Category: YA


Dec
2017

It’s Giveaway Time :)

categories: Amazon, giveaway, Ninja Girl, Ninja Girl Christmas Giveaway, Romance, self-publishing, YA

Okay, in case you missed it: NINJA GIRL came out in paperback yesterday!  Yay, yay, yayyyyy :).  I’ve gotten several nice comments, and I appreciate them so much; the power of a kind word to brighten someone’s day is very real.  Also, some people have already bought the book–which is crazy awesome.  I’m so so thankful for every reader and for anyone who gives Ash and Snow a chance <3.

Second, like I said at the end of the previous post…it’s giveaway time!!!

The NINJA GIRL Christmas Giveaway will run from December 15 until December 25, and a random winner will be chosen to win a $25 Amazon gift card! 🙂  You can enter using the rafflecopter below.  With Christmas right around the corner, I definitely wanted to do a giveaway to say THANK YOU to my readers, so please enter as many times as you can!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I’ll be doing another post next week, but until then…happy holidays, everyone!  I hope life is treating you well.  Thank you so much again for making yesterday a great day, and best of luck in the giveaway!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman


Dec
2017

Happy Paperback Release Day!!!

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

I can’t believe it’s here!  Today is the day, my adorkable ninja readers, the day that Snow and Ash make their big debut in print <333.  And I’ve gotta say:

Happy Paperback Release Day, NINJA GIRL!!!!!!!

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It’s live, you guys!  Snow and Ash’s story is now available in another format, and I’m so excited.  I hope readers embrace their story, and the mix of action and romance.  I hope they love the strength, the chemistry, the funny, and of course, the swoon in NINJA GIRL.

Oh my Ash, do I hope they swoon :).

I can honestly say that this–publishing my second paperback–is just as exciting (and nerve-wracking lol) as the first time.  I care about my characters, and the experience of seeing a physical copy of their story, the beautiful cover, the real-life pages, knowing all the feelings and time that went into writing this little YA romance?  Ahhh, it is a truly amazing feeling <3.

Also, print books are just awesome!  I only give them to the people I really like lol.  I don’t loan mine out because I’m afraid of bent pages and torn covers (shivers).  As much as I love my iPad–and I definitely do!–books you can hold in your hand are irreplaceable.  Some people only read print books.  So, I’m hoping NINJA GIRL will find even more awesome readers and that Snow and Ash will find a place in their hearts and on their shelves.

And it’s just in time for Christmas!!!

I love getting books for Christmas, so hopefully NINJA GIRL (and ADORKABLE) will find its way under some bookish person’s Christmas tree lol :).  As always, thank you so much for your support, and I hope you’re having a wonderful week!

Happy reading and Happy Paperback Release Day,

Cookie O’Gorman

P.S. I’ll be doing a giveaway tomorrow to celebrate, yayyyy! 🙂


Dec
2017

Just 2 Days!

categories: Adorkable, cover love, Harry Potter, Kamuzasok Kavarasok, Ninja Girl, Romance, self-publishing, YA

Just a reminder: The NINJA GIRL paperback will be released on Thursday, December 14, 2017!!!

That’s this week, you guys, in just 2 days–or 1 depending on when you read this post.

Also…I knew it would look awesome on my shelf.  Le sigh <3 <3 <3.

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Of course, Mr. Potter approves ;).

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I hope you are all well and that your shelves are gorgeous and overflowing with amazing books!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman

P.S. Oh my goodness, I really can’t believe NINJA GIRL is coming out in paperback this Thursday!!!!!  So, so excited!


Dec
2017

Proofs & Paperbacks

categories: cover love, Ninja Girl, Romance, self-publishing, YA

I received my NINJA GIRL proofs today, and opening the box, taking the book out, holding it in my hands was just *sigh* a truly amazing feeling!  Thank you SO much to Stephanie Mooney for this beautiful cover–she is magic, you guys!  This week I’ve been a bit under the weather–but I have to say seeing NINJA GIRL in print was a much needed pick-me-up :).

I hope it will do the same for you!

Here are the book pics–I took several because I was so excited, but I’ll limit it to three here lol.

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Here’s the paperback as it looked in the box…

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…the awesome title page…

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…the spine of the paperback <3.

I love, love, love it so much!!!!  That color fade on the spine?  Just WOW, and the book itself, I keep staring, but I can’t help it–and I don’t really want to lol.  I cannot wait to add it to my shelf right next to ADORKABLE :).  If you were one of the people who asked about if/when NINJA GIRL was coming to print or if you wrote a kind review/comment, THANK YOU!!!!!!  This one is for you, and I hope the print book finds even more readers who will love Snow and Ash’s story <3.

I will be releasing NINJA GIRL in paperback on December 14, 2017!!!

As long as Amazon doesn’t do anything weird, it should be available next Thursday (just in time for Christmas!).  Whether you’ve read the ebook or not, I hope you’ll check it out!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman


Dec
2017

Hello December

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

Hello December!

I hope the month is treating you well so far.  I also hope you’re further along in your Christmas shopping than me lol.  It’s a real problem, you guys.  There’s so much more to do, but I’ve been writing so all is well, right?  Just kidding.  But I did get a few presents today, so at least, it’s a start.

Speaking of writing, as mentioned in a previous post, this year I participated in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) for the first time.  It’s all about words/increasing word count, and I gotta tell you: It is a challenge!  But NaNoWriMo was also a lot of fun. 🙂  Every day in November I wrote down how many words I added to my WIP.  I tried to push forward and not look back.  This was hard, though, because I feel the need to fix things when they need fixing lol!

Anyway, for anyone who enjoys numbers, here are my stats.

Most words written in a day: 1,684 words

Number of Days I wrote: 26 days (the other 4 days I edited (hey, I couldn’t help myself!))

Word count at the end of November: 40,104 words

I had about 12,000 words prior to starting NaNoWriMo–which means I added about 28,000 words!!!  I wanted to significantly advance the story, and that definitely happened.  Also, the more I write this book, the more I love it <3.  Sometimes the words just won’t come, but they did in November, and I’m very thankful for that.

On another note…I ordered proofs for the NINJA GIRL paperback!!!! 0__0  WOOHOO!!!!!  They should be here Thursday, and I’m so excited to add it to my shelf with ADORKABLE.  Ahhh!  They are going to look so awesome together. 🙂  If all goes well with the proofs, I should have NINJA GIRL up on Amazon and available in paperback before Christmas.  Fingers crossed!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman


Nov
2017

Happy Green Bean Casserole Day!

categories: Adorkable, debut, doing what you love, Goodreads, Romance, YA

Hi everyone!  I hope you are having a very Happy Thanksgiving!  My favorite thing about today is that it reminds me there is so much to be thankful for–and I think, like a lot of people, I forget this way too often.  Family and friends, good health, food (especially green bean casserole, yum!), shelter, kind people with good hearts and bookshelves overflowing with amazing books.  I also found this yesterday which made me pretty ecstatic :).  ADORKABLE was one of the most read this week in sports romance books on Goodreads!!!

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Woohoo!  So thankful for this and the fact that people are still reading my books.  I’ve been writing this month–yay, yay, hooray!–and I’m thankful for that as well.  My work in progress is a story I loved from the very beginning, and I’m falling more in love with the characters as I continue.  Hopefully, I will have some book updates soon, but until then…

Happy Green Bean Casserole Day, everyone! 🙂

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman


Nov
2017

NINJA GIRL Fan Art!

categories: doing what you love, Fan Art, fun, NaNoWriMo, nice surprise, Ninja Girl, YA

I love fan art!  It is one of the coolest, most thoughtful, best things out there, and it has personally helped me find books/movies over the years that have become some of my favorites!  I love it when a reader takes time out of their busy schedule and creates a picture, drawing, video etc.  They put not only their time but their talent into making that, and it means so much.

As much as I love it, though, I never really expected anyone to make fan art for my work.

But someone did, you guys!!!!!

I got this tweet from Alyssa last Friday (it was sent a couple of days earlier, but I didn’t see it until then).

Ahhhhh! Isn’t it awesome?!? <3 <3 <3

I couldn’t stop staring *____*.   Snow looks SO perfect, strong and kickass and so dang cute!  (Sidenote: I’d always thought Snow would be doing a high kick on the book’s cover but never found the right pic.)  And then take a look at the bad guy–notice his wince as our NINJA GIRL is kicking butt and taking names.  And then, oh my goodness, Ash!!!  He is possibly my favorite part of this whole scenario.  His little heart eyes as he watches Snow are…sigh…perfection <3.

The tears came even though I tried to stop them.  They were the good kind of tears because I was just so moved.  Alyssa didn’t have to make this; she didn’t have to draw an action scene of NINJA GIRL.  But she did, and I am over-the-moon grateful for this!  Go check out her instagram (@fanbookart) and while you’re there look at her other amazing pieces.  I’m particularly fond of the Harry Potter drawings ;).

This was such a cool and unexpected surprise.  To get to see Snow and Ash drawn like this…it is just incredible, made me cry like a baby.  Honestly, I still can’t stop looking at it.  If I ever see Sally and Becks from ADORKABLE rendered this way, going by my previous reaction?  Well, we better get the tissues ready lol.

To Alyssa and all of the other fan art creators out there: You are amazing, and as a writer and a lover of awesome things to fangirl over, I am SO thankful for your talent and your thoughtfulness.

It’s almost the middle of November, and I’m still NaNoWriMo-ing.  Surprises like this and the encouraging comments I’ve heard from other readers/writers definitely have given me the drive to push forward.  I’ve added over 11,000 words to my WIP, and I’m hoping to add more.

