Johanny Ortega | Have A Cup Of Johanny LLC
The Ordinary Bruja
For fans of Mexican Gothic and The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina, The Ordinary Bruja is a psychological horror and magical realism novel about grief, ancestral secrets, Dominican brujería, and one woman’s fight to reclaim the magic her family tried to bury.
When strange messages appear in mirrors, and the scent of cigar smoke follows her through her small Ohio hometown, Marisol Espinal must confront the ghosts of her past, the truth about her mother’s death, and the family curse waiting for her on Hallowthorn Hill.
Her family buried the magic. Now it wants out.
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Blog
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Mrs. Franchy’s Evil Ring: A Fresh Spin on Christmas Tales
Read more: Mrs. Franchy’s Evil Ring: A Fresh Spin on Christmas Tales“Mrs. Franchy’s Evil Ring” is a refreshing take on Christmas tales, filled with suspense, adventure, and valuable life lessons. Set during a frosty Massachusetts winter, it follows the journey of a brave nine-year-old, Isla, who faces her biggest fear – her stepmom. Along the way, Isla and her family learn to let go of long-held…
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Echoes of Despair: A Glimpse into Gaza’s Crisis Through an Outsider’s Eyes
Read more: Echoes of Despair: A Glimpse into Gaza’s Crisis Through an Outsider’s EyesThus Far: An Overview On October 7, 2023, an act of violence broke through our subconscious and enlightened most to see something that has been going on for 75 years. Hamas, a rebellious group from Palestine that has been categorized as a terrorist group by various countries, attacked and killed Israeli civilians attending a concert.…
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My Book Baby Has a Playlist—and a Whole Lot of Feelings
Read more: My Book Baby Has a Playlist—and a Whole Lot of FeelingsThis morning, I hit play on the The Ordinary Bruja playlist—both the iTunes and Spotify versions I just finished—and I had to pause my life for a second. Literally stopped mid-song to record this journal entry because damn, I am feeling it. There’s this strange magic that happens when your story begins to sound like…
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The Healing Power of Stillness
Read more: The Healing Power of StillnessHave you ever felt that sinking feeling of anxiety when things aren’t going as planned? That’s exactly what happened to me at Latina Fest, standing at my author table watching people walk by without glancing at my books. My stomach tightened as those insidious thoughts crept in: “Maybe I won’t sell anything today. This was…
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The Three Girlies: Marisol’s Bullies or Her Broken Mirrors?
Read more: The Three Girlies: Marisol’s Bullies or Her Broken Mirrors?In The Ordinary Bruja, there are monsters on the hill—but there are also monsters in the mirror. That’s where the Three Girlies come in. At first glance, Delgada, Sabia, and Blanca might read as your standard mean girls, but dig deeper and you’ll realize they’re not just tormentors—they’re reflections of Marisol’s deepest wounds. Each one…
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Welcome to Willowshade: The Town That Whispers Back (and the Real-Life Town That Inspired It)
Read more: Welcome to Willowshade: The Town That Whispers Back (and the Real-Life Town That Inspired It)Willowshade, Ohio might be fictional, but its roots are buried deep in a real place that shaped me: Tomah, Wisconsin. Back in 2020, when the world shut down and we were all trying to make sense of a new kind of stillness, I was stationed in Tomah during quarantine. I had never lived in a…
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Abuela’s Jarabe Lives On: A Dominican Remedy I’m Now Passing Down
Read more: Abuela’s Jarabe Lives On: A Dominican Remedy I’m Now Passing DownThere’s a jar in my fridge right now that smells like childhood and tastes like resistance. I’ve been giving my family el famoso jarabe—the homemade remedy my mamá used to make for my sister and me when we were sick growing up in the Dominican Republic. We didn’t really do store-bought medicine back then. We…
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Marisol Is Me — Hesitant, Haunted, and Holding On
Read more: Marisol Is Me — Hesitant, Haunted, and Holding OnThere’s something deeply sacred about writing a character who holds a piece of your truth—especially the parts you kept hidden, even from yourself. In the final episode of The Why Behind the Bruja podcast series, I talk about how Marisol isn’t just a fictional character. She’s me. The hesitant girl who didn’t want to be…
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