writing – Page 5 – THE COOKIE JAR

Category: writing

03
May
2017

To Readers, With Love

categories: Adorkable, doing what you love, Ninja Girl, writing, YA, YA Bound Book Tours

Writers shouldn’t read their reviews.

I know, I know…but it’s just so hard to do in reality! If there is a secret to this, please let me know. I actually somewhat agree with the sentiment because if you’re anything like me a bad review can make you question everything. (To be honest, I question everything anyway…ugh.) Here’s the thing though: Sometimes what reviewers write isn’t bad. Sometimes what they write…is wonderful.

And if you don’t read the reviews–or only read the bad ones that stick in your head forever…and ever…and ever and ever and ever–you might miss a kind word that could make your day! 🙂

I’m not even going to lie. I read the reviews. Yes, some of them hurt; that’s something that hasn’t changed since publishing ADORKABLE. Some of the harsher comments cut straight to the bone. But a lot of people had nice things to say, and I wanted to share a bit of that brightness with you!

Here are some of the wonderful things people had to say about NINJA GIRL:

“Ninja Girl is such a great young adult read. I fell in love with Snow and Ash.”–Lissa at Boundless Book Reviews

“I love the characters. Not only is Ash everything I hoped for, but Snow is one of my favorite young adult protagonists. Ever. She’s intimidating and unsure all at once and pulls it off in a thoroughly believable way. I adore her loyalty to her mother, her responsibility to her job, and her very vulnerable heart.”–T.H. Hernandez at Adventures in Writing, author of The Union Series

“Cookie O’Gorman follows up the appropriately titled Adorkable with the delightfully entertaining Ninja Girl, an equally fun read featuring a kick-butt, strong and smart female main character and enjoyable plot.”–Jennifer at Never Too Many To Read

“A cute contemporary with kickass fighting, girl power and diversity.”–Kati at To Be Read

“This novel moves at a stellar pace. Honestly, there was never a dull moment! If you weren’t swooning over Ash and Snow together you were watching Snow kick some serious butt or having these great moments of individual character growth. I loved every page.”–Lauren at SERIESous Book Reviews

“Ninja Girl was funny, entertaining and daring at the gender roles swap, but it worked out so well and naturally that we can’t even imagine it any other way.”–Annelise at The Book Adventures of Annelise Lestrange

“A really kick ass romance that will have you swooning and cheering.”–Jessica at Writing Pearls

“This was such a brilliantly fun read. The writing was punchy, the plot packed and twisty, and the underlying themes very contemporary and on-point.”–Christina Philippou at Writing Round the Block, author of Lost In Static

“I loved how much I bought into and believed in the characters and the storyline. Cookie O’Gorman is a great writer. I can’t wait to read more books by her. Ninja Girl was a great read for me.”–Michelle at Book Briefs

“I loved the romance between Ash and Snow. The writing was smooth and easy to read and the pace was even throughout the book. I can’t wait to read more by this author!”–Poulami at Daydreaming Books

I am very thankful to YA Bound Book Tours and to everyone who helped with the NINJA GIRL blog tour. I titled this one “To Readers, With Love” because I want you to know how much I truly appreciate every read, review and post. Whether it is for ADORKABLE or NINJA GIRL, if you’re a blogger/reviewer/reader, I wish I could write it across the sky in letters, but I hope you believe me when I say: Thank you so much! You are awesome!!!

I hope you all have a great week!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

07
Apr
2017

A Very Good Week

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

Book baby #2 (aka NINJA GIRL) has officially been out a week! Woohoo!!

And it has been quite a time let me tell you :).

Someone left NINJA GIRL‘s first review–its first 5-star review–on Amazon very quickly after the book was released. If you are the sweet soul who wrote it, I just want to say: Thank you sooooo much! You have no idea how excited, relieved and thankful I was to see that :).

My mom got me my favorite cupcake to celebrate the book’s release.

And because she is wonderful, she also got me a cookie (no picture, but it was yummy ;)). Then later, this happened…

NINJA GIRL was a #1 Hot New Release on Amazon! Oh yeah, and this happened…

NINJA GIRL hit #1 in Canada on Amazon in its category!!! My jaw literally dropped when I saw this, and I thought, “Canada, you are awesome.”

