Spotlight & Giveaway: Outlaw Ever After by E. Elizabeth Watson

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome romance author E. Elizabeth Watson to HJ!

Hi E. Elizabeth Watson and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Outlaw Ever After!

Thanks so much for having me again! Glad to be back.
 

Please summarize the book a la Twitter style for the readers here:

Amid tumultuous clan conflict of the 16th century and when they are only children, Peigi sets Alexander free after he is wrongfully imprisoned, setting in motion three fated chances to not only find each other again, but to expose injustices of the past, or forfeit their love forever.
 

Please share the opening lines of this book:

“Three targets struck true. With a scythe no less!” cried the official. “We have a winner!”
An adoring roar deafened the crowd as Alexander pried his war scythe from the center of the target. He punched it in the air with victory, his arm torqued.

(Technically this is the beginning of Chapter 1. There is a prologue, too, which is a must-read to set the stage for the story!)

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• I used real history, oral clan traditions, and real places as the setting for the story.
• After reading details about how Clan Grant kept the skull of Laird Comyn, after commandeering his castle, as a trophy, I knew I was onto a fascinating morsel that was going to shape my entire enemes-to-lovers story premise. I also explored superstitions and traditions of Samhain, a pagan holiday and precursor to Halloween, to base my story during this holiday
• I wrote songs for this book! And while the melodies don’t translate on the page, they do, in fact, have a simple musical staff of melody to go with them, sitting here on my hard drive. It would be fun to publish it someday as a reader perk or in a new edition of the book.

What first attracts your main characters to each other?

They meet first as children in the prologue, and are bonded by a few things: the deaths of their fathers, the heroine’s intense calling to do the right thing even when no one will listen to her, and a blessing bestowed on Samhain when the veils between the mortal world and the sidh are thinned, allowing fairy folk to cross between the world of the living and dead more easily. This bond they share, sealed with a kiss, transcends time, destining them to keep meeting without knowing who each other are. But it isn’t just fate that binds them. Music becomes the bond through which they grow together, heal together, and move forward together.
 

Using just 5 words, how would you describe your main characters”love affair?

Fated
Timeless
Whirlwind
Emotional
Binding
 

The First Kiss…

Thier first kiss is actually as children and under duress, as our young heroine aged nine helps a laddie of twelve years escape her brother’s imprisonment, where he is surely to be hung. Making him a blessing of hawthorn, forget-me-not, and clover, wee Peigi Grant seals it with a kiss, to a boy who is desperate and frightened, sparking them both with a twist of fate that always feels to her like the braiding of threads together, binding their young souls.
 

Without revealing too much, what is your favorite scene in the book?

Oh man… Always such a hard questions. The scenes pack different punches and satisfy different needs. But while I loved writing their romance, and twisting their angst and desire together to help them overcome their pasts, and especially loved writing the holiday festivities, I have to say the scenes with our wise old woman and someone of a seer if you will, Mistress Joslyn, who is always imparting pearls of wisdom, are some of my favorites. They are heartwarming and in many ways, ramp up the tension between our outlawed hero, Alexander Stewart, and Lady Peigi Grant, forcing them to face truths and think about each other in different perspectives.

If your book was optioned for a movie, what scene would be absolutely crucial to include?

ALL OF THEM ha! To take out any of these scenes would be to lose a piece of the story’s heartbeat. The prologue, where our fated mates first bond, is critical for setting the stage.

Readers should read this book …

…if they love to be immersed in rich world building, love holidays and olden traditions, need to feel love conquering all in their soul, and are intrigued by twists of halloween superstition. If readers want open door, open emotion, teasing and banter, and a raw, gritty hero who finds himself falling to his knees for the love of his heroine, I’ve got you covered. Love a guy in a kilt? I’m unashamed to say, me too! So this book would also be for you.

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have planned?

I’m plotting a brand new historical Scottish series as we speak! I also, believe it or not, write contemporary cowboys! And yet, it’s my same brand of world building and raw, gritty heroes, strong-hearted heroines, and rich natural backdrops that set the stage for these cowboys to fall to their knees for their heroine. So I’m working on a spin-off series to my first series called my Legacy World. More on that soon!

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: This being the 3rd book in the trilogy, I’m offering one free ebook of the reader’s choice of one of the two other books in the series: either Twelfth Knight’s Bride, or A Highland Rogue to Ruin!

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Each book in my enemies-to-lovers Highland Handfast series is set during a specific holiday, where the old-world traditions of Yule, Lughnasadh, and Samhain, bring our lovers together.
What is your favorite holiday and a tradition about it that you particularly enjoy?

 
 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
 

Excerpt from Outlaw Ever After:

Peigi covered her eyes. Splayed her fingers so she could see. Fury had narrowed Alex’s emeralds, heating the sparkle to a flame. What had been said between these men a moment
ago?
Alex stalked toward Graham as if the very Reaper
had come to collect a soul. Graham backed up a step, then another, as Alex lifted a burning stick…
Took aim…
And juggled them!
Laughter pealed through the crowd. Heart in her throat,
her hands dropped, eyes widened, and a laugh puffed over her lips.
Alex trotted to the base of her dais, as if he were her personal jester, gazing up at her so boyishly, making a mockery of Graham’s hard-fought efforts. This was the playful lad she’d fallen for with that lopsided grin that not only met his eyes, but disarmed her with their charm, as if it pleased him to have pleased her. As if he wanted her affection. Wanted her to remember.
And yet, that darkness that had descended upon him at whatever Graham had said wasn’t gone. It was there, lurking beneath the sparkle, as he swung one under his leg and caught it in perfect synchrony with the others.
Nay… Graham was stalking up behind him. Her smile fell.
Graham’s dirk unsheathed from his belt. His arm raised. Ready to fling. Nay! Bloodshed was forbidden! They’d all agreed to good sporting when they’d signed their contracts!
Warnings roared from the spectators. She looked to Seamus! Would he not say something? She threw her hand over her mouth and pointed, as Alex laughed and juggled and showed off, oblivious to the impending threat. A cry welled up her throat.
“Alex! Ale—”
He whirled around.
One! Two! Three!
He pelted each burning stick in such rapid succession,
pummeling Graham as if throwing battle axes.
Graham’s tunic caught flame. He screamed as his dagger dropped. He batted his sleeve. Laughter, shouts, and pleas
swirled as Aulay ran for a bucket of water.
Peigi hoisted up her drapery of velvets and dashed down
the stairs. Except Alex dragged the tunic over Graham’s head, dropped it to the dirt, and stomped it out.
Graham’s panic eased as he realized he’d been saved. And then, he scrambled for his dropped knife—
The toe of Alex’s boot came down upon the blade, pinning it. He swiped it up and stabbed the smoking tunic upon it, holding it high for all to see.
Then he slung a fraternal arm around Graham, pulling him close as he bellowed, “And that, good folk, is why we always stripped to our birthday skin to play Burning Sticks! And ye all thought I wished merely to impress the lady!”
Laughter guffawed. Joslyn was smiling at him. Aulay grinned as the other contestants eagerly stripped their tunics and coats.

Peigi shook her head, hating that she’d laughed, as Alex grinned proudly back at her, when his declaration that he’d played this as a bairn rolled curiously through her mind.
She’d picked local games when designing this tourney. Was he from this region?
A sense of intuition washed over her: he’d garnered big

smiles from Joslyn, somehow had repaired her lyre with tools he couldn’t possibly have had upon him, and had somehow gotten outside before her brother…
She couldn’t put her finger upon it. She bit her lip at the uncertainty she saw flit across his eyes. He wanted her attention, as if to remind her of how he’d once been able to make her laugh. But could she go back in time? Could she pretend the past hadn’t happened?
She was now embroiled in this tourney. She couldn’t just rescind herself, could she? Did she even want to?
Aulay lifted his horn. “Laird Graham is out!”
Alex turned to his crowd, arms wide in shameless victory, just like he had at the summer games, basking in their adoration as he dragged Graham down and up with him in a bow before tugging him close to murmur something in his ear.
Graham’s face paled as Alex released him on a jolt.
Sakes, she’d fallen so hard for him. But that fall had hurt and had left bruises that might never heal. Now he was here, vying for these lands and castle like all the others, while proclaiming he was still the same man who wanted a simple life. She couldn’t let memories of those sweet moments cloud her judgment: the sincerity he’d worn as he’d given her his mother’s ring, the desperate pleas for her to sing, the way every time she looked at him, he was looking at her.
Alex turned back to the crowd and rubbed his hands. “All right, will no man give me a worthy competition?”
The contestants silenced, as if suddenly remembering that he was an adversary, not an entertainer.
Alex’s smile widened. He’d said he was going to win. She was beginning to believe he might.

Excerpts. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

They took everything. Now he’s come back to claim it—and her—in this broodingly intense and sexy Highlander romance that will delight fans of Karen Marie Moning and Lynsay Sands.

When she was just a lass, Peigi Grant attended a wedding—one that quickly turned into a night of bloodshed and grief. Through it all, there were whispers of the Comyn heir, a boy accused of the crime, who mysteriously disappeared.

Now it’s fourteen years later, and Peigi’s never breathed a word to a soul about that fateful night…or her role in helping the boy escape. But she never would have dared imagine that sweet boy turning into a roguish warrior who could shatter her heart and her reputation.

Alexander is drawn to Peigi by her clear, sweet voice. Her loveliness—along with an uncanny sensation of fate—tempts him to lay down his war scythe forever. But his clan, his lands, and his very birthright were stolen by the Grant clan…and vengeance still calls to him.

They don’t know his true name. But the Grants will come to fear his wrath…even if it destroys the one person who could tame his wild, Highlander heart.

Outlaw Ever After is an intoxicating, enemies-to-lovers romance between two people fated to fall for each other…even if it sets all of Scotland ablaze.

The Highland Handfasts series in order:
Book #1 Twelfth Knight’s Bride
Book #2 A Highland Rogue to Ruin
Book #3 Outlaw Ever After
Book Links: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Goodreads |
 
 

Meet the Author:

Award winning and best selling author E. Elizabeth Watson is convinced life is better with good coffee, chocolate, and a pair of hiking boots. A former archaeologist and biomed research coordinator, Elizabeth spends her days penning heroes ranging from kilted Scottish warriors to Texas cowboys crowned with Stetsons. Whether in kilts or pearl snaps, her heroes wear plaid!

Get swept away to the Highlands of Scotland or the badlands of West Texas in her adventurous tales where love conquers adversity.

She currently lives on a mountainside in West Virginia with her husband, sons, and various pets. Always honored to hear from readers, make sure to follow her on Facebook, Bookbub, TikTok, Goodreads, and Instagram
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