YA Bound Book Tours – THE COOKIE JAR

Category: YA Bound Book Tours

06
Apr
2021

Thankful

categories: Amazon, doing what you love, kindness, Romance, self-publishing, Wallflower, WIP, writing, Xpresso Book Tours, YA, YA Bound Book Tours

Hi everyone!

I wanted to check in with some bookish updates!

WALLFLOWER will have been out for 2 weeks on Thursday! The time has flown by. Honestly, I can’t believe how well it’s doing–and I’m so thankful.

Readers have been saying the kindest things about Viola & Dare’s story, and I’m just super grateful <3. Here’s a small sample of the wonderful reviews:

“All I kept thinking as I read this book was how much I loved it!”-Lisa, Lisa Loves Literature
“I think this book is my favorite contemporary YA romance that I have read in 2021 so far. It made me so happy, and I honestly just want to go back and re-read it again because I loved Viola and Dare so much.”-Michelle, Book Briefs
“Wallflower was impossible not to devour in one sitting! This story swept me away and the pages were filled with charm, humor and romance.“-Jen, Star-Crossed Book Blog
“One of the best parts of this story is the genuine friendships.”-Amy, Amy’s MM Romance Reviews
“I recommend this fun, charming, and clean YA romance with delightful characters and LOL moments. I couldn’t put this book down.”-Sharon, The Eclectic Review
“Definitely recommend if you want a sweet short read!”-Ceci, Goodreads Review
“I personally would trade all the other men I read about this week for Dare in a second and he was one of seven. #LetsKeepDare”-Ali Crean, Have Coffee Need Books
“I loved loved this book!!!!”-Kiana, Goodreads Review
“I think many bookworms and hopeless romantics will find part of themselves in Viola. Her growth and character evolution from start to finish was great.”- Lauren, SERIESous Book Reviews
“Overall, there was so much to love about this book and you’d be crazy not to read it if YA romances are your jam. I’m so glad I was able to revisit old characters while continuing on with new ones. This book was truly a delight!“-Ariel, The Book View
“It’s an opposites-attract (popular guy/ unpopular girl), friends to lovers and fake dating romance that will make you remember your first crush and first love.”-Kristee, Goodreads Review
“This is cheesy, cute and soooo romantic. I’ve been smiling wide enough for my jaw to hurt and have definitely leaked a few tears.
✓High school
✓Fake Dating
✓Coach’s daughter
✓Clean romance
✓Animal lovers”-Navya, Goodreads Review
“I could not keep from smiling the entire time I read this book.“-Gabrielle, Goodreads Review
“I really enjoyed reading Wallflower!! The banter between Viola and Dare was such a vibe!”-Amazon Review
“Love all her books. She is top of my one-click. Couldn’t wait for this and it didn’t disappoint.”-Amazon Review

You guys, seriously, bloggers are awesome, and readers rock! And the romance writing community rocks as well! Special thanks to YA Bound Book Tours & Xpresso Book Tours!!! I can’t say thank you enough, so again…to every person who has helped spread the word about WALLFLOWER, for every review/post/share/encouraging message/comment: THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

WALLFLOWER is just a little YA romance. I’m pretty helpless when it comes to marketing. And yet, the book is doing well, and that’s all thanks to you!

Last week was Book Birthday Week, and I’m holding a giveaway here! There are still a couple days to enter if you haven’t already. Good luck, you guys!

I also finally hit 20k on my current WIP, hooray! It feels like it’s taken me forever ha. But I think that’s because I keep switching POVs–and just general writer’s block blech. But I finally hit 20k words woop! So thankful for that!

And I was able to get the COVID vaccine. Not going to lie. My thoughts were tinged with sadness. I couldn’t help but think about all of the people who were lost to the disease, how very grateful they would’ve been to receive a vaccine or to have their families in the hospital room while they fought it. How much those families would’ve given to be with their loved ones for their last moments.

Anyway, I am very thankful to have gotten my shot. I’m hopeful that these crazy, sad times will one day come to an end. And I pray good health, strength and healing is with you my lovely readers.

Hope you are well and that you had a wonderful Easter!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

P.S. Here are a few of the screenshots I took for WALLFLOWER. <3 It’s been a #1 hot new release for several of its categories (in the U.S. & Australia), a #1 bestseller two of them in the U.S. and even hit #1 in Germany!

So many pictures lol, but who knows if this will ever happen again! Thank you so much for giving WALLFLOWER such a wonderful start!!!

