KAREN’S KILLER BOOK BENCH: Welcome to Karen’s Killer Book Bench, where readers can discover talented new authors and take a peek inside their wonderful books. This is not an age-filtered site, so all book peeks are PG-13 or better. Come back and visit often. Happy reading!
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ONE ALPEN DAY
A Novel
BY MICHELE DAVENPORT-DUTTON
Blurb
All she wants in life… is to be a mom.
All he wants in life… is for his two young children to have a loving mom…
Newly divorced and still struggling with her pregnancy losses and failed marriage, Angela Sutton leaves L.A. to return to her hometown Grainau, Germany where she assists her Aunt Terese in running the family bakery. One day, the famous Hollywood actor, Mason Glade, whom Angela has had a major crush on, enters the bakery. Angela can’t believe her eyes. What is he doing in her sleepy Alpine village? Is he shooting a movie? What Angela does know is that Mason has two young children with his estranged, alcoholic wife, Camila.
Mason Glade is a simple man who wants a simple life with a warm, loving wife and a mother for his two children. Sure, he’s a famous Hollywood actor and well-loved, but he’s tired of his estranged, alcoholic wife, Camila, being plastered on every tabloid magazine. It’s embarrassing for him, but mostly for his two young kids whom they share together. When Camila enters rehab, Mason packs up his kids and their nanny and heads to Grainau, Germany, a small village in the Bavarian alps. There he meets and falls for a beautiful German girl, Angela, who works at her aunt’s bakery. Will he divorce Camila and pursue Angela or is going to give Camila one last try?
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ONE ALPEN DAY
A Novel
BY MICHELE DAVENPORT-DUTTON
Excerpt
Chapter One
Mrs. Sutton, I’m sorry to tell you this, but you’ve had another miscarriage.
Angela was sitting at the rear corner table of her Aunt Terese and Uncle Karl’s bakery, taking a break and reflecting on Dr. Allen’s words.
Dr. Allen’s harsh, unwelcomed words rang repeatedly in Angela’s ears. They were a stab in the gut. Sipping on her cappuccino and gazing out the window, she remembered asking Dr. Allen why she couldn’t carry a baby full term. What was wrong with her? All she ever wanted was to be a Mom. The thought of not being able to have a baby pained her. Angela swiped away a stray tear at the bridge of her nose. She felt like a failure. Her body had failed her.
Again.
And again.
Angela took another sip of her cappuccino and swallowed hard, her eyes burning. The best part was getting those positive pregnancy tests, knowing she was a mother-to-be. The worst part for Angela was wondering Why? Why did her babies die a few short months into each of her two pregnancies?
Angela traced the rim of her white, ceramic coffee mug with her fingertip.
Sometimes these things happen, her doctor had said. It could be a chromosomal imbalance, coupled with low or bad quality sperm count. If your husband had a high sperm count, you could most possibly carry a baby full term.
Angela was well aware of her now ex-husband, Nick Sutton’s low sperm count. She was still angry with him for not wanting to adopt a baby. I want a biological child, my flesh, my genes, to carry on the Sutton name, he had said. Nick Sutton, big time business mogul/investor in Los Angeles, with an even bigger ego, did she ever really love him? Was it all an act? Was she more in love with the idea of being in love? She wasn’t so sure anymore. Nick Sutton never felt like her soulmate, “The One,” who people always talked about. She felt it was a stupid mistake on her part, getting married so quickly after they met. How could she be so impulsive? This wasn’t like her. She wondered if she would ever find her one true love or remain a single divorcee the rest of her life.
Newly divorced, she had moved back to Grainau, Germany, her hometown, to help her Aunt Terese run the family owned Alpen Bakery after her Uncle Karl’s passing. The timing was right for her to be back home. She felt it was a sign from the Universe. Everything happens for a reason, she thought, staring out the window, taking in the scenic view of the snow-capped Alps.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the jingling of bells ringing in the distance. As the sounds grew closer, she looked out the window and saw the local farmers’ Alpen cows parading down the cobblestone road, their noisy bells clanging from their collared necks. They were being pastured to another field.
As the cows continued forward, she heard another familiar bell ringing. It was a customer opening the front door, causing the tiny bells on the door handle to jingle. Angela glanced up and couldn’t believe her eyes. Is that? Could it be? Mason Glade?
Baffled, she wondered what he was doing in her sleepy Alpine village of Grainau. As Angela took another sip of coffee, it made its way down the wrong pipe and she found herself coughing, choking for air. Embarrassed, she grabbed the newspaper on the table and covered her face. She lowered it slightly, still coughing, and noticed a few patrons staring at her.
Aunt Terese’s voice carried across the bakery. “Angela, are you okay?”
Angela waved her arm over the newspaper to assure her that she was fine. After she caught her breath, she peered back over the newspaper and noticed Mason walking in her direction, his purchase of coffee and pastry in each hand. He nodded and smiled at her as he walked out of the shop. Angela’s lower lip trembled and she quickly crumbled the newspaper and bolted up to the counter. “Aunt Terese,” she whispered loudly. “Do you have any idea who that was?”
About Author Michele Davenport-Dutton…
Michele Davenport-Dutton has always enjoyed reading and was the Top reader at her Montessori school in Garmisch, Germany, which she took pride in as a young child. She is a fan of love stories fueled with heart and happy endings. This is Michele’s debut novel. She received her Bachelor’s Degree at CSUB in Business Mgt. and shortly after, became pregnant with her first baby. She put her career on hold as she had three more children and became a stay-at-home mom for nearly 30 years. She had always wanted to write a book and is happy to see it finally come into fruition. Michele is married to her husband, Chris, and together they have eight adult children and seven grandchildren. (Hopefully, many more grandchildren to come) Michele and Chris reside in Shafter, CA, on the outskirts of Bakersfield.
Links to Michele’s websites, blogs, books, #ad etc.:
Amazon Kindle: https://amzn.to/4eyitgI
Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/4eyiwZW
Special Giveaway: Sign up for Michele’s mailing list at LilGrmnGal69@gmail.com She will gift one signed, printed book to the first new U.S. reader who requests it in exchange for an honest review. Good Luck!
Happy Reading!
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Thanks, Michele, for sharing your book with us!
Don’t miss the chance to read this book!
Your book sounds intriguing. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Eileen! Thank you! A couple of people have kindly shared they’ve read my book two or three times. That was humbly flattering. 🙂
Book sounds like a good read and the funny thing is I can relate to a lot of the story line because I am single, no kids, always wanted to be a mother
I would like to read and review the book I print format for you
Hi Crystal! You are the winner of the book giveaway. Please email me your mailing address. Thank. you!
Good morning, Michele, and welcome to Karen’s Killer Book Bench. It would be heartbreaking to want to be a mother and be unable to fulfill that dream. I’m sure your book is an emotional read. Thanks for sharing it with us today!
Hi Karen! Thank you! Fortunately, I was blessed with four children. It was difficult to place myself in that position of not being able to have a baby. Like my protagonist, Angela, I too, always wanted to be a mother.
Hi Michele, your book sounds like a great read and your book cover is Beautiful . I will definitely be looking for it in print as that is all I read. Thank you for sharing the excerpt. Have a great day and a great week.
Hi Alicia! Thank you so much! Have a great week. yourself! Happy Reading!
Sounds good.