🚨 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐑 ➜ She wants the family she never had. He wants to protect the one he already has: One Alpen Day by Michele Davenport-Dutton Book Tour with Guest Post and Author Q&A

In One Alpen Day, Michele Davenport-Dutton traces a connection formed not through intention, but through circumstance, bringing together two people whose lives are defined by loss, obligation, and the quiet hope that change might still be possible.

Angela Sutton has stepped away from the life she once planned after divorce and pregnancy loss leave her uncertain of her place in the world. Working alongside her aunt in the family bakery provides structure, though her sense of purpose remains fragile. That balance is disrupted when Mason Glade, a famous Hollywood actor, arrives unexpectedly.

Mason is carrying the weight of a fractured marriage and the public fallout of his estranged wife Camila’s struggle with alcoholism. Concerned for the well-being of their two young children, Mason removes them from the spotlight while Camila enters rehab. As he spends time with Angela, he begins to see how deeply her presence affects his children and himself. Faced with the choice between reconciliation and a new beginning, Mason must confront what kind of future he is willing to fight for.

Excerpt:

Angela moved back to Grainau last year after Uncle Karl died from a massive heart attack at the age of seventy-six, leaving Aunt Terese to tend to their forty-year-old bakery alone. Around the same time, Angela had gone through a bitter divorce from her husband, Nick Sutton Jr. after three years of marriage. He had carried on his father’s legacy as a business mogul in L.A. Nick Jr. was in the Garmisch/Grainau area for business and it was there he met Angela at the bakery four years ago. He had swept her off her feet and dragged her to L.A where they were married a few short months later.

The Alpen Bakery, as named by Aunt Terese and Uncle Karl, carried an assortment of breads, rolls, sheet cakes and pastries. Bread is to Germans what cheese is to the French. There are more than four hundred types of bread in Germany. And, a good bakery such as Angela's aunt and uncle's, stocked at least ten to twenty kinds of breads, ten kinds of rolls and an assorted variety of sheet cakes and various pastries, including Aunt Terese's delectable Apple Strudel. Plus, it was said by locals that they made the best cappuccino in town. 

Angela was cleaning and dusting all the pictures and paintings displayed in the bakery, over the empty tables when she heard Aunt Terese yell.

“Oh, dear! Somebody left their wallet on the counter!” She looked inside to see if she could find identification. She peered sideways at Angela and batted her eyelashes. “Mason Glade,” she said. Angela's stomach turned in knots. Just hearing his name made her break out in goosebumps. 

“He'll be back soon enough,” and with that, Aunt Terese closed the wallet. “He won’t get far without his wallet,” she quipped enthusiastically.

Angela went back to spritzing glass cleaner on the glass covering the Neuschwanstein picture which had smudges all over from people, mainly kids, touching it. It's King Ludwig's most beautiful and prized castle. The rest of the walls displayed photos of Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the ski jump, where the 1936 Winter Olympics were held. Both Aunt Terese and Uncle Karl's parents attended, as it was a huge event. Uncle Karl was just a baby at the time. Next to the Olympic pictures were framed news articles and interviews from that event. 

After she dusted the painting of the Zugspitze, Germany's tallest and most glorious mountain, which has her town of Grainau at its base, she went back into the kitchen and washed her hands. 

Aunt Terese saw Mason walking outside the front window and quickly shouted, “There he is, Angela!” 

Mason opened the door and walked up to the counter. “Hello, excuse me, but I believe I left my wallet here, or I'm really hoping it's here.” Aunt Terese picked it up from behind the counter and handed it to him. Mason was grateful he didn't lose it. “Oh, you don't know how scared I was, thinking I had lost it. Thank you so much,” he said, a nervous relief in his tone. At that moment, Angela walked out from the back and Mason said, “Wait, aren't you Angela?” He pointed over to the rear corner where he remembered seeing her choking. 

Angela’s insides did a cartwheel. She couldn’t believe he remembered her name from when Aunt Terese shouted it earlier, asking if she was okay. 

Angela cleared her throat. “Yes, Hi, I'm Angela.” She reached out her hand and Mason shook it. 

“Hello Angela. It's very nice to meet you. I'm Mason, by the way. You work here?” 

Her hands were clammy and sweaty from her nerves. “Yes, this is my Aunt Terese and Uncle Karl's bakery. They've owned it for forty years now.”  

Amazon: https://amzn.to/460BAhC

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/206186582-one-alpen-day

Michele Davenport-Dutton has loved reading since childhood and was once the top reader at her Montessori school in Garmisch, Germany. A lifelong fan of heartfelt love stories with happy endings, she finally brought her own story to the page with this debut novel. Michele earned her bachelor’s degree in Business Management from CSUB before putting her career on hold to raise her family, spending nearly 30 years as a stay-at-home mom. Now fulfilling a long-held dream of becoming an author, she lives in Shafter, California, with her husband, Chris. Together they have eight adult children and seven grandchildren, with hopes for many more. Visit Michele on Instagram.

Guest Post

A Memory of Opa Max and Me

 It was a cool, crisp spring morning in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, in 1974. I was a cheerful five-year-old girl, holding my Opa’s hand and skipping along the sidewalk to keep up with his quick pace. We were hurrying to the station to watch the trains come and go, one of Opa's favorite hobbies.

The recent rain left a shiny gloss over the cobblestone road, making the stones look like individual turtles hiding in their shells. As the stores prepared to open, I looked up at the balconies where many shop owners lived. High above, I saw an elderly woman with gray hair and a red scarf. With a large green watering can in her wrinkled hand, she quenched the thirst of a window box filled with vibrant red, white, and pink geraniums.

When we arrived at the station, Opa began singing the song he taught me: "Eisenbahn, Lokomotive, wer kein Geld hat, darf net mit." Translated, it means, "Steel train, locomotive, whoever has no money cannot come along." While the German lyrics rhyme, I always found the sentiment a bit harsh and felt pity for those who couldn't afford a ride.

As Opa enjoyed a cigarette, I practiced flips on the nearby bars. Whenever he saw me, he would yell, "Ach Gott, Mimi! Du fällst runter!"—"Oh God, Mimi, you will fall down!" I would study him like a Monet or Van Gogh painting. He was a short, stout, yet well-dressed man who wore his grey feather hat with pride. His face was perfectly round, like a chef’s potato dumpling, and his large, steel blue-grey eyes always looked peaceful.

Opa wore Old Spice aftershave, and to this day, that scent instantly brings back his memory. Our walks to the train station were always an adventure, and they will forever be embedded in my heart.

My story takes place in the beautiful, scenic Garmisch/Grainau area of Germany and although the love story is fictitious, the setting holds fond memories for me as I lived in Garmisch as a little girl. Garmisch was my home, a special place with my loving family. I often reflect on the times walking to the train station with my Opa Max and below is a special memory from that time. I had to include Opa’s life events in my novel and share it with the world. 

Author Q&A

What’s a detail, theme, or clue in your book that most readers might miss on the first read—but you secretly hope someone notices? 

Mason’s estranged wife always wears gold- glittered costumes for her rodeo shows. Angela, the protagonist, has Emerald green eyes. The last line of the book has Mason thinking, All that glitters isn’t gold. All that glitters is Emerald green. 

When did this story or idea “click” into place for you—was there a single moment you knew you had to write it? 

My sons went on a weekend  Boy Scout camping trip with their dad. He took our five-year-old daughter with them. I was all alone at home (a rare treat) and thought, “I want to write a book.” I grabbed my notebook and a pen and the characters just came to me. The setting unfolded and yet it took years in the making of writing this novel, having been a stay-at-home mom was my top priority. I’m happy to see my little novel finally come into fruition. 

Which character or real-life person surprised you the most while writing this book, and why?

Opa, my grandpa. Although he passed on many years ago, at the ripe old age of 93, every time I read the last two chapters of my book pertaining to him, I cry. No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader, right? 

If your book had a soundtrack, what three songs would be on it and what scenes or moments would they pair with? 

“Everything that Glitters is Not Gold,” (sung by Mason, while he’s strumming his guitar in the alps. That song hits me hard) 

“Edelweiss” and “The Sound of Music,” because of the majestic alps in the background. 

What’s one belief, question, or emotional truth you hope readers carry with them long after they finish your book? 

Finding healing from loss. Love and connection help people grow. Love is better the second time around. 

If your protagonist (or the central figure in your nonfiction) could give the reader one piece of advice, what would it be? 

Love triumphs over fear. Love conquers all. 

What real-world place, object, or memory helped shape a key element in your book? 

The setting in the Garmisch/Grainau is where I lived as a young girl. My Opa would hold my hand as I skipped to the train station where we’d watch the trains coming and going. 

What’s something you had to research, learn, or experience to write this book that genuinely shocked you? 

Researching miscarriages and how it affects women deeply, the trauma they endure. 

If your book were invited to join a shelf with two other titles, which ones would make you happiest—and what would that shelf say about your story?

Jane Porter’s Christmas at Copper Mountain and Julie Olivia’s If it Makes You Happy. The shelf would say “Come over, stay a while. Let me take you on an armchair adventure you won’t want to miss.”

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