Category: YA


Jul
2018

ADORKABLE Audiobook Giveaway :)

categories: Adorkable, ADORKABLE Audiobook Giveaway, doing what you love, giveaway, Harry Potter, Romance, YA

As promised, it’s time for a giveaway!

ICYMI, the ADORKABLE audiobook came out last week!  That is definitely something worth celebrating, and I can’t think of a better way to to do that than to hold a giveaway to thank all of you awesome readers :).

The giveaway will run from today until midnight on July 20, 2018.  The prizes are: 5 ADORKABLE audiobooks and a $10 Amazon gift card.  That means there will be 6 winners!  I remembered to include a free entry (finally lol, I’ve been meaning to do that for all of them!), and there are other ways you can enter as well (such as commenting on this post ;)).  Just use the rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I also wanted to share this screenshot that made me smile.

Okay, so did anyone else notice all of the Harry Potter goodness going on in that picture???  Since ADORKABLE is now available on iTunes, when I click on the “related” tab, I am instantly transported to Hogwarts lol!  How freaking awesome is that?  I’m sure it’s because the HP books are the bestselling YA/kids audiobooks and are therefore related to everything, but it’s still cool.  I loved seeing that–and you know Sally would’ve loved it, too!

Good luck everyone on the giveaway, and I hope you are having an awesome summer!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

 


Jun
2018

ADORKABLE Audiobook Release Day!

categories: Adorkable, audiobook, cover love, doing what you love, Release Day, Romance, YA

Today’s the day: ADORKABLE is officially available as an audiobook!!!  Woohoo, yayyy, huzzah!

Don’t you just love how the ADORKABLE audiobook cover is so like the original?  The gorgeous/swoony feel, the colors and that bench *sigh*.  Thank you so much to Tantor Media for making this happen and to Andrea Emmes, the incredible narrator!  Seriously guys, she rocks, and I’m so lucky she’s the one reading Sally and Becks’s story <3.

As many times as I’ve read ADORKABLE, I absolutely LOVED hearing the story read to me!

It’s such an amazing experience to hear the words.  If you loved Sally and Becks, I think you’ll adore the audiobook!  And if you haven’t read the book, there’s a new way to experience ADORKABLE on Audible, Google, iTunes, Kobo and other outlets, including libraries *__*.

(FYI: Libraries are made of awesome.)

ADORKABLE is now an audiobook, you guys!  Ugh, I’m so excited, and if you’d help spread the word, I’d be so very thankful.  Please check it out, and let me know what you think :-).  May the Force, Becks, and Harry Potter be with you.  I hope you all have an awesome Saturday!

Happy reading (and listening),

Cookie O’Gorman

P.S.  There will be a giveaway next week to celebrate, yayyy!


Jun
2018

The Art of Taking Chances

categories: fun, Romance, The Art of Taking Chances, YA

It’s release day for “The Art of Taking Chances” anthology! 🙂

Nine authors with nine short YA romance stories and a beautiful cover.  I was honored to write the foreword–but you may just want to skip that and get right to the sweet stories!  I wouldn’t blame you lol.  It looks like the book is available in paperback and e-book (for just $0.99), so check it out!

Happy Friday, everyone, and be on the lookout tomorrow for another post about another release that I can’t wait to share!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman


Jun
2018

Thank You, Lemonade, and Bookish Updates

categories: Adorkable, Amazon, doing what you love, Romance, The Art of Taking Chances, YA

First off, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who offered their condolences.  I never expected so much support from my readers—though I should’ve known better because you girls and guys are simply the best.  Your support and understanding during this time was so appreciated.

Not gonna lie.  June has been a tough month.  Life has a way of kicking you when you’re down, and that’s definitely been the case these past weeks.

*Deep breath*

But now, it’s time to make lemonade.

I mean, what else can you do, right?  Real life is over there, chucking all these lemons at your head—the jerk—and do you just sit there and take it?  No.  You stand up, gather the lemons, take the sour/bitter stuff, pour some sugar on it and try to make some freaking lemonade.

Luckily, I have some really sweet things coming up.

Prepare yourself for some truly awesome updates.

1)  I wrote the foreword for a YA romance anthology that comes out June 29, 2018!  It’s called The Art of Taking Chances, features some very talented YA authors–including Kelsie Stelting, who is awesome and orchestrated this whole thing–and you can read more about it here.  If you’re interested, you can also get an Advanced Reader Copy here.  I hope you’ll check it out!  Also, isn’t that cover a beauty? <3

2)  ADORKABLE is being made into an audiobook!!!  Actually, it’s already been made and comes out June 30, 2018!  *Gasp*  I know!  I’ve been wanting to share this exciting news for a long time.  Now, we’ll get to experience Sally and Becks’s story in a whole new format, and that is just incredible!  I’ll have more news on this later, but…yippeeee!  ADORKABLE will soon be available in audio!