I hope you are doing well and are having a great week!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman


Nov
2017

NaNoWriMo

categories: doing what you love, NaNoWriMo, self-publishing, writing, YA

November is National Novel Writing Month.

If you’re a writer, you probably already knew this lol!  But if not, basically, the goal is to write a novel (or about 50,000 words) in a month.  That’s actually a bit short for a book–a typical YA romance ends up being between 60,000-80,000 words–which is somewhat of an arbitrary range, but when I started writing, I did a LOT of research on this.

FYI, my rough drafts were always short of the normal length.  *Le sigh*

But anyway, back to NaNoWriMo.

I’ve always thought about participating.  There’s even an online community/website here!  Sooo…this year I’ve decided to try and stick with it.  I haven’t signed up–mostly because I feel like the people may have their own friends/groups, and I’m nervous about introducing myself, getting to know new people yada yada yada.  Maybe someday I’ll finally take the plunge, but for now, I’m staying in my hermit writing cave lol!

My personal NaNoWriMo goal is to write every day and to significantly advance my current WIP.

If that means 50,000 words…awesome.  If it means I get to “The End,” that would be even better.  If not, though, I’ve decided to be proud of the progress and enjoy the journey.

Confession time: I’m a slow writer.  Also…I only work on one story at a time.  Gasp, I know!  There are people who can work on several stories at once.  It still baffles me when authors are able to put out multiple books a year!  Truly, I envy and respect those writers SO much.  But right now, that’s just not me.

So again, my goal is to write, write, write!

Currently, I’ve added about: 561 words (Nov. 1) and 1,248 words (Nov. 2) to my WIP.

I hope this post didn’t bore you too much, just really wanted to share this with you guys :).  Wish me luck, and I hope you all have a great weekend!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman


Oct
2017

We have a winner!

categories: Adorkable, fun, giveaway, Happy Fall YA'll, YA

That title is absolutely correct.

We do indeed have a winner of the Happy Fall YA’ll Giveaway!!!!

But first, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who entered.  It did my heart good to see those entries–1,813 people in all which is absolutely incredible!  Thank you so much for being interested in my work, for wanting to know more about Sally and Becks and ADORKABLE.

Without further ado, the winner of the Happy Fall YA’ll Giveaway is…

Anthony!!!

Congratulations, Anthony, and thank you so much for being a part of the giveaway!  Your signed copy of ADORKABLE will be on its way very shortly.  I hope you enjoy the book, that it puts a smile on your face and gives you all the feels :).

In other news, since Halloween is coming up, I’ve seen some awesome costumes in my classes!  No ninjas, jedi or X-Men unfortunately, but there is always next week lol.  (There was one fantastic Hermione, though; she had a time-turner and everything!  Go girl!)  Seriously though, the kids I teach are so creative which makes me feel kinda bad because I struggle to come up with new ideas.  I’ve been a Hogwarts student for the past two years–proud HP alumi/supporter right here!–and it’s also a great reuse of my graduation gown ;).  I’ve also been a newsie, pumpkin, fairy, cat etc.  This year I went as “sleepy teacher” (who may make a recurrence next week).  This includes pajamas, messy hair (which is a given), slippers, robe etc.  It’s an accurate representation/costume, and it’s just soooooo darn comfortable :).

I wish you better luck with your costume ideas–if you go as your favorite book characters, I will be majorly jealous…but also impressed–and I hope you have a great weekend!

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman


Oct
2017

A Jedi, A Bad Guy and A Porg

categories: Adorkable, doing what you love, fun, Geeking Out, Star Wars, writing, YA

Hi readers!

You’ve probably already seen it, but I’m sharing something that made me go WOW and totally fed my inner-geek this week.  My girls–Sally Spitz and Snow-Soon Lee–would be all about it, and I am as well :).  The light sabers, the female jedi who looks like she’s going to be a major Force in the universe (pun intended lol ;)), a bad guy that I can’t help but love (that voice!!!), and of course, the cutest creature in all of the galaxy: the Porg! <3  Here’s the trailer for the upcoming movie, Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

Sooooo, what did you think?  Like I said, you’ve probably already seen it, but man!  That was an awesome trailer.  I also thought that glass/crystallized fox-thing was really cool.  That said, I really hope nothing bad happens to the crystal fox-things or the porg.  That would make this writer very upset :/.

In other news, the Happy Fall YA’ll Giveaway has ended and the winner of a signed copy of ADORKABLE will be announced next week!  Yay!  And you guys, I’ve been writing, working on my newest manuscript.  I know you’re probably like, “Duh, isn’t that just what you do?  Write?”  Well, sometimes the words won’t flow, but recently they have been–and this book!  Gah, I’m loving it.  Double yay!! I hope you all have a great weekend.  And of course, may the Force, the porg, and Becks be with you :).

Happy reading,

Cookie O’Gorman