Danica Nava Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Danica Nava is a published author and a citizen of Chickasaw Nation.

She works in the tech industry as an executive assistant. She graduated from USC Marshall School of Business with her MBA. Danica resides in Southern California along with her husband and their daughter.

Her first ever novel is titled The Truth According to Ember. It is an Indigenous romance penned by an Indigenous author with Indigenous characters that works flawlessly within the workplace romance genre.

The Truth According to Ember is a fictional novel and the debut story from Danica Nava. Published in 2024, this is the story of a Chickasaw woman who makes up a white lie that turns into so much more.

Danica recounts that writing the book and having it published has been a dream come true. The book was written long before it was released and once it was out, Danica decided that it was time to begin working on another book.

This was also the first Indigenous romantic comedy in the literary world, which does set a certain standard. Nava recalled that she does feel pressure over the book due to this fact. She has had various writers as well as readers send her direct messages and emails to express that they are exciting to conclude the story and the success that she has had helps to give them hope. Danica says that she wants to this ‘right’, but also acknowledges that the only way to tell the story is to tell her story the way that she wants to.

Nava also says that librarians and booksellers receiving early copies and being excited for them have given it another chance. There’s always a chance to reach a bestseller list through influence or places such as BookTok (the book-review focused side of TikTok). She says while that’s great, it’s all about ensuring that readers who would benefit from reading the book are able to get their hands on it and things like that assist with that.

The author also wants writers both current and aspiring to not ‘be afraid to write’ characters that are Indigenous. She thinks that in romance and contemporary stories that the world there also ought to reflect the world that we live in.

When writing a romance, if there are only characters that are white it is intentional, and Nava says that she doesn’t read stories like that. Her personal preference is to see culture, color, vibrancy, and she hopes that readers will find her book to be like something of a gateway to that. She also acknowledges that this is her own experience and not a guide to ‘how we are’.

Danica says that the story that was so long just hers is not just hers, it belongs to the readers. People have been very excited! She believes that the reading community, in particular the romance one, is inclusive and thinks that people deserve happy endings. This was in part Danica’s motivation to write the book as well, to give Indigenous people the chance to be main characters, to be heroes, to be the focus and the ones that get that happily-ever-after conclusion.

The author also thinks that it’s important for this character to have a love interest that is well-rounded as well and well-adjusted. Nava comments that it isn’t seen in romance all the time, and sometimes when the character meets a love interest they can can have a great relationship and address their issues. Ember benefits from someone who’s well-adjusted, as she has a lot going on in her life and requires someone who can help her out. That’s how the story worked out in the end.

Nava is an avid reader, and she says that she also watches a lot of television shows and movies.

The author also notes that Indigenous people do live and work everywhere, are still around, but are not defeated. She says that in the Chickasaw tribe they say that they are unconquered and unconquerable. Danica tried to put that down and have and the sense of community to come through on the pages.

The Truth According to Ember is the first book from author Danica Nava. If you have been looking for a new romantic comedy to read and would love to read a story featuring Indigenous characters, this is the book for you!

A woman from the Chickasaw tribe is utterly unable to catch a break. Then she comes up with a white lie that is meant to be totally innocent. But it quickly grows into something more than that and takes on a life of its own.

Ember Lee Cardinal has not been someone that is known to lie, and tries not to lie about anything big. Small white lies are something that she’s told from time to time, but hasn’t everyone? On top of that, her search for a job is not as successful as she would like. Then her resume gets totally rejected for another time, and she decides to change things up to get results.

Ember creatively adjusts her qualifications and puts half-truths on the applications when it comes to the ethnicity question. When she was Native American, employers didn’t seem to want her. But when she lists herself as white, she lands an accounting job on Park Avenue in Oklahoma City. Is it a coincidence?

Once she’s involved in her new position, Ember finds that she is doing fantastic in corporate life as an accountant. Things are not only going well in that area but her love life is doing better too. The IT guy and Native Danuwoa Colson was someone that she noticed the first day of the job, and it appears he noticed her too.

There’s a no dating policy among employees, so Danuwoa and Ember have to keep their interactions on the down low. Of course, that only makes it more appealing. Then on a work trip they are caught in a compromising position and a coworker decides that it’s the perfect way to blackmail her.

If Ember doesn’t do what the blackmailer wants, they’ll expose the relationship. Ember’s lies only get bigger and the manipulation continues, as she has to figure out whether she should come clean or keep the secret. What will she do? Read this book from Danica Nava to find out!