[Peter Graham]

Hi Wiglaf

"After a year away from home, his home citystate joins in a war. At this point he has been conscripted by a foreign army who was already at war. While procuring a third pint of stout at a local watering hole, he is beset upon by some young enlistees. All questioning and commenting on his and their search for renoun and glory. His response, "*(F or Sh word), all I wanted was a normal life: a trade, regular meals, indoor sleeping."

I don't know if there's a US equivalent (although I'm fairly confident that there must be), but in the UK this sentence would probably run "Bollocks to it - all I wanted....".

The short, sharp "bark" of F*** suggests shock or surprise rather than a response to a question, which is what we are dealing with here, although "F*** that!" is a possibility, I suppose.

Your character needs to be believable. Either do it and trust to the writing to provide the context as the narrative unfolds, or forget it entirely. But don't fudge it with granny swearing.

And don't worry about what publishers might think. There can't be many who would genuinely be so upset and offended by a little word that they would read no further.

Regards,

Peter