Spill the Tea Tuesday: F*ck That and Other Profanity in Novels

Today, author Katie O'Connor is here to spill the tea...

First off, thanks to Kara Leigh for having me here today. I love chatting with readers. Not just romance readers, but readers of any genre. This makes me super excited to be here with you. I always want to know what readers think about things because without readers, an author is nothing.

What I’d like to talk about today is profanity.

Let’s begin with a truth bomb, or in Kara’s words, spilling the tea. It’s no secret to anyone who’s ever met me that I love swearing. I find it satisfying. It helps me express my feelings, and sometimes it is just plain fun. My dad could out-cuss anyone on the planet. He made up combinations that nobody else could even think of. Maybe that’s where my love of profanity originated. Like father like daughter.

Recently, I’ve had two discussions on the use of profanity in fiction. One online, the other in person at a reader’s tea held for me by a fan. The readers attending this tea were all sweet romance readers, some read exclusively sweet. Their consensus was no F-bombs, but an occasional cuss word for emphasis was acceptable, just keep them few and far between. I can handle that, though it isn’t always easy. Sometimes, I write my first draft with the profanity in it and edit it afterward. Thank heaven for a good editor who catches the ones I miss.

The online profanity discussion was another animal entirely. As was strolling through social media, as most of us do, and this person comes onto a writer’s group and makes a post which flat-out stated that if you include ANY profanity in your book, you drive away most of your readers. It was, in their opinion, paramount that swearing was banished from all books.

I know nothing about the original poster’s life or beliefs, but to me, it seemed a rather bold and combative stance, like they were picking a fight. Or maybe just full of righteous superiority. Either way, it got my hackles up.

Of course, me being me, I had to disagree. An argument ensued. It was pretty tame, but at the same time, a bit heated. Dozens of people chimed in, each with their own opinion. Most of the combatants believed that some profanity was acceptable. They agreed that unless you were writing erotica of some fashion, cussing should be used sparingly. One author who wrote dark detective stories, claimed their readers LOVE the swearing. Eventually, the original poster went silent though the discussion continued without them. I don’t know who won the argument as there were fighters on both sides of the issue.

As you might have guessed, I don’t have an issue with profanity in books. Primarily, I read sweeter romances with closed door sex and a bit of heat. Some swearing doesn’t bother me, often it passes by unremarked and barely noticed. I picked up a title last week. It was listed as a sweet romance. Partially true. Some kissing, no sex. But lord love a duck, there were enough curses that it bothered even me. When I popped back onto the web, I found that the book had a few five-star reviews, but most were one and two-star. All the reviews mentioned the excessive profanity. This leads me to believe that for most readers profanity is okay, within limits.

This brings me around to you. What do you read and where do you stand in regards to “bad” language in a book? Are there words you NEVER want to see? Does it matter to you one way or the other? 

Come on, readers, it’s time to spill your tea and share your reader opinions. Can’t wait to hear from you.

Katie O’Connor lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. She married her high school sweetheart and is living her happily ever after. 

She’s dabbled in writing since high school because something drives her to create stories. She swears that it’s impossible for her NOT to write. Unsatisfied with one genre, Katie writes contemporary romance, erotic romance and erotica. Recently, she’s crafted her first cozy mystery with the intention of publishing a cozy mystery series.

She believes in all things magical; including dragons, fairies, UFOs, ghosts, and house pixies. But most of all she believes in love, romance and hope.

Katie likes to make it up as she goes along and dreams of publishing a mixed genre novel. It is going to be an erotic, shape shifter, vampire, steampunk, sci-fi, murder mystery, adventure, romantic, western, historical, thriller. It will be her biography. 

She lives life with humor, hope and copious quantities of caffeine. You can find more about Katie on her website, newsletter, Facebook, BookBub, Instagram, Goodreads, and her readers' group. 

The tea has been spilled! Who's gonna clean it up? 

Drop your thoughts in the comments!