19
Apr
2018

Bookish Updates

categories: Adorkable, cover love, doing what you love, Ninja Girl, Release Day, Romance, The Unbelievable Inconceivable Unforeseeable Truth About Ethan Wilder, YA, YA Bound Book Tours, YA mystery

Hi everyone! Today, I have some bookish updates for you :).

Bookish Update #1: Thank you SO much to everyone who participated in The Unbelievable, Inconceivable, Unforeseeable Truth About Ethan Wilder Blog Tour!!! I appreciate YA Bound Book Tours and all of the bloggers who helped spread the word and posted about my YA romance murder mystery! Also, I know that this is late, but recently real life has been a bit difficult. To be honest, it’s been hard to stay positive. I didn’t want to come on here and bring everybody down lol. I constantly remind myself that 1) Things could be so much worse. And 2) There are several things to be thankful for.

That’s why I’ve decided to post a few of the reviews for Ethan Wilder that have really helped lift my spirits <3.

These are from the blog tour:

“You MAY read this because you like mystery; you SHOULD read this because you enjoy YA romance; you MUST read this because Ethan Wilder is Unbelievable, Inconceivable, Unforeseeable PERFECT!!!”-Isabelle at More Books Than Livros

“Very engaging and quirky. I was on hook, line and sinker from the moment Delilah and Ethan first laid eyes on each other.”-Indie Wish List

“The story itself was unique, interesting, and surprising. It took me on twists, and turns, and then more twists and turns, and then I, who pride myself on being able to “figure it out” before the end” was utterly shocked. Great job to the author on keeping me guessing!”-Shannon at The Tale Temptress

“As we watch the truth unfold and the mystery deepen, so does the danger and it just really grabs hold of you.”- Books Are Love

“Tough yet fun, with wit and solid characterization to the point where Delilah and Ethan were almost swamped by supporting characters (in a good way), this was a fun mystery peppered with romance. Recommended.”- Christina Philippou, author of Lost In Static

“I am a huge fan of Cookie and again she does not disappoint, I am going to VERY HIGHLY recommend this book to you all and I really hope you love it as much as I did!”-Am Kinda Busy Reading

“It’s difficult to describe the story without giving much away but think quirky YA contemporary romance meets coming of age story with a unique tone and a big old mystery!”- Zili In The Sky

“O’Gorman has penned another winner. With the addition of a mysterious death, she turned the typical contemporary into something deeper, more thought-provoking, and fun.”-Kelli at BookCrushin

There were also some really fantastic reviews from readers on Goodreads (of course, I couldn’t help but read them :)). They’ll probably never see this–hello to the 5 people who read these posts lol–but if you wrote a review or post, thank you so so much! I am so grateful that you took time out of your busy schedule to read/post about Delilah and Ethan’s story. I appreciate each and every review/rating. My writer-ly journey would not be half as awesome without you, and I really can’t thank you enough!

Bookish Update #2: The Hungarian version of NINJA GIRL comes out today!!!!!

The gorgeous cover is below, and I love it–especially Snow and that cute pink ninja! <3

Seriously, I think it’s so freaking awesome. I haven’t gotten my copies from LOL yet, but I can’t wait to add it to my shelf :).

May the LOL readers love Ash and Snow, and may the Force, Bruce Lee and kimchi be with you!

Bookish Update #3: ADORKABLE was was #1 in one of its categories in Germany a few weeks ago!!! Yayyyyy! (Thought this was cool because the book has been out for a while and still somehow got to that spot. So thankful!)

I hope you are all having a great week–and if you’re not, I hope you can find something positive to lift you up <3.

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

03
Apr
2018

The Unbelievable, Inconceivable, Unforeseeable Truth About Ethan Wilder blog tour

categories: doing what you love, Romance, The Unbelievable Inconceivable Unforeseeable Truth About Ethan Wilder, YA, YA Bound Book Tours, YA mystery

Oh my goodness, you guys! It’s time for The Unbelievable, Inconceivable, Unforeseeable Truth About Ethan Wilder Blog Tour!

It started yesterday, and as always, I’m so excited and nervous and genuinely looking forward to seeing what people thought about the book. (The nerves are totally there, but I’m trying to stay positive lol!) If you’d like to follow the tour, here’s a link. Thank you to YA Bound Book Tours and to all of the bloggers who signed up to review/post about this book!!! I’m so grateful to you for helping to get Delilah and Ethan’s story out there <3. Ooh, also, there’s a giveaway if you’d like to enter! Good luck, Happy (late) Easter, and I hope you’re having a great week!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

17
May
2017

Yay!

categories: giveaway, Ninja Girl, YA, YA Bound Book Tours

The NINJA GIRL Blog Tour Giveaway has officially concluded, yay! Thank you so much to everyone who entered and helped spread the word about Ash and Snow’s book. You’re awesome. A winner was randomly chosen to receive the $25 Amazon gift card, and that person is…

Yadira!!!

