Series: Las Cerradoras #1
Publication date: November 1st, 2025
Synopsis:
The Original Bruja is a haunting and heartfelt coming-of-age novel wrapped in Dominican magical realism and psychological horror.
Marisol Espinal doesn't believe she's special. Not when she's back in her small Ohio hometown, working as a barista, haunted by grief and the girls who once made her life hell. But when mirrors flicker with strange words, cigar smoke curls where no one is smoking, and voices whisper from Hallowthorn Hill, she realizes something darker has always been watching.
The Espinal family magic was buried generations ago--forced into silence by Salvador, the ancestor who bound their power for himself. Now his ghost feeds on fear and doubt, and Marisol is his next target. To survive, she must reclaim her heritage, unearth the truth hidden in her mother's journal, and face the hill that has been waiting for her all along.
Atmospheric and emotionally charged, The Original Bruja blends generational trauma, identity reclamation, and queer love with a creeping sense of dread. Perfect for fans of The Inheritance of Orquidea Divina and Mexican Gothic, this novel asks: What does it cost to embrace every part of yourself, even the parts the world taught you to bury?
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Excerpts
"The hill knows our family. It knows the magic Altagracia buried there. Magic that Salvador Espinal tried to take for himself."
"Marisol Espinal's name tag glinted under the harsh cafe lights, a cruel little mirror reflecting something she didn't want to see."
"She'll have to decide if she's ready to embrace every part of herself: the curls, the curves, the culture, the magic."
"Maybe being ordinary wasn't a curse. Maybe it was the point."
"Magic isn't a harmless fairytale. It's old. Demanding. It wants to be seen, to be known. And it's tired of being buried."
"A sudden high-pitched scrape--metal against glass--snapped Marisol from her memory. She froze, eyes widening in horror as words appeared slowly on the fogged-up windshield: 'La colina nos llama.' The hill calls to us."
"He was a horrible man alive and an even worse ghost."
"Even in death, he never really left. He clung to the edges. Because even if he couldn't wield the magic, he could still feed off it. Leech it. Mooch it."
"Ten months since she had dropped out and came home, to the place she promised herself she'd never return to. She was bad at keeping promises. That was for sure."
"She used to imagine walking in a new version of herself so radiant, so successful that the ones who once looked down on her would scramble for her attention."
"Guilt and failure clung to her. Every time she thought about coming so close to graduating college but then leaving, self-hate simmered just beneath her skin, sour and sharp."
"Grief does strange things--it makes you revisit old memories, re-examine the feelings you pinned to the person who's gone."
"Ponte brava," Mama Belen had said fiercely. "They only torment you because you let them. Muestrales quien tu eres, mija. Nunca bajes la cabeza ante nadie."
"Your strength is always inside you, mi nina. But you have to claim it."
"The hill had been waiting for her, had been talking about her. And now that she was here, it was ready."
"Because that's what Las Cerradoras do."
"Kia never tried too hard, and maybe that's what made her magnetic, steady ina way Marisol had never known."
"You've always had this energy, Mari. Like... you carry things you never say. Sometimes people take advantage of it, but I see it. I've always seen it."
"Kia reached out and nudged Marisol's shoulder, playful at first. 'Privacy is so overrated, and I deserve you.'"
"She'll come back. I know it. She just needs space to process."
"You dared reclaim what was never yours," he whispered coldly. "For thanking you were owed something sacred, you'll watch what happens when women forget their place."
"Just an ordinary girl who could hide in wallpaper and no one would even know. You can't survive without someone else guiding your every step. You don't deserve this power. You don't even deserve to live."
"Stay away, Ordinary Bruja."
"You are not getting anywhere," Salvador whispered, cold and cruel. Clammy fingers slid up her arms toward her neck and then closed around her throat."
"Her lungs burned. Panic bloomed. Her feet left the ground. She thrashed against the air, choking on nothing, like she was drowning in smoke."
"The figure that darted across the porch. Too fast. Too quiet. It wasn't human."
"'Ay, pero... I thought I aws always welcome here,' she said. For a second, her voice sounded off. Not wrong exactly, but older. Heavier. Tinted with something that didn't belong."
"The porch light buzzed again. Kia flinched, throwing an arm over her eyes. That was strange. Kia had never flinched from light."
"Kia's neck jerked slightly--too quick, too sharp. 'You'd be surprised. Ahora, soy una persona nueva.'"
"Tar-black smoke poured from her eyes and nose, clawing to stay tethered. The spiral burned brighter, pulling tighter, until the last scream cracked into silence."
"'La colina nos llama.' The hill calls to us."
"'Don't look away,' a voice urged, stronger this time."
"The wind stopped. Just like that, the symphony ceased, and everything went silent. Deep and suffocating."
"A whisper slithered through the air, oily and deliberate, curling around her ears like a serpent coiling to strike."
"Salvador laughed low and raspy. But it wasn't just his voice anymore. It threaded through hers, mimicking her inflection, warping her tone until it was impossible to tell where she ended and he began."
"'You learned how to protect yourself.' Marisol's blood ran cold. she froze, caught between Salvador's push and the Hill's pull."
"She reached out, but her fingers brushed the air, as if her mother was being moved by an invisible force further and further away from her, like a sickening mirage."
"He knows she matters now."
JOHANNY ORTEGA is a Dominican American author who writes across genres--blending psychological horror, literary fiction, magical realism, and thrillers that punch you right in the gut. Whether writing about haunted hills, generational trauma, or the quiet unraveling of everyday life, her stories center marginalized voices, morally complex women, and the messy truth about survival.
She is the founder of Have a Cup of Johanny, a creative platform where she blogs, podcasts, and advocates for inclusive storytelling. Her award-winning middle-grade and adult fiction has resonated with readers who crave depth, grit, and emotional honesty.
When she's not writing, she's raising kids in a blended military family, reading books that wreck her soul in the best way, and saying what others are afraid to.
