Zoraida Córdova
Writing Coach
Winner of the International Latino Book Award and author of 30 romance and SFF novels including The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina, Star Wars: The High Republic: Convergence, and Labyrinth Lost.
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Zoraida Córdova is an award-winning, New York-based writer born in Ecuador, who has written over 30 novels within the genres of romance, fantasy, science fiction, and speculative fiction.
Zoraida started writing when she was thirteen and hasn’t stopped since. Her novels and short stories include The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina, Valentina Salazar Is Not a Monster Hunter, and Star Wars: The High Republic: Convergence. Her 2016 novel, Labyrinth Lost, the first book in the Brooklyn Brujas trilogy, won an International Latino Book Award.
She is the editor of the SFF anthology Reclaim the Stars, co-editor of the bestselling anthology Vampires Never Get Old, and writes adult romance novels as Zoey Castile, including Amor Actually, Stripped, and Flashed.
Zoraida was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, and calls New York City home. When she’s not working, she’s roaming the world in search of magical stories.
Zoraida’s Genres
- Romance
- Fantasy
- Science Fiction
- Speculative Fiction
- Magical Realism
Please note: all genuine emails from Zoraida Cordova will come from @thenovelry.com.
“Every writer has a unique voice and point of view. As long as you know who you are and what you want to say, you can tell a story true to you.”


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Novels by
Zoraida Córdova


The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina
Perfect for fans of Alice Hoffman, Isabel Allende, and Sarah Addison Allen, a family searches for the truth hidden in their past in this “expertly woven tale of family power, threaded with as much mystery as magic” (V.E. Schwab, #1 New York Times bestselling author).
The Montoyas are used to a life without explanations. They know better than to ask why the pantry never seems to run low, or why their matriarch won’t ever leave their home in Four Rivers—not for graduations, weddings, or baptisms. But when Orquídea Divina invites them to her funeral and to collect their inheritance, they hope to learn the secrets that she has held onto so tightly their whole lives. Instead, Orquídea is transformed into a ceiba tree, leaving them with more questions than answers.
Seven years later, her gifts have manifested in different ways for Marimar, Rey, and Rhiannon, granting them unexpected blessings and powers. But soon, a hidden figure begins to tear through their family tree, picking them off one by one as it seeks to destroy Orquídea’s line. Determined to save what’s left of their family and uncover the truth behind their inheritance, her descendants travel to Ecuador—to the place where Orquídea buried her secrets and broken promises and never looked back.
Alternating between Orquídea’s past and her descendants’ present, The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina is a “spellbinding tale, both timeless and fresh, that will stay with you long after you’ve turned the last page. Prepare to fall in love” (Kim Liggett, New York Times bestselling author).


Labyrinth Lost
The first book in the Latinx-infused Queer fantasy series from Zoraida Córdova, highly acclaimed author of The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina, that follows three sisters―and teen witches―as they develop their powers and battle magic through epic questing in the realms beyond.
Alex is a bruja and the most powerful witch in her family. But she’s hated magic ever since it made her father disappear into thin air. So while most girls celebrate their Quinceañera, Alex prepares for her Deathday―the most important day in a bruja’s life and her only opportunity to rid herself of magic.
But the curse she performs during the ceremony backfires, and her family vanishes, forcing Alex to absorb all of the magic from her family line. Left alone, Alex seeks help from Nova, a brujo with ambitions of his own.
To get her family back they must travel to Los Lagos, a land in-between, as dark as Limbo and as strange as Wonderland. And while she’s there, what she discovers about herself, her powers, and her family, will change everything…


Bruja Born
Next in the Brooklyn Brujas series of fantasy novels that follow three witch born sisters as they develop their powers and battle magic in their hometown and the worlds beyond, from the author of The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina.
Lula must let go of the ghosts of her past to face the actual living dead of her present.
Lula Mortiz feels like an outsider. Her sister’s newfound Encantrix powers have wounded her in ways that Lula’s bruja healing powers can’t fix, and she longs for the comfort her family once brought her. Thank the Deos for Maks, her sweet, steady boyfriend who sees the beauty within her and brings light to her life.
Then a bus crash turns Lula’s world upside down. Her classmates are all dead, including Maks. But Lula was born to heal, to fix. She can bring Maks back, even if it means seeking help from her sisters and defying Death herself.
But magic that defies the laws of the deos is dangerous. Unpredictable. And when the dust settles, Maks isn't the only one who's been brought back…