3)  After receiving an email from Amazon, for a limited time, ADORKABLE is enrolled in Prime Reading.  I’m somewhat nervous but hoping this will be a good opportunity to reach new readers.  I’ll be sure to let you know how it turns out.

And those are the updates!  There’s a lot of great things happening, and I’m trying to take them all in—even though, like I said, those dang lemons keep coming.

I think I have enough at this point to last a lifetime lol.

But I’ll keep trying to make lemonade, breathing deep and hoping for the best.  How has your summer been so far?  More lemons or lemonade?  Here’s hoping you’ve found a ton of great reads along the way!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman


May
2018

Disappearing Reviews

categories: Adorkable, Amazon, self-publishing, writing, YA

Warning: This post may get a little mopey (though I’ll try to stay upbeat and end on a positive note :)).

My Amazon reviews have been disappearing.  Not reviews that I’ve written, but ones that were written about my books by readers.  *Sigh.*  I think I’ve mentioned it before, but I’m very OCD when it comes to checking up on my book babies.  Seriously, I check their pages almost daily.  The “almost” is because I’d actually gotten better about this, sometimes checking every other day instead of every. single. day.  But the “almost” is no more after what’s been happening.

Most recently, the reviews I noticed have gone missing were from ADORKABLE.

The screenshots are from 2018 (this year) on May 8, 9, 11, and 13.  As you can see the numbers go from 469…to 467…then back up to 468.  Now this may not seem like much, right?  But at one point, ADORKABLE had 470 reviews.  Unfortunately, I have no screenshot of this, but when I noticed it dropping I started to pay closer attention.  OCD, remember?

Anyway, I noticed the drop from 470 to 469 but didn’t freak out.  Then I actually got two new reviews–and the total went down a few days later to 468.  Then down again to 467.  Annnd commence freak out lol!  That means I actually lost 4-5 reviews all around the same period of time.  Strange, right?  Something had to be wrong.  All I needed to do was contact Amazon, tell them what was happening, and they would fix it.  Right???

Wrong.

Here are the responses I received from Amazon.  Basically, they include the reasons they remove Amazon reviews and say there’s nothing they can do.  I was floored.  I read through the guidelines for removing a review, and none of them apply to me.  My family is very small, and none of them have reviews for my books up on Amazon (Full disclosure: My aunt did write one back when ADORKABLE was first released in 2016, and it was removed immediately).

One of the other reasons stated is that a reviewer may choose to remove their own review.  Well, at least one of the reviews that disappeared was a 4-star.  I know how much time and thought goes into writing a review.  Heck, it takes me a couple of hours to write a post!  So, I don’t think anyone who wrote and posted an Amazon review–let alone a nice one–which means they liked the book!–would take it down.

Also, none of the reviews for my books link to other products (reason 3 for removing a review).

The people at Amazon don’t disclose what reviews were taken down or why.  Only the person who wrote the review can request to see the reason why their review was removed–even though Amazon doesn’t notify them, so the reviewer would never know it was missing in the first place.

Naturally, I wasn’t satisfied, and that’s why I got another email from Amazon.  It was a cut-and-paste of the first response.

I’ve also noticed a couple of reviews disappear from NINJA GIRL.  Le sigh.  But I’m one of the lucky ones because, so far, readers keep reading and reviewing.

Reviews mean everything to a self-published writer.

It cannot be overstated.

Reviews are what drive new readers to your books.  Reviews let people know a book is worth their time, money, effort.  And reviews let writers know there are people who love their books (outside of family), that they should keep writing, that they are providing something of value to others.

When you’re out there on your own, trying to make a name for yourself and your books, it is difficult.  No one is there to help you, no one has your back, no one is telling you to keep writing or when the deadlines are.  If you fail, it’s all on you.  If you succeed, it may be you…or just luck.  And just imagine, when you finally break through, when you find those readers who enjoy your books…Amazon decides to remove their reviews with no explanation.  No warning.  The reviews, the readers’ thoughts, are there one day, gone the next.  It is so disheartening.  For both the writer and the reviewer.

So what did I do after all this was said and done?  I saved the reviews in a Word doc then took screenshots.  Several hours, 77 pages of text reviews and 81 pages of screenshots later, everything was saved 0__0.  And that was just for ADORKABLE!!!

Yes, I did this for all of my books.  And yes, I know it sounds a bit extreme LOL, but I had to do it.  I want to be able to read those reviews over and over (the nice ones, of course :)).  And if Amazon won’t help me in this matter, well, I couldn’t just give up.

