Michael Nava

Michael Nava, the author of five novels featuring California-based gay Latino attorney Henry Rios, has much in common with his series' protagonist. Nava, a third-generation Mexican American, was raised in the Sacramento barrio of Gardenland. The second of six children, he realized at an early age that the only way to escape his working-class surroundings was through education. He became a voracious reader and classic overachiever: in high school, he was valedictorian, captain of the debate team, and student body president. He also made two other significant realizations in his youth: that he wanted to be a writer and that he was gay.

Nava left Sacramento to attend Colorado College on a full academic scholarship, and following… Keep Reading