Spotlight & Giveaway: The Highlander’s Pirate Lass 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, The Highlander’s Pirate Lass!

 
Thank you so much for having me here on Harlequin Junkie! I’m so excited to introduce you to Beck and Eliza in my newest release, THE HIGHLANDER’S PIRATE LASS.
 

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

Rescued from a deserted Scottish isle, Eliza Wentworth searches for her lost ship’s crew and redemption. Her mysterious past and unique, throw-caution-to-the-wind charm lure Captain Beck Macquarie into helping her… until she steals his ship.
 

Please share the opening lines of this book:

“Do ye need help, lass?” Beck Macquarie yelled as he cupped hands around his mouth. He held his arm up to block the sting of the sideways, gusting rain and stared up at the woman standing above him on a storm-swept rock jutting out into the sea. Waves shot upward on the far side
behind her. The wind threw her long hair in violent disarray, hiding her face, tendrils lifting into the air like Medusa’s snakes.
“She looks like a witch,” Rabbie MacDougall yelled into Beck’s ear and backed up to stand near the rowboat that tossed in the wild surf plummeting the small, usually deserted isle.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• Beck’s name was originally Brandon (Bran), but after writing half the book, Bran didn’t feel right for his character. Plus, my inspiration for him was a picture of David Beckham!
• My father owns a two-masted sailboat (usually on dry dock), so I’ve always loved large ships and the majesty they exude. I would love to sail on the Calypso.
• I listened to the soundtrack from Pirates of the Caribbean to help me write all the sea battle scenes in the book.
• I love to bake, and tarts are one of my favorite treats. So, of course, I included it in my book.
• The Brothers of Wolf Isle series takes place in the same world as my Highland Isles series, just 20 years later. For those who’ve read the Highland Isles series, you can see how some of those heroes and heroines are doing two decades later.

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

Beck rescues Eliza and her wards from a windswept isle off the coast of Scotland. He is instantly intrigued by her beauty and the mystery surrounding her. But it is her cleverness and determination as she tries to commandeer his ship when faced by a villain from her past that makes him pledge to help her.
Eliza does not trust anyone, especially handsome, rugged men. But when Beck Macquarie allows her to enact her rash plan to save them all from the dread pirate, Jandeau, she realizes that there is more to this Highland sea captain than strength, pride, and good looks.
 

Using just 5 words, how would you describe Hero and Heroine’s love affair?

Fun, Forbidden, Spirited, Unconventional, Steamy.
 

The First Kiss…

“And I need to relax.”
He smiled. “Aye, and most people close their eyes when they kiss, otherwise ye go cross-eyed trying to see up that close.”
“Eyes closed,” she murmured, and he nodded. She closed her eyes, inhaling to loosen her shoulders, which kept trying to creep upward. She felt his breath on her lips, and his nose slid along hers gently.
He kissed her cheek. “Just let yourself feel, lass,” he whispered, kissing her temple. “Och, but ye are the softest creature I have ever touched.”
His words unfurled some of the tension in her limbs. He kissed along her jawline, and she felt his large body press against her as his other hand wrapped around to strum down her spine. Her lips remained parted, and he brushed them with his own, once, twice, before kissing along the other side of her face. His mouth was warm and soft, but what caught her up in the sensation was the reverence the touch imparted.
He moved slowly, his hand stroking her back as his lips touched along her face and then down her neck. Inside, the chill of unease began to melt. Beck was noble, and just like on the deck of his ship, he’d put her in charge.
Eliza’s hands rose to his chest, her fingers curling into the damp tunic that spanned it. They were both still wet, their clothes clinging to their skin. His mouth moved back to her lips, settling over them as his hand guided her face to slant, deepening the warm kiss.
She inhaled through her nose, smelling him. Fresh rainwater mixed with his natural scent, a combination of the soap he favored and wild Scottish wind. He tasted of the ale they’d shared.
Her lips parted, and his followed, their bodies pressing closer together. She could feel his jack, hard and long, through his woolen wrap. She’d seen a number of jacks in her ten years living on board a ship with a crew of men, but they had hung low.
Her hand slid down his chest, past the edge of his kilt to press against his length. Beck inhaled, reeling her in even closer with the pressure of his hand on her back.

