Spotlight & Giveaway: A Protector in the Highlands by Heather McCollum

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Heather McCollum to HJ!

Hi Heather and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, A Protector in the Highlands!

Tell us about the book with this fun little challenge using the title of the book:

A is for Aiden Campbell, my broody, brawny Highland hero

P is for Peahens, which show up unexpectedly
R is for Royalty, who also show up unexpectedly
O is for most Offensive Highlander Scarlet has ever met
T is for Teaching Self-defense to the ladies of the school
E is for Empowering Women, which is a theme of the whole series
C is for Catherine de Braganza, the Queen of England in 1684
T is for Trousers made of form-fitting, soft wool, for the ladies to wear while training
O is for “Och, lass, I cannot stop devouring ye.”
R is for Riding horseback across a snowy moor

I is for Inside a cabin, snug and warm, in a blizzard
N is for No Pressure

T is for Thorns, Beware the Roses’ Thorns
H is for Hot Highlander!
E is for Evelyn, Scarlet’s sister who is away

H is for Highland Roses, the students at the school
I is for Igniting passion <sizzle!>
G is for glue to stick the shattered pieces of pottery into a mosaic
H is for Hogmanay, the winter holiday that the Scots celebrated instead of Christmas
L is for a lamb whose name changes from Dinner to Snowball
A is for Abduction
N is for Nightmares, which stalk both heroine & hero
D is for Danger
S is for Secrets, which lurk everywhere.
 

Please share the opening lines of this book:

Scarlet Worthington lifted a crimson-colored piece of broken china from the pile in the basket. The thin red edge was chipped and jagged, reminding her of broken teeth. “I suppose I will just throw the pieces away,” she said to her sister, Evelyn.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• The main theme of the book is: If our lives become shattered, we must pick up the pieces and brush them off. Only then can we make something beautiful with them.
• Scarlet didn’t reveal her full secret to me until I was writing her revelation to Aiden.
• A picture of a gown I found while researching what Scarlet would have worn at the English court, prompted me to commission Victoria Vane to sew one for me. And it is gorgeous! I’ll be wearing it in a 17th century fashion show at Romancing Williamsburg, a reader conference in March 2019.
• The villain’s name changed while I was writing. He is named after my oldest daughter’s EX-boyfriend. The more boys that break her heart, the more villains easily named.
• I own a twisted steel hair stick that I’ve used for years. When I wear it, I do feel like I could use it as a weapon. I won’t wear it on airplanes, because I’m afraid TSA would take it away from me!

Was there a scene in this book that was harder to write than others?

Sexual attack scenes are really hard for me to write. I feel the panic that the woman feels, my heart races, and my fingers fly until I reach the end. I cannot put the whole scene in here as it is not PG, but here is a snippet.

The calm words of her teacher as he taught them self-defense back at the Highland Roses School cut through Scarlet’s paralysis. Get away with surprise, then attack.
Scarlet inhaled and exhaled slowly, resting her hands on the arm anchoring her to Finlay’s chest. She raised her booted foot, tipping her toes up so that the heel would come down first. Finlay was entranced with the show before him, even loosening his hold as his free hand found his rigid member, where he began to stroke.
With one more inhale, Scarlet threw herself into action, stomping her heel down on the bastard’s bare toes. He hollered in pain. “Fok!” His arm dropped from her, and she spun to face him, her one hand grabbing his shoulder as the other raised her skirts, liberating her knee to jam upward. Her target was obvious, and she threw all her weight, fear, and growing fury into the thrust, hitting his cod. Finlay doubled in half immediately, falling to the stone floor.
Scarlet wasted no further time on him, whirling away to run through the great hall, past the couple. The woman screeched in Gaelic, grabbing her clothes. Apparently, she hadn’t been aware of the viewing. Scarlet dodged empty tankards and hopped over one unconscious Menzies warrior on her way out the front door. Escape. Get away. Just like when she’d woken Evie up at Whitehall that horrible night. But this time, Scarlet was on her own.
Again, she’d been foolish enough to believe a man and had walked into his perverse escapade. Shame heated her face even in the cold night air. Shame at her stupidity. Shame that she would believe anything a man would say.
The moon had come out from the clouds, its light glistening against the fresh snow. Scarlet didn’t stop running until she reached the stables, where she spotted the white coat of Aiden’s horse. Where was Aiden sleeping? Her gaze snapped left and right along the moonlit bailey where she could see several outbuildings, including the one that housed her sheep. She didn’t dare search for him, not when she might run into other rutting couples or drunken men.
With the stable door open, the moonlight allowed her enough light to find Caora. Unlatching the stall, Scarlet threw her arms around the horse’s neck, hugging her, taking in her strength to stop her legs from shaking. “We are going home,” Scarlet whispered, and the horse’s ears flicked, her wide, intelligent eyes seeming to accept the risky plan.

What do you want people to take away from reading this book?

When life shatters, sometimes the shards can be glued back together, but often the destruction is too complete to repair things as if they never happened. But instead of giving up and withdrawing from life, if we wipe off the dust and study the fragments, loving ourselves through the process, we can use the pieces to create a beautiful life mosaic; stronger, more interesting, and even beautiful. But the key is to pick up the first piece.

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: I will give away a digital copy of A Rose in the Highlands: Book One of the Highland Roses School series.

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Have you ever made a mosaic before? With shards of glass or pottery? I once made our McCollum family crest in a mosaic for my husband’s birthday. It was not nearly as hard to create as it seemed.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
 

Book Info:

With few other options, Scarlet Worthington flees from her home in England to the wild Highlands of Scotland to help her sister run a school for ladies. There, Scarlet begins to rebuild her own shattered confidence by recruiting a fierce Campbell warrior to teach her and the students how to protect themselves from villains and scoundrels. The intimidating Aiden Campbell both infuriates Scarlet and ignites a fire inside her as she works closely with him to hone her new skills.

Burned in a fierce fire, set by English soldiers, Highland warrior, Aiden Campbell, has finally healed enough to take temporary command of his clan. That’s where his focus should be instead of dealing with the feisty, beautiful Sassenach who asks him to teach her students.

When Scarlet’s past stalks her up into Scotland, her nightmares come alive, and Aiden’s lessons are put to the test. With his own ghosts from the past making him despise English women, Aiden fights the inferno of passion that’s grown between them, a different kind of wild fire that could prove just as deadly.

Buy Link: https://entangledpublishing.com/a-protector-in-the-highlands.html
 
 

Meet the Author:

Heather McCollum is an award winning, historical romance writer. Her current focus is on 16th and 17th century Scottish romance. She currently has sixteen published novels and two published novellas. She is a member of the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood of 2009 Golden Heart finalists and a 2015 Readers’ Choice winner.

When she is not creating vivid characters and settings, she spends her time educating women on the symptoms of Ovarian Cancer. She has recently slayed the cancer beast and resides with her very own Highland hero and three spirited children in the wilds of suburbia on the mid-Atlantic coast.
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