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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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 […]
Simi Valley book lovers, let’s talk books! I’m excited to announce that I’ll be visiting The Open Book in Simi Valley, California, on Saturday, December 5, 2026, for an author reading! As a Dominican-American author, I write stories that explore identity, family, culture, belonging, and the complicated things we inherit from those who came before […]
Who says spooky season has to end on Halloween? Not me! And apparently, not the folks at Till Death Society either! I’m bringing my books to Nightmare Before Christmas: A Dark Holiday Market in Tarzana, California, on Saturday, December 19, 2026! If your idea of holiday cheer involves a little darkness, creepy decorations, gothic gifts, […]
Join Dominican-American author Johanny Ortega at NovelCon 2027, a large multi-author book signing and bookish marketplace in Scottsdale, Arizona. Hosted by Readers of the Valley and Bookish Becca Co., NovelCon […]