Seen, Heard, and Owning My Story: My Bold Journey Interview Is Live

Just a short blog to let you know the Bold Journey interview is officially out, and I’m sitting with a mix of gratitude, vulnerability, and quiet pride.

This wasn’t just another interview for me. It felt like a pause. A moment to look back at the winding, messy, nonlinear road that led me here and to name it without minimizing it.

In the interview, I talk about resilience, curiosity, grit, and the people who shaped me. I talk about my Mamá teaching me how to read in Spanish, about becoming a mother young, about building a creative life that didn’t come with a blueprint. I talk about learning through discomfort, about doing things wrong and still moving forward, and about choosing growth even when quitting felt easier.

What I appreciate most about Bold Journey is that they don’t ask you to polish your story into something palatable. They let it be real. And that matters to me, because so much of my work, both as a writer and as a person, lives in that space between survival and softness.

If there’s one thing I hope people take from the interview, it’s this: you don’t need permission to evolve. You don’t need to have it all figured out. Curiosity, persistence, and the willingness to keep learning can carry you further than perfection ever will.

This interview feels like a marker. Not an arrival, but a recognition. A reminder that the work matters. That the story matters. That I matter.

You can read the full interview here:
👉 https://boldjourney.com/meet-johanny-ortega/

And if you’re in a season of doubt, of rebuilding, of becoming, I hope you see yourself somewhere in these answers.

#authorLifeReflections #BoldJourneyFeature #creativeResilience #HaveACupOfJohanny #IndieAuthorSpotlight #JohannyOrtegaInterview #LatinaWriterJourney #multiculturalAuthor #OwnVoicesCreator #personalStorytelling #womenInPublishing #writingCareerPath
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#ShamiStovall #IndieAuthorSpotlight #FridayFinds #BookBlogger #BookishFun #LaborDayParty #PartyIdeas #FreePrintables #BookRecommendation #BookishLife

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I’m Headed to LATINA Fest—And I’m Bringing the Books!

Cue the cafecito and the ancestral drums—this brujita is going to LATINA Fest 2025! ✨

I’m beyond excited to share that I’ll be joining this year’s 7th Annual LATINA Fest at Gloria Molina Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles on June 1st, and I’ll be posted up at the Author’s Corner—a space dedicated to celebrating Latina authors, storytellers, and the written word that shapes our world.

LATINA Fest isn’t just an event—it’s a whole vibe. It’s about amplifying the magic, resilience, and power of our stories. And as a Dominican writer who walks the line between reality and the otherworldly, I’m bringing two books that represent everything I stand for: healing, truth-telling, and a little bit of literary mischief.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-6ZLuJcE1M

✨ What I’m Bringing to LATINA Fest

📙 Mrs. Franchy’s Evil Ring and the Six Months That Changed Everything

This award-winning middle grade novel follows Isla Delgado, a girl caught in the middle of a cursed ring, homeschool chaos, and the messy beauty of blended family life. Inspired by my own experience parenting during the pandemic, this story is equal parts funny, touching, and honest. It’s for the kids who feel like they don’t belong—and the adults who once felt that way too.

🧿 Themes: identity, stepfamilies, loss, neurodivergence, and learning to speak your truth.
🏆 Winner of The BookFest Award for Juvenile Multicultural Fiction + Social Issues.

🔮 A Physical Sneak Peek of The Ordinary Bruja

For the first time ever, I’ll be sharing a physical preview of The Ordinary Bruja—my magical realist, psychological horror novel about a reclusive brujita named Marisol Espinal who’s haunted by ancestral silence, internalized shame, and the terrifying possibility of being seen.

This book is my heart. It was born during pandemic isolation, whispered to me in between grief, burnout, and the slow climb back to myself. If you’ve ever struggled with not feeling Latina enough, or doubted your worth, or felt like the ghosts of your family still speak through you—you’ll see yourself in this one.

👻 Think: Dominican magical realism meets psychological horror.
Perfect for fans of Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Zoraida Córdova.

📚 Why LATINA Fest Matters

Being accepted into LATINA Fest means being seen. It means standing alongside powerhouse Latinas in wellness, activism, literature, beauty, and business. It means carving space for our voices, especially the ones that don’t always fit the mold. It means I get to show up as myself—full of contradictions, full of heart, and full of stories.

And you’re invited.

Come through to LATINA Fest if you’re in or near L.A. on June 1st. Bring your comadres, your primas, your journals, and your curiosity. Let’s talk about identity, ancestors, storytelling, and how literature is one of the most powerful forms of magic we have.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgDksmMlsrk

🎟️ Details & Tickets:

🗓️ Date: Saturday, June 1st, 2025
📍 Location: Gloria Molina Grand Park, Los Angeles
🎟️ Tickets: Available now on Eventbrite
📚 Where to Find Me: Author’s Corner

Come Grab a Book, a Blessing, or Just a Brujita Vibe

If you’ve been waiting to get your hands on The Ordinary Bruja or gift Mrs. Franchy to a young reader in your life—this is the perfect chance. I’ll have signed copies, exclusive bookish goodies, and maybe even a cafecito blessing or two.

https://haveacupofjohanny.com/product/mrs-franchys-evil-ring-and-the-six-months-that-changed-everything/

#BookEventsInLA #BrujaBooks #DominicanWriters #IndieAuthorSpotlight #LATINAFest2025 #LatineAuthors #MagicalRealismBooks #middleGradeFiction #MrsFranchySEvilRing #ownvoicesFiction #TheOrdinaryBruja

LatinaFest 2024

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