Wayward Witch
The witches of New York are back! In the epic conclusion to the award-winning series, the final Mortiz sister’s story is told. Infused with Latin American tradition—the Brooklyn Brujas series follows three sisters—and brujas—as they develop their powers and battle magic in their hometown and worlds beyond.
Rose Mortiz has always been a fixer, but lately she's been feeling lost. She has brand new powers that she doesn’t understand, and her family is still trying to figure out how to function in the wake of her amnesiac father’s return home. Then, on the night of her Deathday party, Rose discovers her father’s memory loss has been a lie.
As she rushes to his side, the two are ambushed and pulled through a portal to the land of Adas, a fairy realm hidden in the Caribbean Sea. There Rose is forced to work with a group of others to save Adas. Soon, she begins to discover the scope of her powers, the troubling truth about her father’s past, and the sacrifices he made to save her sisters. But if Rose wants to return home so that she can repair her broken family, she must figure out how to heal Adas first.


Vampires Never Get Old: Tales with Fresh Bite
Eleven fresh vampire stories from young adult fiction’s leading voices fill this bestselling anthology—including V.E. Schwab's First Kill, now a major Netflix adaptation!
"Boundary-pushing... Stories that stake a new claim on old tropes." —Publishers Weekly, starred review
In this delicious new collection, you’ll find stories about lurking vampires of social media, rebellious vampires hungry for more than just blood, eager vampires coming out—and going out for their first kill—and other bold, breathtaking, dangerous, dreamy, eerie, iconic, powerful creatures of the night.
Welcome to the evolution of the vampire—and a revolution on the page.
Vampires Never Get Old includes stories by authors both bestselling and acclaimed, including Samira Ahmed, Dhonielle Clayton, Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker, Tessa Gratton, Heidi Heilig, Julie Murphy, Mark Oshiro, Rebecca Roanhorse, Laura Ruby, Victoria “V. E.” Schwab, and Kayla Whaley.


Star Wars: Convergence (The High Republic)
The next adventure in the High Republic begins expanding the new era of Star Wars, with a story set generations before Light of the Jedi.
It is an age of exploration. Jedi travel the galaxy, expanding their understanding of the Force and all the worlds and beings connected by it. Meanwhile, the Republic, led by its two chancellors, works to unite worlds in an ever-growing community among near and distant stars.
On the close-orbiting planets of Eiram and E’ronoh, the growing pains of a galaxy with limited resources but unlimited ambition are felt keenly. The two worlds’ hatred for each other has fueled half a decade of escalating conflict and now threatens to consume surrounding systems. The last hope for peace emerges when heirs from the planets’ royal families plan to marry.
Before lasting peace can be established, an assassination attempt targeting the couple tilts Eiram and E’ronoh back into all-out war. To save both worlds, Jedi Knight Gella Nattai volunteers to uncover the culprit, while Chancellor Kyong appoints her own son, Axel Greylark, to represent the Republic’s interests in the investigation.
But Axel’s deep distrust of the Jedi sparks against Gella’s faith in the Force. She’s never met such a puffed-up, privileged party boy, and he’s never met a more self-serious, relentless do-gooder. The harder they work to untangle the shadowy web of the investigation, the more complicated the conspiracy appears to be. With accusations flying and potential enemies in every shadow, the pair will have to work together to have any hope of bringing the truth to light and saving both worlds.
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Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge: A Crash of Fate
Izzy and Jules were best friends until Izzy’s family abruptly left Batuu when she was six.
But now she’s back, and Jules, the boy who never left, is unsure what to make of her.
While on the run from vengeful smugglers and an angry pirate, Jules and Izzy will come to terms with who they are, and what they mean to each other.


