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 ancestor buried the magic. Now it wants out.
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Join me at Slasher Market for a killer evening of horror, dark storytelling, and spooky local vendors. I’ll be bringing signed copies of my adult psychological horror novel, The Ordinary Bruja, a haunting story of grief, inherited trauma, family secrets, and the terrifying power buried within one woman’s ancestral legacy. When Marisol Espinal returns to the […]
Join me at The Gothic Market on Saturday, August 8, 2026, at the Riverside County Fairgrounds in Southern California. From 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., the market will bring together gothic creators, alternative vendors, artists, authors, and lovers of all things strange, dark, mysterious, and beautifully macabre. Whether you are searching for gothic books, unusual […]
Join me in Los Angeles for LATINAFest at the Metro: Arte, Libros y Cultura, a celebration of Latino art, literature, culture, and community! I’ll be there as an author with […]
Join me for an evening of books, culture, and community at Danza Azteca Citlaltonac Indigenous Cultural Center in Coachella, California. I’ll be there for a special book signing from 7:00–8:30 […]
Join me at GRIM FESTIVAL 2026 in Stockton, California, for a full day celebrating storytelling, horror, books, film, art, food, and all things wonderfully grim. I’ll be there as an […]
Join me at Cottonwood’s Fall Festival for an afternoon of books, local vendors, community fun, and autumn vibes! I’ll be there with signed copies of my books, including The Ordinary […]
Step into the spooky season with Johanny Ortega at the Macabre Mysterium Market during Zombie Crawl 2026 in Vista, California. This evening market will bring together horror lovers, local vendors, […]
I’m excited to announce that I’ll be bringing my books to the Día de Muertos Celebration at the Dominguez Rancho Adobe Museum in Rancho Dominguez, California, on November 7! Día […]
Join Johanny Ortega, author of The Ordinary Bruja, at the Twentynine Palms Book Festival from November 13–15, 2026. This will be the first public event appearance for The Ordinary Bruja, a Dominican gothic horror novel about messy family dynamics, inherited magic, grief, silence, and the kind of haunting that begins long before the ghost […]