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

Beck set his hands on the table across from her. “I have no doubt ye know everything about running a large ship and a crew.”
She nodded. “I do, but there are things in this world I know nothing about. I hate that.” She folded her hands before her on the table. In the large chair, she looked small, delicate. “And you seem like a proper sort of fellow. You could teach me things, so I won’t be ignorant.”
“Such as?” he asked, his breath momentarily stopping in his lungs.
Her hand flipped about again. “Like proper words and…things other women know in the world. So I will not come across as ignorant.”
What did he know about other things women of the world knew? “Lark will certainly help ye fit in, Eliza.”
She frowned. “I want you to teach me, like you did about the word fok being improper. You are honorable, clever, and will not mock me for my ignorance.”
“What are these things that other women know that ye want to know about?” he asked, watching her closely.
She leaned forward, but instead of answering him she took a drink of ale and sat back in the seat. “Well,” she started, “I know little about cooking and baking since Bart manned the galley on the ship and rarely let any of us in there.” She took a big breath, and Beck tried to ignore the rise of her flesh above her neckline. Bloody hell, she looked wild and free and utterly delicious sitting there in the firelight.
“And needlepoint,” she said, smiling brightly.
Beck cleared his throat. “Ye want me to teach ye to needlepoint?” He rubbed the back of his neck.
Her mouth opened, staring at him for a moment, and her brow raised. “Do you know how to needlepoint?”
“Nay.” He shook his head, dropping his hand back to the table. “But I could ask Lark to teach—”
“That is not what I need to learn.”
“What do ye need to learn then?” Her mind was tangled, and he couldn’t follow it. She wanted to learn proper ways of being a woman on land, and she wanted him to teach her.
She folded her hands on the table, her fingers weaving between one another. “I am a woman now, and the crew goes on and on about—” She stopped herself. “About tupping. As if it is the best thing in the world. ’Tis practically all they talk about, drinking too, but tupping the most.”
She was talking fast, and Beck held his breath.
“It shows up in jests and swearing and poems and songs.” She shook her head. “And I know nothing about it. Noooothingggg.” She strung out the word, her shoulders rounding for effect.
Holy Lord. Was she asking what he thought she was asking? He met her gaze, keeping his face neutral. “Ye want me…to teach ye about tupping?”
She straightened. “Aye,” she said with a gusty exhale. “Every little detail.”

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

Beck walked away, yelling more orders, changing the sails to catch the wind to take them into a position to sail around the isle. He was still trying to get to the windward side.
Eliza ran after him, grabbing his thick arm. “You cannot beat him, Macquarie. He has forty cannons and fifty bloodthirsty men. Even if he wasn’t flying his red flag, Jandeau would kill you all.” She tried to shake his arm, but it didn’t move. “And he will take the children, Alice, and me.” She shook her head. “You must convince him not to attack.”
He leaned into her. “That is Cullen Duffie’s ship out there. The two of us will catch him.”
She gritted her teeth. “Not before Jandeau sinks this ship. Your friend will not reach us in time.”
“The Calypso is sturdy,” he said, his hand sliding down the polished wood of a mast. “Go with the children into the cabin,” Beck said. “I will stall him with cannon fire until Cullen reaches us.”
Eliza let out a rough growl between her clamped teeth. Fool! He had little to no experience fighting a sea battle, and none with the likes of Claude Jandeau. “You are going to get us all killed!”
She stomped away. “Anders, Pip, Alice!” she yelled, and met them at the aft captain’s cabin.
Alice held Hester on her hip, and they all filed inside. Pip ran to their trunk to tug out her sailing trousers.
“The Bourreau is rounding the isle,” Eliza said, running over to the open trunk, her mother’s brooch thumping against her chest. She pulled out her long wool and leather coat. Alice plucked the laces of Eliza’s bodice so she could pull it off over her head. She yanked open her stays. They and her smock flew off quickly as she threw on her white tunic. There was no time to bind her breasts, but her jacket hid them well enough.
“Pip, take Hester and find an empty barrel that she can hold on to if you have to swim with her back to the isle. Do not take the dinghy or they will see you. Then hide.”
She turned to Anders. “You go with them.” She would rather see them dead than be taken.
“But I can—”
“I need you to care for them, Anders. Make sure they have food. Get them to Mull.”
His lips closed tight, and he nodded. She had told all the children about her time on the Bourreau ten years ago. They knew the horrors that awaited them if taken. The horrors that her baby brother had to face while she hid away in Jandeau’s quarters. Stop it.
Teeth gritted, Eliza forced her thoughts to the current situation. Otherwise, she would be paralyzed with remorse and fear. She buttoned her jacket, tucking the brooch inside, and grabbed her long bow and pitch-tipped arrows. Alice was already yanking a tunic over her own head. She grabbed the lantern while tucking the ends in her trousers.
Eliza’s gaze locked with hers, and they both gave a small nod before tearing out of the cabin, Eliza jamming her floppy leather hat on her head.
On deck, Beck was issuing orders while his brother yelled to the men manning the sails. Men pulled ropes to turn the ship to try to position it to catch the sweep of wind, giving the Calypso some advantage over Jandeau. But it would not be enough. I have to stop this! And she would. Even if that meant taking over the ship.

Readers should read this book …

to experience 16th century Scotland and go on an epic pirate adventure while falling in love with these two fun characters.

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

Oh my! I have so much going on!
1. I’m editing the third book in my Sons of Sinclair series, which releases in April 2022.
2. I’m writing the first draft of the first book in a new novella series called, The Queens’ Highlanders.
3. I’m writing the third book in my Brothers of Wolf Isle series (which follows this book).
4. I am part of a Halloween anthology about Scottish legends, coming out this October.
5. I also have several reader/writer conferences coming up, including RARE Paris in 2022.

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: I am giving away a signed copy of THE HIGHLANDER’S UNEXPECTED PROPOSAL: Book #1 in The Brothers of Wolf Isle series (Continental US only, $15 digital gift card for international winner) and some fun Highlander swag.

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: If you find a book that is second or third in a series, but the books can be read individually (don’t need to be read in order), do you read the book you just found or go find the first book in the series to read first?

 
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Excerpt from The Highlander’s Pirate Lass:

Eliza walked over to the side table where she’d seen Callum pour himself a small cup of amber liquid. Lifting the stopper, she used her excellent nose to sniff at the contents. Whisky. Lark was offering the ladies wine, but Eliza wanted something stronger to deal with the crow the rest of the night.
“So none of ye have any family?” the judgmental woman asked.
“We have each other,” Pip said.
“And the crew of the Devil’s Blood,” Anders added.
“Oh my,” Cecilia continued. “Unless they’ve all drowned or been killed. Then ye will have lost your families again.”
Eliza snapped around, her gaze landing on Pip’s downturned face. Did Cecilia not know how her words hurt the children, or was she purposely using whatever she could to make them all seem lower?
“Cecilia,” Meg murmured.
“Are ye so cruel as to bring that up to the children?” Alice asked, her mild Irish accent turning fierce with her ire. “I hope ye thank the good Lord every day for yer own family.” She rose abruptly, picking Hester off the floor. “’Tis time for this one to find her cradle.” She marched indignantly toward the tower steps.
Cecilia had the sense to flush red, her gaze going to Lark as if she had done harm to her instead of the kinless children around her. “I apologize. My thoughts just tumbled out. I have never met a group with such an unusual background.”
Eliza snatched up the glass flask of whisky and some small cups that were stacked for easy tasting and walked back over, nodding to Alice as they passed one another. Eliza stopped beside Cecilia’s chair. “We have each other,” she said cheerfully, her gaze connecting with Pip. “Even if Captain John is sitting on God’s knee, entertaining him by strumming his lute, we are together with food in our bellies and clothes on our backs.” She nodded to Wolf lying across Pip’s legs. “And pups in our laps.” Pip smiled back at her.
“Let us raise a toast to our crew,” Eliza said, “wherever they may be.”
“Whisky?” Anders asked with a smile. Captain John had recently let him take a taste of the strong spirit.
“Can I have a nip?” Pip asked.
“The only whisky you’ll be enjoying is the mother of your pup,” Eliza said with an indulgent smile and nod to Beck’s dog. “Not until you are at least twelve.”
“Twelve?” Lark asked, her eyes wide.
Eliza poured only enough whisky to cover the bottom of one cup and handed it to Anders and then poured herself a swallow. She looked to Lark. “When Captain John rescued me from Jandeau, he started teaching me to handle strong liquor.”
“Most ladies on land drink wine or ale,” Cecilia said, her eyes on the amber drink in the glass flask.
“Of course,” Eliza said, pouring into three more cups. “But when a scoundrel is trying to get a lady drunk, ’tis best for a lady to know what it tastes like and to build a tolerance so she can still think straight and gut the scoundrel if needed.”
Both Meg’s and Cecilia’s mouths dropped open.
“Do you want to know what it tastes like?” Eliza asked, handing them each a cup, the fullest to Cecilia.
Lark waved her cup off. “I have seen the effects of whisky too much.”
“It certainly can bring out the worst in people,” Eliza said softly and poured it back into the flask.
The other two ladies sniffed their cups. “You do not need to drink it,” Eliza said and pointed to Anders. “But watch how he does it so as not to act like a novice.” Both ladies stared at the boy who straightened with the attention. “He breathes in, throws the liquid into the back of the throat, swallows, and then breathes out the fumes.”
