Tender Mysteries Series

"Resurrected" Book One of the Inspirational Historical Romance "Tender Mysteries Series" His interference infuriates her. Her passion inspires him. July, 1895. Hope, Nebraska. For years Deborah Willet has been protecting her sisters without the interference (or aid) of any man. Though she’s often resented the responsibilities heaped on her after her parents and brothers are killed in a flood, she’s done her duty just fine on her own. When family treasures begin to disappear, she’s confident she can locate the nasty villain stealing from her family without the help of any outsiders--until Steven Paxton raises doubts about everything she’s always believed in. For months Steven has convinced the world he isn’t the least bit upset about the accident which put him in a wheelchair. Secretly, he spends most of his time wallowing in self pity, refusing to do the rehabilitation exercises the doctor has told him will restore the use of his legs. He believes he’s half a man now, and he simply must accept his fate--until Deborah makes him realize he can accomplish anything he sets his mind to doing. Except, perhaps, winning the heart of the beautiful woman who’s stolen his heart. “Resurrected” is the first book in the Inspirational American Historical Romance “Tender Mysteries Series” from Award-Winning Author Fran Shaff. Excerpt: Setup: Deborah and Steven are at a social looking for a thief. A flash of red on her periphery caught Deborah’s attention, and she immediately turned to determine the source of the bright color. Seeing Albert, a possible thief, had put her senses on alert, and the presence of one suspect reminded her of the purpose of being at the social with Steven. Marcie Wilhelm, another suspect, dressed in a bright red, form-fitting dress, stood a few yards away gazing at Deborah. She nodded and twirled her red and white parasol when Deborah caught her eye. “It’s Marcie.” “Where?” Steven said. “There, near the man with the handlebar mustache, white shirt and black bow tie.” Steven glanced in the direction Deborah had indicated. “Do you mean that lovely blonde woman dressed in red is the despised Marcie Wilhelm Susan wants to torture?” Deborah touched Steven’s hand, and he looked at her. “She only wants to torture her if she’s taken our mother’s cameo.” “Yes, of course.” Steven glanced at Marcie again. “I hope she’s not the thief. I’d hate to see any harm come to her. She’s a very beautiful woman.” His complimentary declaration set Deborah’s stomach on fire. Humph, she thought as she recalled what he'd said earlier, I’m fetching, but she’s beautiful? “I suppose she is, if you like that kind of girl.” “What man wouldn’t?” “What did you say?” she asked indignantly. Ooh, she hadn’t meant to add such an annoying tone to her words. In fact, she hadn’t meant to say the words out loud at all. She sounded and, worse yet, felt like a jealous shrew when she had no reason to be jealous at all. She and Steven were not sweethearts. “I said Miss Wilhelm is a beautiful woman, the kind most men would find quite attractive--even men who were in love with someone else altogether.” He tilted his head, a gesture she found terribly attractive, and grinned at her. “A fact is a fact, Miss Deborah, and the fact is that Miss Wilhelm is a lovely lady. Surely you can’t argue against evidence anyone can plainly see,” he said, leaning his head in Marcie’s direction. Deborah glanced at Marcie briefly before settling her gaze on Steven again. “You’re absolutely correct. Marcie Wilhelm is beautiful.” “That’s all I’m saying,” he said with a wave of his hand. "But she just might be a black-hearted thief too!"

Restitution, Book Two of the historical romance Tender Mysteries Series. Running off with a handsome stranger is hardly something Amy McKittrick would do under ordinary circumstances. Diego Consillo is hunting down a man who’s stolen over five thousand dollars, and beautiful Amy seems to be the key to finding him. November, 1895. Hope Nebraska. For years Amy has been trying to make amends for a crime she’d committed when she was fifteen years old. She’s doggedly, habitually avoided sin since that one infraction, but when Diego comes to town making all kinds of horrible accusations she finds herself lying over and over again. Alone with him in the countryside, on the trail of a thief, as Amy succumbs to Diego’s charms, she feels worse than ever for misleading him, even as she begins to feel whole again by loving him. Within days of leaving Hope Diego is ashamed he’s subjected a lovely woman like Amy to the harshness of a manhunt, but what could he do? He owes his loyalty to the people in Indiana who are counting on him to find the man who’s stolen their money, and Amy is his only chance for success with his mission. Maybe he wouldn’t feel so guilty if he wasn’t falling in love with the sweet, beautiful woman, but he was. And there wasn’t a thing he could do stop a love more powerful than either of them. “Restitution” is the second book in the Inspirational American Historical Romance “Tender Mysteries Series” from Award-Winning Author Fran Shaff. About the “Tender Mysteries Series:” After a flood annihilates a wagon train in 1888, eleven female survivors build a life in Hope, Nebraska. Excerpt Setup: Amy has injured her ankle. Diego has given her whiskey to ease her pain. “My ankle...it’s hurting again,” she said. She began to shiver. Diego’s concern for her wellbeing escalated. He knew it was necessary to keep a person warm and comfortable after an injury. Her shivering was not a good sign. It could mean a fever was getting started. Or she could be cold due to the snow pack he’d placed on her ankle. He went to the supplies, retrieved the last blanket, and returned to Amy’s side. She was shivering even more vigorously. He placed the extra blanket over her, but she continued to quake. The only thing left to do was to try to warm her with his own body heat. He removed his coat, pulled back the covers and got into her bed with her. “Mr. Consillo,” she said through chattering teeth. “Get away from me,” she said softly, her voice weakened by the strength of the liquor. “I’m sorry, Miss McKittrick, but I’ve got to warm you up as quickly as I can. Please, lie still so you don’t disturb the snow pack I’ve placed on your foot. And don’t...don’t fight me; let me warm you. Can you do that, please?” “Mr. Consillo,” she said, sounding sober, though he knew she was not, “tomorrow, when I’m feeling better, I’m going to slap your face as hard as I can for violating me in this way.” Her threat sounded quite convincing, yet, he couldn’t help but smile upon hearing her warning. She was no bigger than a sapling and no stronger than bumble bee. “If it’ll make you feel better, Miss McKittrick, I promise I’ll offer my jaw to you as soon as you’d like to take out your revenge on me,” he said. To his surprise, she snuggled closer to him. “Why thank you. And, even though it will not make you feel better, I’ll accept your jaw, and I’ll bruise it quite effectively with a swipe of my hand...” He chuckled as she drifted off to sleep. She was no longer shivering, but Diego continued to hold her anyway. He figured if he was going to be properly slapped in the morning by this lovely woman, he might as well earn his punishment by holding her a little while longer.

