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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Welcome to Season 5 of Have a Cup of Johanny, where we’re no longer just reflecting—we’re reclaiming.
This season marks a shift.
When this podcast started, it was all about the lessons I was learning in real-time—through writing, through healing, through the beautiful chaos of life. But Season 5? This season is about teaching what those lessons left behind.
Because I’ve lived enough, read enough, cried enough, and unlearned enough to know this:
We don’t just survive for the sake of it. We survive to pass the torch.
Season 5 is bold. It’s clear. It’s not asking for permission. Whether I’m talking about immigration myths, internalized oppression, book bans, or reclaiming identity through fiction, you’re getting my whole chest.
So if you’ve been rocking with me from the beginning, thank you. If you’re new here: Welcome. There’s room at this table, but bring your cafecito and an open heart, because these conversations? They’re real.
Pull up a chair. Let’s learn, unlearn, and teach—together.
— Johanny ‘Joa’ Ortega
Host of Have a Cup of Johanny
There’s a question that has been sitting with me lately, and it’s heavier than it sounds: How much of who you are did you actually choose? Not your favorite music.Not your coffee order.Not your aesthetic. I mean the deeper parts.The role you play in your family.The way you handle conflict.The voice in your head that…
In my previous podcast episode, I unpacked something uncomfortable: how attaching our identity to political figures, celebrities, or rigid ideologies can shut down critical thinking and turn disagreement into personal threat. But here’s the nuance that matters. Identity itself is not the problem. Identity is powerful. The issue isn’t that we attach our identity to…
There is a difference between believing in something and becoming it. In my most recent podcast episode (you can listen to it above), I explored something uncomfortable but necessary: what happens when we attach our identity to political figures, movements, or rigid ideals. Not when we support them. Not when we vote for them. But…
Born in the Dominican Republic, Johanny Ortega’s childhood was enriched by the magic of books, igniting her imagination with each page turned. Her move to the U.S. only fueled this passion, as she mastered English to dive deeper into diverse literary worlds. However, a striking realization hit her: the absence of characters echoing her own experiences. This gap propelled Johanny from an eager reader to a dynamic storyteller, crafting narratives that echo her Dominican heritage across genres and age groups. At “Have a Cup of Johanny LLC,” she’s not just an author but a champion for BIPOC voices, ensuring underrepresented narratives get their spotlight. Writing under two aliases, J.E. Ortega for adult fiction and Johanny Ortega for younger readers, she weaves tales that transcend boundaries, each character a vibrant testament to Dominican strength and spirit. 📚🇩🇴✨
