Category: writing


Apr
2016

Thank you!

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

Publishing a book for the first time was scary, nerve-wracking, awesome…and did I say scary?

In the days leading up to publication, I was a mess.  Constantly nervous, swinging between happiness that my work would finally be out there–and the crushing fear that I wasn’t ready, the book wasn’t ready, no one was going to read it let alone like it.

Then the ADORKABLE Blog Tour happened.  I read, re-read and sometimes triple-read every review.  I already had a thousand doubts, so I was prepared (I was so not prepared) for the worst.  Not going to lie, it hurt to hear what some readers thought were the flaws in my story.  But that’s also when I realized how much impact one kind word, a few encouraging, sparkling sentences can have.

So today, I’m focusing on the sparkly.  Here are some things reviewers had to say about ADORKABLE:

“From the first touch to the kiss, the chemistry between Becks and Sally was off the charts.”–Rê at U.S. – Brazil Book Review

“Adorkable was simply adorable. The main characters were perfect together and the story was fun and interesting. Very recommended.”–Jennifer at Bad Bird Reads

“I absolutely love this kind of storyline and it was perfectly executed here.”  Poulami at Daydreaming Books

“This book was so fun and easy to read, I suffered from a bad case of ‘just one more chapter’ syndrome, finishing at 5am because I couldn’t stop.”–Dani at Dani Reviews Things

“If you’re an adult who enjoys an occasional sweet, simple true YA romance then I think you’ll enjoy this book. I definitely did and I will be purchasing this to share with my daughter upon release.”–Jaime at Fiction Fangirls

“Cookie O’Gorman was born to be a writer, and I hope to see her name on many more books to come.  Adorkable had a life of its own, and I very much enjoyed living in it for a little while.”–Jaime Lynn at The Best Books Ever

“Sal and Becks will capture your heart, be it older or younger and will hold it long after you finished their book.”–Nicole at Books and Starlight

“Adorkable is a fun page-turning teen romance with amazing characters, plenty of angst, and just the right combination of sweet vs. heat.”–T.H. Hernandez at Adventures in Writing

“I felt like there was a great balance between the romance, the character development and the coming of age. In that respect, its story kinda reminded me of The DUFF; only replace the cynical Bianca with a nerdy and more upbeat Sally. It has its funny moments and its charming moments but it also has its real moments and I think readers will connect really well with that.”–Lauren at SERIESous Book Reviews

“If you are looking for a contemporary read that will make you have a great time, introduce you to a new book boyfriend worthy of your swoons, and lots of dorkiness, then you will surely enjoy Adorkable!”–Melissa at The Reader and The Chef

I cried.  Literally, I happy cried, silently sobbing by myself as I read.  People, real people, felt this way about this little book that I love.  It was crazy…and amazing.  This is just a sample of the nice things people have said, and I only have one thing to say to them: Thank you, thank you, thank you!

When releasing ADORKABLE, my goal was not to have it become an Amazon Bestseller–though I’m over-the-moon that it happened (for about 10+ hours :)).  My #1 goal: Put the book out there for people to read.  For it to find readers.

So far, it has, and I am so very thankful.

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman


Mar
2016

ADORKABLE Release Day <3

categories: Adorkable, debut, doing what you love, Geeking Out, Release Day, writing, YA

adorkable-final

It’s here, it’s here, it’s finally here!

Today is the day that ADORKABLE will be released into the big wide world.  My little book set out into the wild.  I hope it flies so high and that Sally and Becks and Hooker and Ash find a place in readers’ hearts.  This debut has been a long time coming, and I’m so glad it’s finally here and that March 31st can now be a good day.

Thank you so much to every person who has supported me and this book.  Thank you to each and every reader.  May you live long and prosper.  May the Force be with you.  May the odds be ever in your favor.  And may you wake up tomorrow morning to find your letter from Hogwarts waiting on your doorstep <3.  I solemnly swear that I am up to no good–and that I am diligently working on my next novel :).

If you love YA romance, fake boyfriends, best friends, or geeking out, I’d love it if you would give ADORKABLE a try!  And if you do, please let me know.  I’d love to hear from you!

Happy Reading,

Cookie O’Gorman


Mar
2016

Why I Write, What I Write

categories: Adorkable, debut, doing what you love, fun, Geeking Out, writing

My debut novel, ADORKABLE, comes out on March 31, 2016! That’s next week ICYMI (hip-hip hooray!!!), and to keep from freaking out too much, I’ve been doing some research. I found this article by Kimberly Grabas that said to market your book you have to:

1) Know Yourself.

2) Know Your Audience.

Now, I’m probably the worst marketer in the history of indie publishing. Besides being an introvert (I’ve discovered this carries over into online interactions as well. Just my luck!), a first-time self-pubbing author (again, fun times, but man…the learning curve is steep), and just an overall awkward person (to quote Lady Gaga, “Baby, I was born this way”), marketing myself has never been easy. It’s like constantly fighting a battle against my inner-Self Doubt/Critic–and she is a nasty piece of work. Never shuts up, always present, always trying to hold me back.

But regardless, this article helped me. I may be crap at marketing, but I do know myself and my audience. So, let me break it down.

I write YA. I write in this genre because I love young adult books. My high school years, though filled with way-too-much Awkward (yes, with a capital “A”), were some of the best years of my life. Middle school sucked. Period. But in high school, I had a great group of friends that were a total mixed bag. Some were over achievers; some were popular; some were boy crazy; most were bandies or drama geeks–and all of them were true friends. None of them ever stabbed me in the back, and that’s why in my books you’ll read about real BFFs, who have each others’ backs, who would go to war together and fight off the monsters and mean girls/guys. Those were the friends I knew growing up. So, those are the friends I write.

