Author's Notes on this book

Many of the characters in "Ro Pushed Back' have lifestyles that run counter to these extremist's views, and that was a deliberate policy.  Howevever, I wanted to make sure that their lifestyles were secondary to the storyline.  This is a story that is a cautionary tale about power hungry autocrats infringing on other people's rights by trying to impose their own twisted (and often religious based) views on marginalized groups that, typically, have some trouble fighting back.  

The story had to be the driving force behind the book for me.  

While a lot of the characters in the book are members of these victimized sections of society, it was important to me that their strengths and character were presented, and that their lifestyles and orientation ran secondary.  This is about a woman, Ro Trent, pushing back against a real threat to her business, her friends, and her relationship solely because of the desire for power by a deluded bully.

Like all of these bullies, these wannabe and actual political and religious bullies, you don't need to scratch too far beneath the surface to see that all of their bluster and rhetoric is an attempt to deflect from their own predilictions.  So I wrote this book as an attempt to show that you can push back, you can motivate your friends and colleagues to stand up for their rights, and that those that claim moral superiority are usually the most flawed.

When the villain of this book, Luke Dawson, tries to disrupt and demonize a Drag Queen Karaoke night, he is beaten down by Vanity Suite, a drag performer extraordinary.  Glenn being a gay man that enjoys drag performing is secondary to the fact that a bully tried to impose his will on somebody else and got a beating for his trouble.

Marti, a super talented and successful singer is victimized by Luke because she is a trans woman, but the key to her character in the book is her talent and stagecraft, who just happens to be trans.  When he tries to disrupt her performance and potentially end her career, he gets arrested on the spot for being with underage girls and possession of controlled substances.

Ro and Angel simply want to live their lives as successful business women, philanthropists, and enjoy their marriage.  Why would anyone want to push against two people being happy?  When  someone does though, Ro draws on her inner strength and, when pushed, she pushes back... hard.