Title:
Rohaise the Red
Author:
Heather McCollum
Genre:
Scottish Historical Paranormal Romance
Book Blurb:
A Highlander, a lass, and a ghost – oh my!
Fleeing in the night to a small Scottish town, Abigail realizes she’s being followed and takes refuge in an abandoned castle. But the castle is not empty. It’s home to a lady ghost with long red hair, an affinity for handsome men, and the power to protect Abigail.
Kerrick Hay has suffered too much disrespect at home for having joined Cromwell’s rebellion against the crown and a monarch’s absolute rule. As the second son, his only chance of making a comfortable life for himself is by renovating and making the old family property of Delgatie Castle profitable.
When he arrives to find a lass burying a dead man in the castle courtyard, his surprise turns into absolute disbelief when he battles an invisible foe bent on protecting her.
The troubled spirit’s name is Rohaise, and her yearning to live once again is fierce, fierce enough to kill for love and freedom.
Excerpt:
One year to make a profit, or you lose everything. His father’s bitter terms battered against Kerrick’s determination.
And don’t sully the Hay name anymore than ye have, his older brother had added.
Dammit. He’d been a hero in Cromwell’s army, but at home he was just a lowly traitor.
Kerrick guided Leum over the spongy moor, made more treacherous after the rains. Careful progress took nearly an hour, bringing him before the three-story fortress. At least all four walls seemed to be standing. The wind blew the limbs of two large oak trees, their yellow leaves flitting down like colored rain as he led Leum around the eastern side where a stonewall enclosed what he remembered was a back garden. There was little hope it had survived decades of neglect. He stopped Leum near the barn.
“Serves you right. Working for William.”
He pivoted at the sound of the voice. A lass?
Rocks clanked together as if she were dropping them. Kerrick walked silently to the closed gate.
“I suppose I must say some words,” the voice floated over the wall. “Dearest God. As a good Christian woman I must ask for you to forgive this man who no doubt meant to do me harm and to forgive whoever hit him because she saved me.”
Saved her? Kerrick pressed the gate where the lock had been smashed. The lass stood alone amongst the weeds. She had the most beautiful fall of golden red hair. Curls cascaded down the back of her green gown.
She stared down at a pile of rocks. “So blessings on your soul, you horrid bastard.” She dropped another rock onto the heap. The wind shifted, and the familiar, tangy smell of death rolled into Kerrick.
“What the hell?” He pushed through the gate. “Who are ye?” The woman gasped, twirling toward him. “And what are ye doing in my castle?” He looked down at the rock pile where two boots stuck out from the end. “With a dead man?”
***
Before Abigail could form any type of response, a pail flew across the yard as if the wind had picked it up, hurling it toward the mountainous man standing at the broken gate. His arm, which held a sinister sword, came across, knocking the pail away.
“I didn’t kill him,” Abigail yelled, “but if you come closer, you might join him.”
The stubborn man took another step but stopped as smaller rocks from the pile shot toward him. “Stad!” he roared. He dove, rolling over the ground on his back, to leap up, grabbing a discarded wooden wheelbarrow to hold before his face. “I am Kerrick Hay,” he yelled. “Owner of this property and castle. Cease your throwing, woman!”
“I’m not the one throwing things,” she yelled. Abigail ran through the back door, slamming it shut. Her hand scrambled to turn the heavy key in the lock.
Bam!
Abigail jumped back as the man slammed against the door.
Hide. The woman’s voice called loud and clear like the few times she’d spoken to her before. Abigail ran through the kitchen into the great hall. Hiding in a corner, she tried to slow her breath.
Crash!
“Holy God,” she whispered. He was inside.
Bam! Bam! Bam! A series of things hit the walls in the kitchen.
“Stad, ye witch. This is my home, my home as a Hay. Cease your torment!”
Clang! That sounded like the iron poker.
“Who are ye? Rohaise the red? Is that who ye bloody are?” he called out. The specter had a name? “’Tis my castle ye haunt, banshee,” he yelled.
The sounds of attack ceased. If he were a Hay and owner of the castle, it wasn’t likely that he would just leave. He also probably hadn’t been sent by William. Abigail let out a long breath. But she wasn’t in the clear, not if he were bent on rape or murder. She had little defense apart from her fingernails, which were chipped and pointy from all the scrubbing she’d done over the last few days.
Heart pounding, Abigail listened to the man’s boots coming closer. Hands clenched, she held her chin steady. Confidence is your best defense. Her father’s words helped her stand strong.
The man’s gaze snapped around the hall, halting when he saw her. “Fok,” he said and raised his arms to block his face. After a moment, he lowered them, eyeing her suspiciously. “Are ye flesh and blood, lass?”
“Yes, but she will come back if you try to hurt me.”
He muttered something. “Who are ye? And why are ye in my castle?”
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
Free on Kindle Unlimited – On sale for only 99 Cents –
Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62825498-rohaise-the-red?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=R6n6iAsyNx&rank=1
If you could dress up as anything or anyone this Halloween, what or who would it be and why?
I love my Tudor court gown. I’d love to wear it and make myself pale with a realistic slash around my neck. Then I could be Anne Boleyn, King Henry VIII’s second wife who he had beheaded.
Explain why your featured book is a treat to read:
Rohaise the Red is my romantic novella based on a true Scottish ghost story. It’s perfect for this spooky time of year.
The real Rohaise haunts Delgatie Castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Thought to be a lord’s daughter, she is especially active in her old bedchamber when it’s occupied by a young man. WWII British soldiers who stayed in the castle complained about her knocking, tapping, and humming. She has brilliant red hair and is often heard walking the floors.
But what if she wants to live again, experience love? She might do more than tapping on the walls.
Giveaway –
One lucky reader will win a $100 Amazon gift card.
Open internationally.
Runs October 1 – 31, 2024
Drawing will be held on November 1, 2024.
Author Biography:
Heather McCollum is a USA Today and Publishers’ Weekly Bestselling, internationally published author of over twenty-five 16th & 17th century Scottish romances full of intrigue & sprinkled with humor, history, & spice. She writes about brawny, broody Highlanders with golden hearts & fiery heroines who teach them about love.
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