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! 😀
That’s me in my most bookish mask lol :). I could only put three of my books on there, and I can’t wear it out because of the little gaps in the sides and chin. But whatever! I love it! ADORKABLE, NINJA GIRL, and The Good Girl’s Guide to Being Bad look awesome in mask form!
I’ve been doing a lot of writing/editing/formatting, yay!!! Earlier this week, I completed and sent in the WIP I was working on for Entangled, and today, I’ve been formatting what will be my next release! Eep! So many exciting things going on :).
Just wanted to do a quick post since 2020 is coming to an end. Hopefully, there will be better times ahead for everyone–especially you awesome bookish peeps! I hope you had a merry Christmas, are having happy holidays, and that this new year is awesome for you!
Stay safe and be well!
Happy reading,
Cookie O’Gorman
P.S. I’ll probably do another post later, but Bridgerton was AMAZING!!! I’d already loved the books. I now love the show. Besides our dogs and maybe a Taylor Swift song, it is the best thing to come out of 2020 imo :). Thank you, Julia Quinn and Shonda Rhimes!
Sidenote: Piszkos tánc literally means Dirty Dance…which makes me think of Dirty Dancing…which is awesome bc I looove that movie!
What’s even more awesome? The LOL readers seriously rock!!! They are just so lovely and kind!
They send wonderful book pics like the ones below *__*.
They also do amazing collages! Truly, these brought tears to my eyes; they are so perfect for Sadie & Colton’s book! <333
Also, they made me realize the Sprouse twins, Dylan & Cole, could totally play Colton & Kyle in the movie version of The Good Girl’s Guide to Being Bad!!! 😀
P.S. There’s actually no movie, but maybe someday. *sigh*
P.P.S. If there ever is a movie for any of my books, you’ll be the first to know :).
Also, there was this!!!!! Some awesome person had to do a newspaper book report for school, and they chose Piszkos tánc! Oh my heart! <333
The LOL readers have shown me a lot of love, and I just wanted to share some of that love with you!
I’ll also be doing a live event on the LOL Facebook page Wednesday at 12:00 AM EST/11:00 AM CST/6:00 PM in Hungary. We’ll be talking about my books and writing and tbh I just hope I don’t mess it all up ugh. So so nervous lol. Cross your fingers for me, would you? I’m pretty awkward, so I welcome and appreciate all the good karma/vibes you can send.
I truly hope you’re well, everyone! Staying safe, reading awesome books and spending time with your loved ones (whether in person or virtually :))!
Happy reading,
Cookie O’Gorman
*Note to self: Figure out how to share other people’s posts on Instagram. That’s where I first saw those collages *swoons*. Hope you all have an awesome day!*
…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! 🙂
What is book birthday week, you ask? Well, I didn’t realize it at first, but nearly all my books share a birthday week! In other words, they were released within 7 days of each other, just in different years!
If that wasn’t cool enough and you’re wondering why The Good Girl’s Guide to Being Bad, swoony/hilarious book baby #4, is up there when in fact it came out in late April of 2019…
…the answer is: Piszkos Tánc, The Hungarian version of The Good Girl’s Guide to Being Bad, which actually just came out this week!!! Here’s the lovely cover!
LOL rocks, and I’m so thankful to them for bringing my books and the characters I love so much to the awesome LOL readers in Hungary!!!
So yayyy, this is book birthday week, you guys! It’s something to celebrate, a bit of brightness, and I hope it brings light to your day as well!
I hope you’re all well and safe, readers! Thank you so much for being a part of my publishing journey! No matter if you’ve read one or all four of my books (some of you are probably like, just four lol??? But I’ve tried, and I’m still glad I have that many out ha! Also, my NA sports romance, The Best Mistake, is coming April 23rd, so book baby #5 is on the way!!!), I’m so glad to have your support and thankful for every positive comment/message!
Self-publishing ADORKABLE was the fulfillment of a long-held, long-hoped-for dream, and I made the decision to do it on a day that was (and still is) the anniversary of one of the worst days of my entire life, an effort to take the day back and turn it into something good. Thank you so much for helping me do that, and I hope my books give you even a small amount of happiness!
Hold on to hope, be well, keep celebrating the small things, and I hope you have a wonderful week!
Happy reading,
Cookie O’Gorman
P.S. Another awesome thing that made me glad this week was The English Game on Netflix! It was awesome, and soccer-loving Becks and Ash (and all of my characters lol) would’ve loved it! If you need something new to watch, I’d definitely recommend! 😉
Ahh, it’s here, it’s here! The Good Girl’s Guide to Being Bad is now available in paperback! You can finally add Sadie & Colton to your shelves, YAYYY!!!!!
Oh, I’m SO excited! 😀
I absolutely love Sadie and Colton *sigh*, and I hope this new format will allow their story to reach even more wonderful readers! If you love YA romance, enemies-to-lovers, lists, bets and dance, I hope you’ll check it out! I hope you laugh, swoon, see yourself in Sadie and fall head-over-heels in love with Colton! <333
Happy late Valentine’s Day, everyone! I hope each and every one of your days is filled with love, good people and great books!
I know it’s all about the candy, cards and cute stuffed animals…but I got some awesome bookmail this week and wanted to share! See pic below, and prepare yourself for the pretty *__*.
Hooray! And it’s just in time (almost lol) for Valentine’s Day! <3
Love and romance are in the air, and I’m thinking of watching one of my favorite romcoms (speaking of which, check out this cool post I did a while ago for the Entangled blog on my Top 5 Teen Romance Movies <3). Also, maybe it’s because I’m a self-confessed bookworm, but it just seems like the perfect time to pick up a swoon-worthy romance :).
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
Happy reading,
Cookie O’Gorman
P.S. Sadie & Colton’s story is going to be in paperback, yayyy!!!! I can’t wait! <333
Okay, so technically, I should’ve posted this over two weeks ago lol.
But I completed my WIP, you guys! 😀 It has about 1,000 more words now because of edits–and I still have a bit more to do on that front–but WOOHOO!!!! It’s done, you guys!
And I love, love, love it so much! <3
There are a few things that I wanted to ask you, so I may do a poll later or something.
But for right now, I just wanted to tell you it’s complete–and I took this pic after lol–and once it’s ready, I cannot wait for you to read!!!
Also, I have some updates on my other book babies :).
The Good Girl’s Guide to Being Bad reached 500 ratings on Goodreads! Woohoo, yay, hooray!!!! I will have to do a giveaway to celebrate soon!
Someone wrote a one-star review of NINJA GIRL and tagged me in it…ugh (about the tagging, not the bad review. Honestly, one-stars hurt like a dagger to the chest, but everyone has their own opinion. I still absolutely love Snow and Ash and their story <3. Plus, someone else wrote a really awesome review, so it evens out I guess).
Oh yes, and ADORKABLE got a very nice review from Kirkus! My first trade review, you guys! Want to know my initial reaction? “I’m so glad they didn’t hate it” LOL!!!!! 🙂 But seriously…I’m so glad they didn’t hate it!
I hope you’re all doing well, accomplishing your goals for 2020 and reading wonderful books!