Also, in the U.S., NINJA GIRL was #2…right next to ADORKABLE,which celebrated turning 1-year-old at #1 on Amazon! Ah, I love my book babies <3 <3 <3.

Needless to say, book-wise, it was a very good week, and I am so very thankful to everyone who made this possible <3. Your support, your kind comments, reviews, ratings and recommendations to friends mean everything.

Thank you for reading my books–and YAY! I can now say “books” plural lol. NINJA GIRL is out there, you guys! If you haven’t already, I hope you’ll give it a try :).

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

30
Mar
2017

NINJA GIRL Release Day!

categories: Amazon, doing what you love, Ninja Girl, Release Day, Romance, self-publishing, writing, YA

So today is the big day! It’s release day for my second book baby, and for some reason, I just want to throw confetti, hand out cookies and say, “It’s a girl!” 🙂

Ahh, I really can’t believe it.

May the Force, Bruce Lee and Taylor Swift be with you, little book!

NINJA GIRL is finally out there. Bookworms everywhere can read Ash and Snow’s story. Oh, and I hope they do and love it! I hope readers find a kindred spirit in tomboy/awkward/still-totally-kickass Snow. I hope they fall hard and swoon even harder for Ash (like I did <3). I hope everyone will embrace the girl power, the diversity, the kickassery and, of course, the laughs and the romance.

If this sounds good to you, I would love it if you would give NINJA GIRL a chance :).

Thank you so much to everyone who supported my first book–and thank you to those who asked about my next. I hope you enjoy this second release and that it gives you all the feels. As always, if you do read the book, please let me know! Hearing from readers is truly one of my favorite things <3.

Happy reading (and Happy book birthday, NINJA GIRL!),

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

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

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

08
Dec
2016

Tis The Season

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

It’s nearly the end of 2016.

The Christmas tree is now up, and I wanted to share with you this little beauty.

huckleberry

It’s one of my favorite ornaments because 1) It was given to me by someone I love very much, 2) She did it because she loved ADORKABLE and knew how much I loved this quote, and 3) I really wasn’t expecting it. Just in case you were wondering, those are indeed little mustaches on the ribbon. And that quote…oh, that quote.

I do love the “Huckleberry” quote, and if someone actually said it to me, I may just melt on the spot–but you know, they’d have to mean it the way that Becks meant it when he said it to Sally. Sigh…

Anyway, enough with the mushy stuff.

I wanted to let you all know that I’ll be running an ADORKABLE Christmas Giveaway soon! Yay!!! Be on the lookout and, as always: Good luck!

I also wanted to let you know that Ash’s book will be coming out in 2017. I’m shooting for a March release. His book is one that I love so very much. And for those of you who were hoping for a December release (I know, I know, me too!), I will tell you this:

Half of the book is written from Ash’s POV.

Yep, that’s right. We are going to get a glimpse straight into our hero’s thoughts. Eep! Ash’s book was my first story with dual POVs, and I had a great time writing it. The heroine is crazy awesome and so cool and badass and matches up just perfectly with our Ash imo. I hope everyone loves them and the book as much as I do <3.

Hope you all have a great day, and like I said, be on the lookout for that giveaway!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

02
Nov
2016

Goodreads Giveaway!

categories: Adorkable, debut, doing what you love, giveaway, Goodreads, self-publishing, Star Wars, writing, YA

I’m very excited to announce my first ever Goodreads Giveaway!

I’ve seen giveaways around for other books, always hoped I might get to do one. And now that the paperback version of ADORKABLE is out, I can :).

FYI, for any first-time self-pubbing authors out there, you have to set the giveaway date 7 days before the actual day (who knew?). So I set it all up last week, and it just went live today. Anyone with a Goodreads account can enter and it is open to users in the United States.

What can you win, you say?

If you enter, you can win one of two signed copies of ADORKABLE! That means there will be 2 winners!! Again, I can’t wait. When I looked just now, I saw that 9 people had already requested, and I was like “yesss!”

Here is the widget for entries.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Adorkable

by Cookie O’Gorman

Giveaway ends November 23, 2016.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

I hope you enter the giveaway and help me spread the word about ADORKABLE. I hope the winners love the book–or maybe they’ll be winners who already loved the book ;).

Good luck, and may the Force be with you!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman