On Overcoming
with Johanny Ortega author of 'Mrs. Franchy's Evil Ring And The Six Months That Changed Everything'
#NuevasPaginas is a space that aims to amplify and spotlight Hispanic/Latine/x authors with newly published books. The goal is to connect readers to their next favorite Hispanic/Latine/x authored book through a mini casual get-to-know-the-book-and-author interview. So give please spread the news so we can reach more readers and continue the love/support of Latine literature!
How does it work?!
Here’s the deal, I came up with a set of casual/random/fun questions to ask each Hispanic/Latinx/e author, I interview. If you are new here don’t forget to check out all the other amazing interviews! We also have a great line-up of guest authors coming up so make sure you don’t miss an issue by subscribing now!
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Hey Heyyy Book Franz!
I am starting this week a little overwhelmed and it’s hard because I’m overwhelmed by good things happening! I’ll be headed to San Antonio this weekend to moderator a conversation at the San Antonio Book Festival and it’s between two amazing authors I love very much (see flyer below). If you are in the area, I would love for you to join us if you can. My favorite thing about in-person events outside of meeting authors and getting to learn more about their books is meeting fellow readers.
You are probably wondering “Well, why are you overwhelmed?! That sounds amazing!”. Truthfully, though I enjoy readers, authors, and good conversations; I get really nervous/worried. I’m a perfectionist at my very core and not the tidy type but the type that holds herself to impossibly high standards and struggles to believe anything I do is ever good enough. I’m sure there’s a touch of imposter syndrome in there too. It might feel like a lot to admit this so publicly but I always believe in being transparent in case there’s someone out there that might feel the same way. So I’m going to stay hydrated this week, go on my little daily mental health walk/runs, and chant all the self-love affirmations so I can be ready!
What is Lupita reading this week?
On audio, I am listening to Orgullo Prieto by Tenoch Huerta and it’s in Spanish! I’m finding it so interesting and like nothing I’ve read before. The way he breaks down racism in Mexico along with privilege and the ways in which Mexican culture upholds whiteness as a marker of success is so needed. I’m in love - so much so I made a TikTok about it.
On my e-reader, I briefly started reading one of my most anticipated books Rivermouth: A Chronicle of Language, Faith and Migration by Alejandra Oliva. If the first few pages are any indication of what the rest of the book will be like, I know it’s going to live up to its hype!!
My entire focus is being taken hostage by the pages of The People Who Report More Stress by Alejandro Varela and I don’t want the story collection to end. I never thought one could weave a background in Public Health within literary fiction and the duo is truly perfection.
For #LupitasBookClub Besties:
I’m behind but I’ll be starting our April/May book pick THE CONSEQUENCES by Manuel Muñoz this week! If you don’t have a copy yet, you still have plenty of time to join us!
Without further ado, our very special guest author for today’s Nuevas Pagina issue is……Johanny Ortega author of Mrs. Franchy's Evil Ring And The Six Months That Changed Everything!
Could you tell me a bit about where this photo was taken? Is it special to your book in some way?
The first picture it's my favorite place; my home in El Paso. Texas. While El Paso is mostly desert with little greenery, in my backyard. I have this bush that sprouts in this beautiful purple shade for three days in the spring. The second photo is me holding up the book Mrs. Franchy's Evil Ring and the Six Months that Changed Everything up to a sign that reads. 'As far as anyone knows. we are a nice normal military family.'
I've been in the military for twenty-one years. and how my family and I operate can seem unconventional to others. In the middle-grade book I wrote, I depict an unconventional family learning to work with one another to raise Isla who in the end learn how to heal. Like the bush in my backyard that suddenly sprouts with color, so does Isla in the book. Towards the end, she realizes that to be heard; she must tell the truth about what happened to her dad.
Tell me about your book without telling me about your book - share any literary inspirations behind your book! If there are none, the gap you wanted to fill in the literary canon with your book.
