love–whether they’re family, friend or a beloved pet–how much you love them.

For that matter, look in the mirror and tell yourself that <3.

Whether you’re a hopeless (yet slightly cynical) romantic like me or something else altogether, I hope you have a very happy Valentine’s Day! And I hope you buy yourself some chocolate…and a great book. You deserve it! 😉

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

12
Jan
2017

Lucky?

categories: Adorkable, debut, doing what you love, self-publishing, writing, YA

First post of 2017 :).

Hope the year has been good to you so far.

A lot of thoughts have been running through my mind lately. For Ash’s book, the cover is being created as I type, and I’m SO excited. My cover designer said that I should have options to look at next week. Yay!!! Like ADORKABLE, this manuscript/book has been complete for a while, and I love it. No really, I love this book. I love the characters–Ash obviously, but the female MC is awesome. I relate to her on so many levels, and I really hope readers will love them like they did Sally and Becks.

And here’s where the self-doubt comes in.

See whenever I post about how ADORKABLE is doing on Goodreads or Amazon, I’m seriously not bragging. It’s because I still have trouble wrapping my mind around it. Why did all those people read, review, rate the book? I have no idea.

How did they find it?

What made them want to read?

Why did they give it a good rating/review?

Again…how did they even find the book???

My answer to all of these questions is the same: I got lucky.

Or at least that was part of it. As much as I love the book, as much time and effort I put into writing, editing, re-editing, researching, I’m pretty crap at marketing. I have no idea what I’m doing. Even with this post, I don’t know if it’s okay to tell people these things or if I should just keep my fears to myself. But here it goes:

I am afraid that my next book won’t do as well as ADORKABLE. There I said it. I’m afraid that readers who loved my debut won’t like this one–again, a book that I really do love so much. I’m afraid that the people who didn’t like ADORKABLE will read this one, and realize that yep, this is still the same writer whose work I hated the first time–which will undoubtedly be followed by a scathing review.

But I also know that I’m a tough cookie :).

I won’t let these fears hold me back. As I stumble/fumble my way through everything it means to be a self-published author, the one thing I will do is keep trying.

Anyway, I know ADORKABLE‘s success had something to do with luck (maybe everything). But I also know this (and if the majority the post was lemons, here is your lemonade): I worked hard, wrote a book that I loved and somehow, some way, it found its way into the hands and hearts of readers who loved it.

If that’s luck, I’ll take it.

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

31
Dec
2016

Crazy Amazing

categories: Adorkable, Amazon, debut, doing what you love, fun, Goodreads, writing, YA

It’s almost a new year, and I’ve got to say…2016 has been crazy.

The good, the bad, the ugly, ups and downs, rainbows and pits of despair. I can say with all honesty it’s been a mixed bag for me. But for this post–and because we’re about to say hello to 2017–I’m focusing on the good.

Here are a few of my favorites that brightened the year:

Publishing my debut novel ADORKABLE! It took a really long time for me to get to this point. Still kinda can’t believe that I actually (finally) did it :).
Written In Red by Anne Bishop. My favorite book series of 2016! I’ve read all of the books, and it is amazing. I’m a big fan of urban fantasy, so this was right up my alley. Loved it!
The Hamilton Soundtrack. One word: Incredible. If you haven’t listened yet, go now. I’ll wait for it ;). The lyrics, music, phrasing, recurring themes…aw man, everything about it is outstanding. Prepare yourself for greatness–and the need to listen to it over and over.
Netflix. I have fallen down the rabbit hole lol. My awesome cousin got me a gift card, and I am using it well!
Posts like these: Favorite Debut Novel of 2016, Best Book Boyfriends of 2016, Top Ten Best Books of 2016 <3. Thank you so much ladies for being awesome and for including ADORKABLE. Your support means everything to me!
The ADORKABLE readers and all of the supportive people in my life. This should be #1, but I saved the best for last :). This year I have found that good people do exist. They help just to help. They send words of encouragement. They give of themselves because they want to lift others up. Thoughtfulness, kindness, those things matter so much, and I’m thankful to know that there are people like that in the world.

Back in May, I did a post called Crazy Amazing Stats. In case you’re interested, here’s where we stand at the end of the year (P.S. I love numbers lol).

ADORKABLE was published on March 31, 2016 and in paperback on September 20, 2016.

As of right now it has:

312 reviews on Amazon.

Reached #1 in its categories for seven different countries (U.S., U.K., Germany, Canada, Australia, Brazil, and France).

475 reviews on Goodreads.

3,460 people rated it on Goodreads.

6,871 people added it on Goodreads.

Over 6 million pages have been read.

I also have people (real readers!) who have contacted me to let me know how much they love the book! It floors me. Every time. The messages are so beautiful, and I’m grateful for each and every one. The fact that I, as a first time, self-published author, could reach so many people with my sweet YA romance…it astounds me. I was so afraid that my little book would be lost to oblivion, that no one would ever read it. Just publishing ADORKABLE was a dream come true, but having it be so well and widely received?

Crazy. Amazing.

Thank you so much ADORKABLE readers for making my dream a reality <3. You are truly the best!

I hope you all have a safe and happy new year!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

26
Dec
2016

Merry (Day-After) Christmas

categories: Adorkable, ADORKABLE Christmas Giveaway, Amazon, debut, doing what you love, fun, giveaway, Kindle Countdown Deal, promotion, YA

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Okay, so technically it’s the day-after Christmas–but still, I hope everyone had a great holiday. This marks the conclusion of the ADORKABLE Christmas Giveaway :). Thank you so much to everyone who entered; you’re fantastic! And without further ado…the winner of the giveaway is…

Julie!!!

Congratulations, Julie! I will be sending your $25 Amazon gift card tonight, and thank you again for entering :).

I also wanted to say thank you to all of the people who participated in my first Facebook giveaways. The questions were all about ADORKABLE, and some of you readers actually showed up! Yayyy! You ladies made it so much fun, AND you really knew your stuff. It was amazing to interact with actual readers. They were wonderful; it was wonderful. I will most definitely be doing something like it again in the future!

One more huge thank you to everyone who helped spread the word about the ADORKABLE Kindle Countdown Deal. My goal was to make the book even more affordable for people around the Christmas holidays, but I didn’t expect it to go as well as it did. ADORKABLE hit #1 on Amazon and stayed there all yesterday. As of this posting, it’s still hanging in there. It was a great surprise, such a cool Christmas gift, and it wouldn’t have been possible without you readers.

Merry (day-after) Christmas, Happy Holidays, and much love to all of you wonderful bookworms!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman