I just wanted to say: Happiest of happy holidays to you my awesome readers!
Wherever you are in life…
…whatever you’re going through…
…whatever has happened in the past to shape this time of year for you…
I hope you know you’re not alone.
This season can be difficult—finding the joy, feeling the cheer, remembering the good. But I so hope you do find it, feel it, and remember.
May peace and love surround you.
May your Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Year, be filled with good health, good people/pets, good times, good food, and of course, amazing books!!!
From my books to yours, Merry Christmas, and happy holidays!
This time last year I could still hold all the books I’d published in one hand. I tried that this year, failed, broke an ornament, cleaned up the mess, then moved everything to the mantle lol. At least the picture turned out nice.
May your days be merry & bright. May you spend time with the ones you love (hug them, tell them how much you love them, and know how blessed you are to have that). And may the odds be ever in your favor <3.
Merry Christmas and happiest of happy holidays to you!
Hello, my lovely readers! I hope you’re doing well and that you got to read some awesome books over the holidays :). I didn’t get a chance to read, but I did finish writing a book, woop!
This one is for Entangled, and it’s with my editor now (very thankful to work with an amazing editor!). I love it, so I’m very much hoping she will, too! Crossing my fingers!
Just being honest: Sometimes it feels like I get nothing done lol. And with last year being so full of sadness, suffering and scary times, I was surprised to see that I’d reached several of my goals.
Bookish goals achieved last year: I published my 5th book baby and first ever New Adult romance, The Best Mistake, woohoo!!! The Good Girl’s Guide to Being Bad came out in paperback, and the Hungarian translation Piszkos Tánc was released, yay! I also published my first novella, The Kissing Challenge <3! The ADORKABLE paperback got a second printing! *happy dance* In June, some wonderful people helped me do the #passthebookchallenge with ADORKABLE (still so thankful & would love to do it again)! I attended a virtual writer’s conference hosted by The Writing Gals–which was awesome! Pretty sure I wrote more than I ever have in a year (completed 2 books + 1 novella and started another co-written book!).
I also had a few goals I didn’t achieve…but I’m rolling them over to this year :). Okay, so here we go. Bookish/Writing Goals for 2021: Write a book (or several! 2-3+). Publish a book. Write more and consistently. Send newsletter once a month. Post on blog, FB, Instagram without being scared/freaking out. Participate more in the author/book community; again, don’t be afraid to reach out. Learn how to run ads.
I also have several personal goals, but here are the big ones: Be thankful & focus on the good.Spread love & positivity.
And there you go! No idea if I’ll be able to reach any or all of them–but I’m going to try. How did your 2020 goals turn out, and what are your goals for this year? I’d love to know!
I wish you all the best and hope 2021 is treating you well so far! Be safe and well, bookworms!
Happy reading,
Cookie O’Gorman
P.S. I’ll do another post soon, but in case you’re interested, my upcoming release is on Goodreads!!! This is truly a book of my heart. <3 It’s my first time mentioning it anywhere; I’m already beating myself up that it’s in a post script ugh, but I just wanted to say thank you so much to the 4 people who have already added WALLFLOWER! You rock!!! Be on the lookout for another post soon, you guys! I can’t wait to share it with all of you! 😀
I’m still here lol! And I’ve been writing! Yayyy!!!!
Tonight, I hit 50k on my current WIP, hooray! I am absolutely in love with this YA romance, and I’m hoping to finish it this week. That’s a big goal for me as I am not the fastest writer, but I’m going to try.
A little while ago, I attended a virtual writing conference held by The Writing Gals! (Sidenote: They are awesome and kind and so generous with the info they give to other writers! If you are a writer, I’d definitely check them out! :))
It was wonderful, you guys!
I haven’t gotten a chance to watch all of the courses that interest me (there were SO many awesome ones), but I did get to do a few things.
One of the things I did was writing sprints!
That’s where you sit down, set a timer for 20 minutes and just write as much as you can. I may have done this at some point, but it was never with a 20-minute time frame or with other authors. I always did at least an hour, usually two hours and would feel so disappointed if I got tired half-way through or didn’t end up with an awesome word count.
Long story short, the writing sprints have dramatically increased my productivity, and I am so thankful!
Now, I know I am capable of upping my word count, and it doesn’t feel so draining to sit for hours on end, hoping for the words to come. Who knew taking a little break and then jumping back in could be so effective? Everyone but me? Okay then, lol ;).
Again, I’m thankful for the conference and for Maggie Dallen’s course on writing faster and more efficiently (she mentioned sprinting, too, whoop!), and for all of the awesome live chats/panels I got to see!
It was just such a breath of fresh air, a bit of light in all this darkness, and it really has lit a fire under me to finish this book–and hopefully, many more to come.
I hope you are all doing well, my lovely readers! Stay safe, keep reading, and May the Force be with you!
Happy reading,
Cookie O’Gorman
P.S. ICYMI: The Best Mistake is now available in paperback, and it is oh so pretty! <3 Have you got your copy of Honor & Archer’s story yet? 😉 I hope you love it!
I have some book mail to share with you today, yayyy!!!
The Best Mistake proof came, and it is gorgeous! Thank you so much to Sarah Hansen for her beautiful cover design! See pics below :).
The awesome cover! *swoons*
Lovely spine!
And wonderful back cover!
And of course, I had to get one (or three lol) of Archer O’Brien and me together! (Totally knew this mask would compliment the cover :))
I love the paperback SO much! Very excited with how it turned out and can’t wait to add it to my shelves! It’s going to look so gorgeous up there!
Also sidenote: I don’t love how KDP puts that not-for-resale line across the books–however it is nice to know the cover still looks amazing even with the line running across his mouth lol!
The Best Mistake paperback will be available on July 30, 2020!!! That’s right, you guys! The Best Mistake comes to print tomorrow (or today depending on when you get this), hooray!
Probably only like three people will want it–including myself ha!–but maybe more awesome readers will discover Honor, Archer and all of the O’Brien brothers in this new format <3. I hope so anyway!
Hope you’re all doing well, bookworms! Stay safe and healthy out there!
Happy reading,
Cookie O’Gorman
P.S. The Best Mistake paperback comes out July 30, 2020, YAYYYYYY!!! I can’t wait! 🙂
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!
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!
I hope you’re all doing well! Yes, I’m still here and just…trying, every day trying, like everyone else.
My last blog post wasn’t sent out for some reason—and it was a nice one about a fun ADORKABLE bookish video I was able to do with some truly awesome people! <3 (ICYMI: here it is!)
I hope this one gets sent—and if it doesn’t, I guess I’ll ask the people at WordPress lol? Not really the best with technology, so I’ll definitely need help ha.
But anyway, here are a few writing/book-related updates:
I reached 10,000 words on my current WIP yesterday!!! Yay, yay, yay! I’m really in love with this book and the characters. It’s a YA romance with funny and swoon-worthy moments and…ugh, I hope to keep writing, can’t wait to finish and share it with you guys!
THE BEST MISTAKE, my New Adult sports romance, is doing awesome! It’s gotten some wonderful reviews, and I’m so thankful for all of them! Here’s a pic from back when THE BEST MISTAKE reached 100 ratings on Goodreads! *sigh* If you haven’t read it yet, I hope you’ll check it out, and let me know what you think of the O’Brien brothers!!!
Just found out Sarah J. Maas is writing another book in the A Court of Thorns & Roses series! Literally one of my favorite series ever! And it’s not just any book. It’s for two characters that I love: Nesta & Cassian! <333 Can’t wait to read!
A kind person at work got me a Kindle! It happened around Christmas, was totally unexpected and just really thoughtful. Because of this, I now have 3 free months of KU! Very excited to read all the books lol!
Also, on a totally different note, and because I’m a real person who cares about you and your loved ones, and I hope you care about mine: Please, if you have to go out and be around people, wear a mask.
I don’t know how this has become an argument. It’s not about infringing on people’s rights; it’s not even about you protecting yourself. The masks are worn to protect others. It’s about caring for those around you because you could have the virus, be asymptomatic, and spread it to a loved one—or to someone else’s loved one. I’ve had my own experiences, and I’ll share them here.
The first time I ever had to wear a mask was five years ago. It was to protect my best friend who had cancer.
Her immune system was down because of the chemo treatments. I’d caught a cold which of course wouldn’t usually be too concerning. But for someone with cancer and lowered immunity, a cold could turn into something far worse, like pneumonia. My little cold that I knew I’d likely recover from could’ve been life-threatening to her.
So I wore a mask.
To protect her.
Because I love her.
I had to do this a couple of times because I got sick again while she was undergoing treatment. I would’ve done anything to protect her. Wearing a mask was not a hardship. I wish I could’ve done so much more. She was and still is my favorite person of all time.
*And if you at any point while you were reading this thought: “Well, she was dying anyway” or have ever said something cruel like that to a person with cancer, please don’t buy or read any of my books. They are written for people with hearts. And I’m pretty sure you’ve misplaced yours.*
There are still people who I love that I want to protect. So again, when you go out and are around people, please wear a mask.
I hope you’re all safe and healthy, finding happiness during this time. Be well, readers.
…and my readers are the BEST of the best! Period. <3
Seriously, hands down, they rock! Book baby #5 has been out in the world for a little over a week, and I’m so thankful for all the love people have been showing Honor & Archer! Thank you so much to InkSlinger PR and Xpresso Book Tours and to everyone who participated in The Best Mistake Blog Tour and Book Blitz!
Also, thank you for this beautiful banner which I will be keeping forever and ever lol! <3
And thank you to every single reader who has read and reviewed so far!!!
The entire story was magical. I read this book in a single sitting because I legit couldn’t put the book down. –Vanessa at Novel Nerd Faction
I loved the slow burn romance!–Lauren at SERIESous Reviews
The most delicious mix of sweet & steamy…with a little bit of socially awkward too! A total 5 stars and a home run for The Best Mistake!–Krista, Goodreads Reviewer
I loved that their connections were more than just sexual or baseball, it gives the sense this relationship will go the distance.–Becky Burrier at Bookcase and Coffee
Sweet, steamy, fun, lighter.–Briana at Renee Entress’s Blog
“The Best Mistake” by Cookie O’Gorman deserves 5 golden stars!–Abbey, Goodreads Reviewer
This is one of the first books in a while I told my hubby to ‘be quiet’ because I was reading. The Best Mistake is definitely a must-read.–Sharrice at Reese’s Reviews
The Best Mistake was one of the first books I’ve picked up and finished in weeks.–Sanne at Scandalous Book Blog
This was a heartfelt love story that left me with a smile on my face.–Cindy at Read.Review.Repeat
The Best Mistake is a swoony, romantic new adult sports romance that is refreshingly free of much of the angst that NA books usually feature.– Becky at Becky on Books
Give this book a chance. It will never feel like a mistake, I can assure you that!–Andy, Goodreads Reviewer
You’ll have to hit those one click buttons to see how it all plays out! HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND!–Jennifer Pierson, Amazon Reviewer
To say that I have fallen in love with all the characters in this book would be putting it mildly. I loved every single O’Brien sibling, and am so hungry for all of their stories.–Ree at Ree Cee’s Books
Ugh, you guys!!! As a self-published author (I think I’m technically a hybrid now, but most of my books–including this one–are self-pubbed), I appreciate these early reviews so much! Honestly, I appreciate every review that comes at any time lol! But the early ones help and let others readers know 1) why they should give the book a chance, 2) that it’s worth their time, and 3) what to expect. On a more personal note, reviews–the nice ones–also give me so much joy and warmth to know actual people are reading & enjoying something I wrote!
So again: Bloggers, reviewers, awesome bookish peeps, you rock!!!
Thank you so much!
NA sports romance is a genre that I love, but it’s difficult to break into ha! There are so many well-known AKA Superstar Authors in the category.
(Side note: I don’t know any of them… I did make a list of YA & NA authors to do newsletter swaps with for the release; it was a good list. Guess how many I contacted? If you said zero, you’d be correct LOL! However, I reached out to a few readerly peeps, asked if they’d like an ARC, so that’s good :)).