This book had been on my mind for quite some time. but I was not ready to tell this story. Then, two years ago, I read Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley and realized there's a place for an issue book about trauma in middle grade. More so, I wanted to insert my Dominican story into the current literary canon to show that families working together through love and compassion exist outside of white America.
What are two central themes in your book that you connect with the most and why?
Don't judge based on past experience is the overall theme here. I connect with this the most because I have childhood trauma that I'm still sorting through, and I continue to remind myself not to view others through the hurt lens I built for survival. Like Isla. I had a bad stepparent experience. and anxiety hit me hard when I met the second person my dad married. and I was an adult! Yet. I had to talk myself down from all the worry I felt to give this new person the grace they deserved as they came into my family circle.
I'm also a big advocate for telling the truth. even if it's uncomfortable. This is the book's next central theme and something Isla must overcome. As a recovering people pleaser. this theme will always have a special place in my heart because I used to hold on to many things to keep others comfortable. Unfortunately, not setting boundaries and being honest used to deplete my energy and leave me drained and sad. In Mrs. Franchy's Evil Ring, Isla. like me. learns how important it is. to be honest.
If a book was home, where would your home be?
Since this book takes place in the winter and has a happy ending, Mrs. Franchy's Evil Ring is a just-moved-in cabin that has yet to warm up near Mount Holyoke in Massachusetts. But it becomes so cozy once the owners unpack and cook their first meal together.
If your book was a famous musician who would it be?
Prince is the first musician that comes to mind because, like him, this book is unique, and I love purple.
What comfort food could a reader pair with your book?
Con un sancocho. please. Sancocho is a heavy (perfect for winter) Dominican stew that is packed with anything and everything. It is super fulfilling and nostalgic. If you are an adult reading this book. you can pair these two and reminisce about your childhood. If you are reading this with your child. you can practice Spanish words with the book and the Sancocho because both will give you plenty of opportunities to practice.
In what ways has access (or little to no access) to Hispanic/Latinx/e literature defined you as a writer?
I write because growing up. I didn't have characters that looked like me or shared my culture in books. Although that has been changing, progress is slow. So I fight for inclusive books by writing books that tap into my culture and reading books from authors who are part of a marginalized community that share their world through fiction.
Where can readers keep up with your work?
My website: www.haveacupofjohanny.com. I also spend an absurd amount of time on TikTok @ acupofjo_hanny.
Thank you to Johanny Ortega for taking the time to chat with me about her book! Please please make sure you purchase a copy (or request your local library carry a copy) #SupportLatinxLit!
Author Bio: Overlooking the waining Dominican sun during late evenings after school, Johanny Ortega developed a taste for reading. Less than a year after immigrating to the U.S., she learned to speak English, and she thinks this occurred so fast because she couldn’t wait to read a book. When she didn’t find characters that looked like her and shared a similar background, the love of reading morphed into a love of writing, and soon all the what-if stories that swam in her head turned into books, blogs, short stories, and novellas.
Have a Cup of Johanny LLC seeks to elevate the voices of BIPOC stories by BIPOC authors. First, through a testing period with the owner's own stories. Followed by a refinement period of the publishing process. Lastly, through the integration and compensation of marginalized voices and their stories.
Currently, Johanny also writes thriller stories under the pen name: J.E. Ortega.
Synopsis for Mrs. Franchy's Evil Ring And The Six Months That Changed Everything from the Bookshop website:
When questions pop into nine-year-old Isla Delgado's mind, they mash together like plantains and turn into a mangú. So when Mami tells her she has to stay with her dad and new wife for six months, The Curse of the Evil Ring movie-a movie she isn't supposed to watch-and memories of her first S-Mom-memories she told her parents she didn't have-mash together to create the spookiest mangú. Soon Isla figures out that to survive her dad's house, she will need to answer two questions: is there truth in fiction? And does she have the guts to tell Papi and Mami everything she remembers and finally stand up for herself?
I grabbed a copy of your book. I taught loads of Dominican kids in Boston and am always looking for books by Dominican writers - I follow Dominicanwriters on Instagram. My son is half Dominican and identity is important to us.