Thank you to everyone who has written a review for one (or more) of my books!  Your support means the world, and I hope you will keep writing reviews!  I will most definitely keep reading them <3.

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

 

 


May
2018

All About Ethan

categories: Amazon, doing what you love, Goodreads, Romance, self-publishing, The Unbelievable Inconceivable Unforeseeable Truth About Ethan Wilder, YA, YA mystery

Hi everyone!  My YA romance murder mystery, The Unbelievable, Inconceivable, Unforeseeable Truth About Ethan Wilder (aka book baby #3) was released on April 5, 2018.  As of last week, it has been out a month.  I thought you might like to hear how it’s been doing out there in the big wide world! 🙂

Every time I release a book, I watch it very closely and end up taking wayyy too many screenshots lol.  But it helps me remember the good things–and I think that’s important.

Here are the stats for Ethan Wilder’s first month:

The Unbelievable, Inconceivable, Unforeseeable Truth About Ethan Wilder was a #1 hot new release in France!!!

It was also a hot new release in the U.S. and the U.K.!

It was on this cool list with some books I greatly enjoyed (looking at you Miss Peregrine and Red Queen :)).

Annnd it was #1 in one of it’s categories in Germany!!!

So far, TUIUTAEW has: 9 reviews on Amazon, 21 reviews on Goodreads, and 301 people have added the book on Goodreads.  A lot of pages have been read on Kindle Unlimited as well (60,000+).  I hope readers will continue to find and embrace Ethan and Delilah’s story!  The category of YA mystery/romance is a bit different than YA romance.  The book has done great so far (despite my ineptness with marketing LOL), and I hope it continues to find the readers who will love it <3.

I hope you are all doing well, and if you’ve read (or are planning to read) The Unbelievable, Inconceivable, Unforeseeable Truth About Ethan Wilder, you are awesome!  You rock my socks, make the world a brighter place, and are just all-around lovely!  Have a great week, everyone! 🙂

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman


May
2018

Congrats!!!

categories: Adorkable, Amazon, giveaway, Ninja Girl, The Unbelievable Inconceivable Unforeseeable Truth About Ethan Wilder, YA

It’s time to announce the winner of The Unbelievable, Inconceivable, Unforeseeable Truth About Ethan Wilder Blog Tour giveaway!  Thank you to everyone who entered–there were over 7,000 entries, so I’m guessing there were a lot of you lol.  And thank you so much to everyone who participated in the book blitz last week :).  You’re all awesome!

Without further ado, the winner is…

Laura!!!

Congratulations, Laura!  I’ll be sending your $25 Amazon gift card soon, and I hope you enjoy your prize.  Thank you so much for participating in the giveaway!

In other news, I’m going to do another post next week to let you know how THE UNBELIEVABLE, INCONCEIVABLE, UNFORESEEABLE TRUTH ABOUT ETHAN WILDER has been doing.  Yay!!!  I’ve also got some other ideas for posts (including disappearing Amazon reviews (ugh), finding out ADORKABLE is referred to as an if-you-liked-this-you’ll-like-that book (gasp), how NINJA GIRL seems to have more male readers than my other books (hmm), how change is hard and real life can be too (yep) etc.), so please stay tuned!

I hope you are all well and filling your shelves with incredible books!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

 


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


Apr
2018

The Unbelievable, Inconceivable, Unforeseeable Truth About Ethan Wilder Release Day!

categories: Amazon, doing what you love, Release Day, Romance, self-publishing, The Unbelievable Inconceivable Unforeseeable Truth About Ethan Wilder, YA, YA mystery

Yay, yay, yay, it’s finally here!

The Unbelievable, Inconceivable, Unforeseeable Truth About Ethan Wilder is being released today, and my heart is all aflutter.  It’s been resting on my computer forever, and now…it’s out there.  It’s finally out there.  Oh goodness, my heart is with you little book!  I hope readers enjoy it, and if they could fall in love with Ethan, Delilah, and the whole quirky crew, that would be amazing.  I hope they laugh, gasp and swoon.  And of course, I hope this little YA romance murder mystery keeps people guessing.

Thank you so much to everyone who has supported my books!  It means everything.  Readers, you are lovely/awesome/incredible/amazing/all the good things.  May you live long and prosper.  May the odds be ever in your favor.  And may your sweet tea always be sweet enough.

If you like small towns, best friends, southern charm and swoonworthy bad boys, I hope you’ll try The Unbelievable, Inconceivable, Unforeseeable Truth About Ethan Wilder.  I hope you love it–and if you do, please let me know!  Here in the south we love a good piece of gossip :).

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

 


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