Snow This is Love
From Christmas to New Year’s Eve to Lunar New Year, today’s best romance writers reimagine beloved Disney tales as contemporary romances with a dusting of holiday magic.
Featuring:
“Deck the Heels” by Julie Murphy
Nothing says Merry Christmas like a televised fairy tale wedding produced by your not-so-evil stepmother.
“Beauty and the Baking Battle” by Jasmine Guillory
A brainy beauty and her (reformed) beast’s visions of sugar plums for their dream baking competition turn into a nightmare.
“Siren in the Snow” by Zoraida Córdova
She's the girl who has everything. He has nothing, when he loses his luggage and control of his romantic Christmas surprise.
“Best (New Year’s) Day Ever” by Christina Lauren
Can a sunshine and not-quite grump check off everything on their holiday bucket-list and make it home for their first New Year’s Eve kiss?
“Dreaming of a Perfect Lunar New Year” by Jesse Q. Sutanto
A possible curse, a meddling family, and a disastrous Lunar New Year party almost come between a couple that is meant to be.
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Kiss the Girl
A modern tale of unexpectedly falling in love and finding your voice, Kiss the Girl is the highly anticipated third instalment in the acclaimed and best-selling Meant to Be collection.
Ariel del Mar is one of the most famous singers in the world. She and her sisters—together, known as the band Siren Seven—have been a pop culture phenomenon since they were kids. On stage, wearing her iconic red wig and sequined costumes, staring out at a sea of fans, is where she shines. Anyone would think she's the girl who has everything.
But lately, she wants more. Siren Seven is wrapping up their farewell tour, and Ariel can't wait to spend the summer just living a normal life—part of a world she's only ever seen from the outside. But her father, the head of Atlantica Records, has other plans: begin her breakout solo career immediately, starting with a splashy announcement on a morning talk show.
The night before, Ariel and her sisters sneak out of their Manhattan penthouse for a night of incognito fun at a rock concert in Brooklyn. It's there that Ariel crosses paths with Eric Reyes, dreamy lead singer of an up-and-coming band. Unaware of her true identity, Eric spontaneously invites her on the road for the summer. And for the first time in her life, Ariel disobeys her father—and goes with him.
Caught between the world she longs for and the one she's left behind, can Ariel follow her dreams, fall in love, and, somehow, find her own voice?


Incendiary (Hollow Crown Book 1)
Set in a lushly drawn world inspired by Inquisition Spain, Zoraida Córdova's hotly anticipated new fantasy is an epic tale of love and revenge perfect for fans of Sabaa Tahir and Sarah J. Maas.
I am Renata Convida.I have lived a hundred stolen lives. Now I live my own.
Renata was only a child when she was kidnapped by the King's Justice and brought to the luxurious palace of Andalucía. As a memory thief, the rarest and most feared of the magical Moria, Renata was used by the crown to carry out the King's Wrath, a siege that resulted in the deaths of thousands of her own people.
Now Renata is one of the Whispers, rebel spies working against the crown. The Whispers may have rescued Renata years ago, but she cannot escape their mistrust and hatred-or the overpowering memories of the hundreds of souls she drained during her time in the palace.
When Dez, the commander of her unit-and the boy she's grown to love-is taken captive by the notorious Príncipe Dorado, Renata must return to Andalucía and complete Dez's top secret mission herself. Can she keep her cover, even as she burns for vengeance against the brutal, enigmatic prince? Her life and the fate of the Moria depend on it.
But returning to the palace stirs childhood memories long locked away. As Renata grows more deeply embedded in the politics of the royal court, she uncovers a secret in her past that could change the fate of the entire kingdom-and end the war that has cost her everything.


Illusionary (Hollow Crown Book 2)
In this thrilling adventure, our magical heroine embarks on a dangerous journey in order to bring justice to the kingdom—perfect for fans of Sabaa Tahir and Sarah J. Maas.
Reeling from betrayal at the hands of the Whispers, Renata Convida is a girl on the run. With few options and fewer allies, she's reluctantly joined forces with none other than Prince Castian, her most infuriating and intriguing enemy. They're united by lofty goals: find the fabled Knife of Memory, kill the ruthless King Fernando, and bring peace to the nation. Together, Ren and Castian have a chance to save everything, if only they can set aside their complex and intense feelings for each other.
With the king's forces on their heels at every turn, their quest across Puerto Leones and beyond leaves little room for mistakes. But the greatest danger is within Ren. The Gray, her fortress of stolen memories, has begun to crumble, threatening her grip on reality. She'll have to control her magics—and her mind—to unlock her power and protect the Moria people once and for all.
For years, she was wielded as weapon. Now it's her time to fight back.
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Valentina Salazar is not a Monster Hunter
It takes a special person to end up in detention on the last day of school.
It takes a REALLY special person to accidentally burn down the school yard while chasing a fire-breathing chipmunk.
But nothing about Valentina Salazar has ever been "normal." The Salazars are protectors, tasked with rescuing the magical creatures who sometimes wander into our world, from grumpy unicorns to chupacabras . . . to the occasional fire-breathing chipmunk.
When Val's father is killed during a rescue mission gone wrong, her mother decides it's time to retire from their life on the road. She moves the family to a boring little town in upstate New York and enrolls Val and her siblings in real school for the first time.
But Val is a protector at heart and she can't give up her calling. So when a mythical egg surfaces in a viral video, Val convinces her reluctant siblings to help her find the egg before it hatches and wreaks havoc. But she has some competition: the dreaded monster hunters who'll stop at nothing to destroy the creature . . . and the Salazar family.