One of my favourite reviews is for A Single Step where the reviewer said “I stopped reading at 18% when the “F” bomb showed up. I don’t do profanity… I don’t care if it IS how the characters would talk “in real life”!” It is also the review that the most people have found helpful. Although back in the days when people could comment on reviews someone had responded, “Thanks for letting me know. Makes me want to buy it now.” I’m not sure that was the intention of the original reviewer. But it is a useful review because it warns (or encourages) potential readers and hopefully puts off those who might be similarly offended.
This is also another example of the fact you can’t please everyone, which is why I believe you should only please yourself as a writer.
I prefer my characters to be as real as possible and it might be the company I keep but I know very few people that don’t swear at all. Most people do, in my experience, to some degree, so for me it would feel weird to create a world in which nobody swore.
I also fully agree with Billy Connolly (one of my favourite comedians) above. I don’t believe that swearing has anything to do with a lack of vocabulary. You only have to read my books to know that. I know loads of words but there is always room for a well-placed f**k.
The only time I have regretted the swearing I have written into a book is with Parallel Lies, the first book in my mostly forgotten middle series (I seriously need to market them better, or at all perhaps…) The Ross Duology. My regret is that I didn’t go far enough with it. There is something that happens in this book that is truly horrible and there is a word that the person involved would have used. I backed away from writing it and while I didn’t think too much of it at the time I have realised since that I made a mistake.
This is what I’m leading up too. There is a character in A Stolen Future who swears. It’s not all the time but it is there and I believe it is fully in line with their personality so I make no apology for it. Like I said, I want my characters to be real.
So, if you are not offended by a little bad language then please check out A Stolen Future HERE. The eBook is available to pre-order now and will be published on the 1st April 2025. Paperbacks and hardbacks will be available then too. And if you are offended by such words then please look away, this is not for you.
Thank you x
Ah, loved this post Georgia and who better than Billy Connolly (was he referred to as ‘the big yin?’) to endorse the word.
I remember once viewing his life story/tracing his roots in Ireland.
Just think of all the gifted Irish writers and playwrights who I would guess used the word from time to time.
My late parents hailed from Co Donegal, Ireland. I never recall either of them using the word but I certainly heard it when visiting.
I particularly remember travelling with my late mother on the Dublin to Holyhead car ferry the only time we visited at Christmas.
The ferry was considerably delayed leaving us passengers sitting on the deck. Some of the passengers entertained us with Irish dancing but the most enjoyable part for me was hearing the word f… amongst sentences of Gaelic.
It was particularly entertaining as I was not used to hearing Gaelic being spoken but the f… was a transferable language.
Thank you for prompting that reflection Georgia ☘️
Thank you for reading and responding, Margaret. You’re quite right about f*** being transferable. You only have to watch a football match on the TV. Many different nationalities playing but they all know that word. I’m so glad you enjoyed my post 🙂