The Tender Mysteries Series continues with the most compelling novel yet, Retribution, Book Three. April, 1896: Susan Willet vows to capture and boil in oil the man who’s kidnapped her sister Bonnie. Sheriff Sam Feist realizes Susan is a passionate woman. Her feisty verve is one of the things he finds most attractive about her. However, when she insists on going after a ruthless kidnapper, he’s got no choice but to tell her to stay out of lawmen’s business. Susan promptly ignores the handsome sheriff’s advice. No one is going to stop her from going after Bonnie. Neither will anyone hinder her from keeping her pledge to seek retribution for her sister’s kidnapping. As Susan and Sam separately pursue a dastardly abductor, they cross paths. Tensions soar, and hearts break when dangerous liaisons put lives in peril and lead to a violent confrontation which changes Susan’s life forever. Excerpt: Setup: Sam and Susan have crossed paths as they’ve been searching separately for Bonnie and her kidnapper. The first rays of light broke over the horizon when he saw Miss Susan, who was thirty feet away, lifting a heavy saddle onto her horse. She was totally oblivious to his presence. He stood as silent as a post watching her, remembering how she’d felt in his arms the night before--soft, warm, round and precious. He was a cad for not rushing to aid her with her weighty burden, but he couldn’t help himself. He was mesmerized by everything about her, and all he wanted to do was look at her. He could hardly believe the little slip of a woman with fiery red hair and strong, determined brown eyes could enrapture him the way she did. He’d barely given a second thought to any woman he’d met since he’d turned sixteen, fifteen years before, and now he thought about Miss Susan more than he should, much more than he should. She cinched up her saddle as the arrival of dawn progressed. Early beams of light met her face, and, suddenly, she was awash with a heavenly beauty. Sam’s breath caught somewhere between his nose and his lungs. If he lived to be two or three hundred years old, he’d never see anything more beautiful than Miss Susan was at that moment. She bent to double check her work, straightened up and stroked the horse’s mane before she caught sight of Sam. The Romance Studio says: “Ms. Shaff is a gifted writer that always delivers in her stories.” CataRomance says: “Ms. Shaff has touched me like no other author has in a very long time.”

Recruited, Book 4, Tender Mysteries Series Liza’s accused of stealing fifteen hundred dollars from her employer. Antonio seems to be the only person who can help her out of the mess she’s in. June, 1896: Liza’s not sure she can trust the handsome private investigator she needs to help her, but she decides to work with Antonio anyway. Antonio believes Liza is as guilty as the prosecutor says she is, but, having been instantly smitten with the beautiful woman, he wants more than anything to find a way to get her acquitted of the charges against her. He devises a plan to prove Liza’s innocence by trying to connect the missing money to a ring of pickpockets who have been operating in eastern Nebraska. Despite the fact that he has every intention of running his investigation on his own, Liza, trusting her life to no one but herself, doggedly stays at his side. Caught up in the adventure of dealing with pickpockets, train robbers and desperados, Liza is swept into romance as well, and, before long, she realizes she’s found something special with Antonio she hadn’t even known she’d been seeking.

The Tender Mysteries Series of Inspirational American Historical Romance: After a flood annihilates a wagon train in 1888, eleven female survivors build a life in Hope, Nebraska. RICOCHET, Book Five of the Tender Mysteries Series The Countryside Outside Fremont, Nebraska Was that a woman lying near the river? Or just her clothes? Emile shaded his eyes from the morning sun and leaned back in his saddle. Sitting astride his golden palomino, sixty yards from the Platte River, he saw a brown and white pinto grazing on lush summer grass not far from what looked like a woman's yellow dress lying near the river. * * * August, 1896. After searching for his father's killer for five years, Emile Hausman thinks he's finally found the thieving brute. Just when he's about to get justice, Bonnie enters his life. She's hurt; she's alone...and she doesn't remember who she is. Emile sets aside his need for justice, and, as he nurses the lovely Bonnie back to health, he falls deeply in love. Emile and Bonnie are blissfully happy until horrific secrets from Bonnie's past throw them into a world so dark only true love can ensure their survival. Reviewer Comments: "Ms. Shaff is a gifted writer that always delivers in her stories." The Romance Studio "Fran Shaff writes with depth and understanding and digs deep into the emotional lives of her characters bringing the reader with her all the way." A Romance Review "Fran Shaff is a wonderful storyteller, and she knows how to pull her readers immediately into the world of her characters. I like this author's writing style, and it makes for a fast-paced and entertaining read." CataRomance