Non-cuss word cuss words

As I work on the next book, I was looking for a word that would be unique to my heroine, something she would use for people who offended her. You know, like a jerk. Except I've used "jerk" in other books, and I wanted her to have her own special way of referring to them.

Authors tread a fine line between giving their characters a true voice and offending their audiences. I like to be true to my characters, and Wolf in MIST ON THE MEADOW is a prime example of that. When he started going rogue on me, I let him have his head. That was his personality and I'd already portrayed him as "odd," so it seemed to fit. There are some minor cuss words in my books, as a rule, but since I don't use them in regular speech unless I'm highly annoyed, I generally stay away from them. Which is why I was so amused when I looked up synonyms for "jerk" and found some very funny off color ones.

I considered schmuck, but I'd already had another character use a Yiddish term (which might justify her going with schmuck), but I wanted something "fun." My Facebook community did not disappoint. Now I’m wondering if I shouldn't use a variety of alternatives since my heroine’s nemesis tells her she’s a walking thesaurus.

Final edits are in the works for THE SELKIE, the next in the Epitaph series, and I’m on track for the scheduled June 19 release date (you can preorder the e-book now! The paperback should be available for pre-order by next week).

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