He did what she said, barely grimacing. “It warms me all the way down,” he said, grinning.
Meg giggled. “I am going to try it,” she whispered, glancing over to the men who were engrossed in whatever Tor’s letter said about Captain Wentworth. “Da won’t let me at home, and Gavin won’t leave our sides.” She breathed in and poured the whisky into her mouth much too slowly. Meg spit it back into the cup. “Horrible,” she said, making a face.
Eliza chuckled and downed her own swallow with ease. “It takes practice.”
Cecilia eyed the liquid. “It makes one braver, doesn’t it?”
“Some say it does,” Eliza said. “Although, it makes some stupider.”
Cecilia took a deep breath, her shoulders rising. She threw the contents into her mouth, swallowed, and breathed out as if her mouth had flames inside. “Ugh,” she said, her eyes wide.
“Wait for the warmth,” Anders said, patting her on the back as she coughed into her hand. “Do you feel it?”
Cecilia wrapped both hands around her wine goblet and took a big drink. Lowering it, she nodded. “Yes, ’tis hot,” she said, trailing a finger down her front.
Eliza nodded. “You have the makings of a fine pirate, Cecilia. If you feel like taking a bath,” Eliza indicated the window up high in the keep walls, “we can strap you to the Calypso’s masts since it’s raining.”
Anders doubled over with laughter. Cecilia smiled cautiously as if she weren’t sure if she was being made fun of.
“What is so humorous over here?” Beck asked as the group broke up and the men joined them again.
“Eliza was teaching us how to be sailors,” Meg said, smiling at her friend. “Cecilia seems to be more fit for it than I am.”
Gavin took Meg’s cup, sniffing it. “Whisky?” He frowned.
“I spit mine back in,” Meg said. “Horrid stuff.”
“But it makes one warm,” Cecilia said, smiling up at Beck.
Beck frowned at Eliza, and she smiled sweetly, batting her eyelashes. “Ye drink whisky with your crew?” he asked.
“Only when we have something to celebrate or forget,” she said.
“And we sing songs, dance, and speak poetry,” Anders said. “Eliza is the best at that.”
“The dancing around naked in the rain? I bet she is the best at that,” the crow said and hiccoughed, which sounded like a squawk. Aye, the name suited her.
“Cecilia,” Meg admonished again. Maybe the whisky was loosening the crow’s tongue. Eliza did not care if she talked about her as long as she wasn’t making her children sad.
Cecilia leaned into Callum’s arm, her eyes on Beck across the way. There was an invitation in them, which irritated Eliza. Cecilia waved her hand, her fingers scissoring as if they were legs turning in a circle. “Eliza dancing with her crew on a ship, if not naked then in her man clothes, smelling of rain and whisky.”
“No,” Anders said, frowning. “Eliza is best at telling tales and poetry. She makes them up on the spot. Tell them one,” he said.
Callum was looking down at Cecilia. Was he falling for her simpering? She reminded Eliza of the ladies in port who tricked the crew out of their money with unspoken promises and then disappeared. Whoring or thievery. Both were wrong. At least Mistress Claire did not lie and act coy.
Cecilia leaned closer to Meg, but her voice carried. “She probably sleeps in and wears that one set of breeches every day.” She tsked.
“Tell a poem,” Pip said, picking up the heavy puppy and spinning around with her.
“Aye,” Eagan said. “I’d like to hear something clever.”
“Clever?” Cecilia snorted and covered her mouth and nose with a pale hand that was surely smooth, not a callus in sight. Damn haughty crow.
Eliza stood, her mind floating along the rhymes that might have something to do with the lady’s fair attributes. She’d try to keep the curses that made the crew howl out of it.
“I met a fair lass with curls the color of night, lips ruby red and skin pale as moonlight.”
Cecilia smiled, holding up her pale hand and touching her dark curls.
“She teased and twirled prompting songs from bards. Her smile and blinking eyes made all the lads hard.”
Eagan laughed, and Meg covered her mouth with both hands, but Eliza continued. “But beware my good men,” Eliza said, leaning in to meet each brother’s eyes. “The bait, do not bite. For her promises are hollow. And her legs are locked tight.”
Silence.
Meg had her hands overlapped across her mouth, her eyes full of mirth. Lark’s eyes were the same. Gavin looked appalled, and Cecilia’s smile faded to a glare. What could Cecilia say? She could not deny it without looking like a loose woman. And accepting the portrait of her made her look like a woman who lured men as a game.
Pip clapped loudly, her smile bright. “Well done, Eliza,” she called out. “It all rhymed.”

Excerpts. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

Eliza Wentworth is no lady. After the notorious pirate Jandeau murdered her family, she vowed to spend the rest of her life at sea, saving others. She’d rather be firing cannons than embroidering pillows—or worse, bowing to the demands of a husband. But when she’s stranded on an island off the coast of Scotland, now she is the one in need of help. And, annoyingly, that help comes not only from a man, but a man she struggles to resist.

Highlander Beck Macquarie has never met a woman like Eliza. He hasn’t met many women, period, thanks to the blasted curse set upon Wolf Isle decades ago. To save the clan, he needs a wife and bairns, and rough-around-the edges Eliza is anything but wife material. She has no intention of staying once she’s able to set sail again. He should let her go. But the desire between them is impossible to ignore.

When she asks Beck to teach her the ways of the bedroom while she bides her time on his island, he can’t say no. As they learn more about each other, though, past trauma and secrets resurface. Now, Eliza must choose between the freedom and comfort of the only life she’s ever known and sacrificing it all to save the people she loves…including Beck.
Book Links: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Goodreads |
 
 

Meet the Author:

I am Heather McCollum, writer of 16th and 17th century Scottish romance full of adventure and intrigue, sprinkled with humor, history, and spice. Brawny, broody Highlanders with golden hearts and feisty heroines are my favorites!

I am also a mom of three kids, dog-mom of one rescued geriatric golden retriever, kitten-grandmom of a Calico, and wife of one 6 foot 4 inch Highlander. When I’m not trying to help my kids make it through the day, baking things I see on The Great British Baking Show, or writing, I’m usually educating women on ovarian cancer (I’m a 10-year survivor). I love kilted heroes, dragonflies, watching birds, chai lattes, and eating buttered air-popped popcorn for dinner on Friday nights.
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