Anyway, it’s hard not to fade into oblivion–which I guess can be said about all genres, but it’s true of NA sports romance as well. Whenever I release a new book, I just wish I was less introverted and more outgoing!
Because I love my books so much! I truly do. And I hope they give people a breath of fresh air, a much needed pick-me-up, and yes, a taste of happily-ever-after! <3
Thank you so much again, bookish peeps! The Best Mistake had a fantastic first week, and that is all thanks to YOU!!! Honor & Archer’s story is finally out there, hooray, and people are already asking for the next O’Brien Brothers book–which makes my heart so glad! **Also, reminds me that I need to get cracking on the writing lol!**
I hope you’re all safe and well! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Happy reading,
Cookie O’Gorman
P.S. I’ve also received a lot of love from Hungary and saw so many gorgeous pics from the blog tour for Piszkos tánc (aka The Good Girl’s Guide to Being Bad)!!! Gah, LOL is awesome and so are the LOL readers! I’ll have a post about that as well! 🙂
Ahh, you guys, I’m feeling all the feels! Part of it may be lack of sleep/stress lol, but the real reason is I’m SO excited to share this book with you! The Best Mistake is my first New Adult sports romance, and I hope you fall in love with it! <333 Honor Tierney (innocent bookworm determined to guard her heart), Archer O’Brien (gifted athlete, protective/oldest O’Brien brother, made up of swoon), gah, I love them so much!!! And ALL of the characters! Can I just say, I am head-over-heels in love with everyone in this book? Not that I’m biased or anything ;).
If you love sweet & sexy NA romance, college sports, hilarious cases of mistaken identity, and brothers who are guaranteed to make you swoon, I hope you’ll give The Best Mistake a try!
In this uncertain, scary time, I hope this story brings a little brightness to your day! I hope it lifts you up and gives you some happiness! Thank you so much to every person who has supported me and this book! It means everything <3. Be well and safe, my lovely bookworms!
Happy reading,
Cookie O’Gorman
P.S. ***Again, The Best Mistake has mature content and is intended for readers 18+.*** If you are younger, please consider trying one of my young adult romances! 🙂 I love each and every one of them! My YA books are swoony & sweet, and there are actually 4 out now <3!
In less than two weeks, my 5th book, The Best Mistake, comes out!!! Yay, yay, yay, you guys! Oh, I’m so excited to share this one with you!
I cannot wait for everyone to meet Honor & Archer and all of the O’Briens!
I decided to post and focus on the positive because…well, tbh, I get a little overwhelmed sometimes and need to be reminded of things that are cheerful and good.
Here are a few of the things that have recently brightened my days:
My family. I’m so incredibly grateful for the time I have with them. It is priceless. They are the best thing in my whole world. The few friends I have are wonderful as well.
The ability to connect. Thank goodness for phones/mail/video chats/texts/email/nice messages from nice people.
Good books/TV/movies. I’ve been reading a lot lately. Haven’t been writing–which stinks–but I’ve been stressed and escaping through books/TV/movies. So glad for the escape.
Second Printing. A very kind editor from Entangled let me know this week that ADORKABLE is actually going into a second printing!!! I’m no expert–this is my first and only book that’s been traditionally published–but they’ve told me it’s done well, yay, and this means the book will be on shelves longer–which, to me, is AMAZING! <3
Speaking of Amazing... A while ago, an awesome author friend asked when I’d have ARCS ready of The Best Mistake because she wanted to read it, and that just made my day! <3 Thank you so much, Theresa!!!
I’ve been struggling recently, as I’m sure a lot of you have, to stay in a positive place. The way our world is right now…how so many are suffering, going through the unthinkable…I just can’t help getting overwhelmed with sadness sometimes.
Trying to focus on the good things has cheered me up a bit, and I hope it helps you as well.
P.S. The idea that someone could be reading an ARC of The Best Mistake right now is nerve-wracking and exciting, eep! Oh, I’m crossing my fingers so hard that people like Archer & Honor’s story!!! I’ll be posting more about the book soon, and again, I hope you all have a great weekend! 🙂