Congratulations, Yadira, and thank you so much for entering! Your gift card will be on the way shortly :).

Again, thank you to everyone for your support of NINJA GIRL. It means so much. I’ve been a little under the weather recently, but I’m still planning to do that post about Ash *sigh.* It may just be a little later in the week. I hope you are all doing well and that you have a great day!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

11
May
2017

Snow’s Top 10 Ninja Tips

categories: Amazon, Be Yourself, doing what you love, fun, Ninja Girl, Romance, YA, YA Bound Book Tours

The idea for this post was inspired by Snow from my YA romance NINJA GIRL (of course!) and Tressa over at Wishful Endings. (You can read the original here.)

One of my favorite things about writing is really getting into the heads of my characters. My MCs are people that I admire, that I could see myself being friends with, and Snow is a ninja girl after my own heart. 🙂 She’s tough yet vulnerable, strong yet soft on the inside, smart and incredibly loyal. In short, she is one tough cookie, and I love her for it. So without further ado…

Snow’s Top 10 Ninja Tips:

Embrace your inner ninja (aka love yourself and everything that makes you YOU).

Watch out for mean girls. Even ninjas have feelings, and mean girls always go for the weak spots.

Be stealth–especially when it comes to stealing a kiss from a stranger in a theater. Who said you have to wait for that first kiss?

Adhere to the ninja way, and always stick up for your friends (even when they keep secrets and drag you to Girls Night…ugh).

Say “no” to karaoke. Just because you kick ass does not mean you have ninja singing skills.

Work out every day–especially if you’ve eaten marshmallow fluff the night before.

Keep it professional (aka stop accidentally kissing the guy whose body you’re supposed to be guarding).

Some ninjas like chick flicks…or have a collection of every romantic comedy ever.

Be fearless if you can. If you’re scared, be brave and do it anyway.

If someone loves you for the ninja that you are, don’t be afraid to love them right back <3.

Like I said, I love Snow! I’m really hoping readers will as well. Next week, I’m planning to do a post about Ash…oh Ash, sigh <333. Keep a lookout for that if you’d like to fangirl right along with me lol. Also, if you like winning free stuff, there’s still a few more days to enter the NINJA GIRL Blog Tour Giveaway! I hoped you enjoyed these ninja tips as much as I did, and I hope you have a great day!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

P.S. NINJA GIRL hit #1 in the U.S. in one of its categories this week!!! Yayyyyy, whoohoo, and hi-yah!

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

24
Apr
2017

NINJA GIRL Blog Tour

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

Yay, it’s time for the NINJA GIRL Blog Tour!

Excitement and nervousness are battling it out, but I’m looking forward to (and also dreading lol) seeing what readers thought of the book. I can’t believe NINJA GIRL has been out for almost a month! That’s just crazy. I really hope people love Snow and Ash and their story. Oh I so hope that! No matter what though, I am grateful for every blogger who took the time out to review and/or post about book baby #2 :). Thank you to YA Bound Book Tours for working with me again, and thank you to every reader who has helped spread the word about NINJA GIRL! If you’re interested, here is a link to the tour. Several awesome blogs are involved, and there’s also a giveaway! I hope your week is off to a great start!

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

04
May
2016

And the winners are…

categories: Adorkable, Adorkable Book Blitz, debut, fun, giveaway, The ADORKABLE Challenge, YA, YA Bound Book Tours

The time has finally come! I’m amazed at how many people decided to participate in both the ADORKABLE Blog Tour Giveaway and the Book Blitz (aka The ADORKABLE Challenge) Giveaway. Thank you for helping me spread the word about my book. It was so fun seeing all of the pictures, and I laughed out loud at several of them :). Thank you YA Bound Book Tours for helping organize everything and for making this possible! Thank you to everyone who participated, followed, tweeted, posted etc. All winners were chosen randomly–thank goodness because you are all truly adorkable!!!

And the winners are…

ADORKABLE Blog Tour winner ($25 Amazon gift card) = Karen!

The #AdorkableChallenge Champion winner ($50 Amazon gift card) = Linda!

3 Runner up winners ($10 Amazon gift card) = Nikolina, Gina and Kristy!

CONGRATULATIONS, everyone! You will be receiving an email from me shortly including your prize. Thank you so much again to all who entered and to everyone who has given ADORKABLE a chance.

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

04
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