I write romance. Not only that, I strive to write believable happily-ever-after romance because, in my opinion, real life sucks enough. There are too many tragic endings. If my characters are going to live, they will struggle. They will go through some awful times, sometimes physically, sometimes emotionally, because that’s just life. But in the end, they’ll come out on top. In the movie Becoming Jane, Anne Hathaway put it like this, “My characters, after a little trouble, shall have all that they desire.” So yeah, this. Absolutely, one hundred times this.

I write for the nerd in all of us. This is not just a line. I’m a nerd–which basically just means that I like things and get excited about life (see John Green’s quote below). I love nerdy people, passionate people, the ones who may be awkward but are excited by life and books and movies and music. And if they love Harry Potter, well…those are my people.

John Green_Nerd Quote

I also write for the girls/guys who are in love and too afraid to speak up. I write for the teens experiencing love for the first time and the adults who want to experience it again. Being in love, it is beauty and torture all wrapped up together. In my books, it’s not so much about “if” the characters will end up together. It’s about “how.” I write the journey, the first kiss, the misunderstandings, how the heart breaks, and how we piece it back together.

So, this is me. Why I write, what I write, and the readers who I’m writing for.

I hope you’re one of them :).

Cookie O’Gorman


Feb
2016

ADORKABLE cover reveal

categories: Adorkable, cover love, debut, doing what you love, Goodreads, writing

Hi there, today I’m revealing the cover for my debut YA romance Adorkable.  I’m so excited because I absolutely LOVE how it turned out.  Stephanie Mooney, the cover designer I worked with, did an amazing job and got the feeling of the book just right.  I found the picture; she worked her magic; and the result was everything I’d hoped for and more.  I’m so happy to finally share it with the world.

Hope you like it, too…

…and…

…without further ado…

…here is the cover…

…for Adorkable :).

adorkable-final

Isn’t it just gorgeous?  *sigh*

I love the fonts, the colors, how the models are positioned, the bench, the placement of my name and the tagline.  Here’s the link if you’d like to add ADORKABLE on Goodreads :).

image

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman


Feb
2016

Goodreads and Good Harry Potter Karma

categories: debut, fun, Goodreads, Harry Potter, writing

I uploaded the summary for my debut, Adorkable, and joined the Goodreads Author program.  Here’s a screenshot–and no, I didn’t bribe anyone to put the Harry Potter ad right above my head.  It will probably change to some other ad soon, but I don’t care. I think it may be a sign, and I know that my main character Sally, a die-hard lover of all things HP, would approve :).  And yes, the book does have a cover–and I LOVE IT!–but hey, I already have Harry Potter in this post.  I have to save some of the awesome for later.

Goodreads_Adorkable

If you want, here’s a link so you can add my book to your Goodreads TBR pile.  Wow…that’s so cool to finally say.  You can add my book to your Goodreads.  Geez…starting to feel real…

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman


Jan
2016

Why Cookie?

categories: debut, fun, pen name, writing

So apparently, I have a spy name.

Who knew?

One of my students asked me the other night about my book. (Of course, this made me smile because I don’t get a lot of people asking about my writing. Yay!) She said a friend told her that I was going to publish and that my “spy name” was Cookie O’Gorman.

And I thought: Why don’t we call them spy names? I’d much rather have a spy name than a pen name. It would up my cool factor, and it’s definitely not as stuffy as saying “nom de plume.” After we cleared up the whole spy vs. pen name issue, it led to the next question.

Why didn’t I just use my real name?

The short answer is I thought a pen name would be easier for people to spell and therefore easier to search.

I know, I know. Like a whole bunch of people are going to be searching for my little book and pen name? Yeah, right. But a girl can dream, and for those five people who do search, I wanted them to be able to find my site.  That’s why I decided to go with a name that was still me, just more searchable.

“Cookie” is the name my Aunt Pat gave me. I love that name, and it represents who I am just as much as my birth name. “O’Gorman” is our family name, back from when my great grandfather immigrated to the United States, and they made him drop the “O” because it was too Irish. I’m fond of the Irish, so the “O” made a comeback :).

I went through a lot of names, but this one seemed like the best fit.  So, my YA books will be published under the name “Cookie O’Gorman.”  Thank you, mom, Colleen, Melanie and Jamie, for helping me make the decision.

It’s a pretty sweet spy name if I do say so myself.

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman


Jan
2016

Doing What You Love

categories: debut, doing what you love, writing

After writing young adult romance for years and with four completed manuscripts, I figure it’s about time I put my work out there.  Am I scared?  Heck yes!  Am I worried that no one will like my books?  Again, YES…but I’m even more scared that no one will read my books.  So, no more waiting (well, maybe just a few months).  I’ve decided to go for it, be brave.  After all, bravery isn’t the absence of fear.

It’s about being scared, terrified down to your bones, and doing what you love anyway.

My debut novel will be released in 2016.  I’ll be posting updates here about the journey before, during and after publication.  I hope you’ll be a part of it!

Happy reading,
Cookie O’Gorman


Jan
2016

5 FUN FACTS ABOUT COOKIE

categories: debut, fun, writing

1. I took a Harry Potter Quiz and was sorted into Hufflepuff (I am completely okay with this! Though you should know–since this is our first meeting and all–my heart is a mixture of all the houses).

2. My debut novel is actually the third manuscript I wrote.  Look for it later this year!

3. I love road trips, math, anti-heroes, hoodies, and chocolate.

4. I fangirl over X-Men, Harry Potter, Sherlock, Newsies, Teen Wolf…and many, many other things.

5. In addition to YA, my favorite book genres are: urban fantasy, historical romance, and new adult.  Also whatever Rainbow Rowell writes…she’s basically in a category all her own <3.

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman