Pursuing a Fallen Angel from Michigan to Massachusetts
Locations in The Last Angel To Fall
The last rebel angel cast out of Heaven has fallen to earth, sealed inside a meteorite that crashed on the I-94 Highway between Jackson and Grass Lake, Michigan.
Why South-Central Michigan?
Jackson, Michigan, is where I currently reside. For those unfamiliar with the area, Jackson is approximately 80 miles west of Detroit, 40 miles west of Ann Arbor and 35 miles south of Lansing.
Most of the locations included in The Last Angel To Fall are places I've been to. Others were the result of research. I could vividly picture the meteor swooping down over Owen Road in Norvell Township where my brother and his wife used to live. I could visualize it roaring off across the skies of Brooklyn, Napoleon and Vandercook Lake to crash onto the I-94 highway between Jackson and Grass Lake I've traveled back and forth across so many times over the years.
But a meteorite hitting I-94?
Well, that seems somehow inevitable to me. It would be just another reason for more road construction. Since I moved to Jackson before the turn of the century (boy that makes me sound old!) I have held jobs in Ann Arbor and Chelsea in addition to Jackson and Lansing. The commute on Interstate-94 has been the source of much frustration for me over the years, especially due to the seemingly eternal construction that turns what should be 45 minute drives into lengthy and circuitous journeys.
Several Jackson-area locations are utilized or at least mentioned as Jubal Stone, Thaddeus Coleman and Asheba Rain trek across the state in pursuit of the last angel exiled from Heaven. Jubal, who is no fan of the roads of the Jackson area, is forced to defend “Jacktown” against the slings and arrows of his former mentor, Thad, who is in Jackson for the first time and has not found it to his liking.
Jubal and Thad watch in fascination as Asheba tries pizza for the first time in her life at the Klavon's in Vandercook Lake. Coleman drives Jubal to see their boss at a safehouse on the east side of Jackson, passing the Seymour Ford Dealership on the way. They drive past the Papa John's on West Avenue and make a stop at the Jackson Airport to board a helicopter for transport to the crash site.
In an homage to the best donuts I've ever had, outsider Thad Coleman, who has an affinity for Chelsea, Michigan's own Jiffy Mix Corn Muffins, becomes hooked on Hinkley Donuts, Jackson's finest. Even as he is disparaging the city of Jackson, Thad Coleman can't get enough of the glazed donuts and chocolate-covered crescents. Jubal defends his hometown by citing just some of the noteworthy locations:
“Jack Town's got swag. There's the Cascades, Ella Sharp Park, the Candy Factory, my personal favorite. We've even got the Chateau Aeronautique Winery. That's a winery with vintage airplanes.”
Coleman's response? Well, let's just say that this city's roads have him a little cranky.
“You probably need an airplane just to avoid the potholes.”
Also getting a mention is the Napoleon Cafe and the Country Market in Napoleon, Michigan. At one point we find the angel being pursued by Jubal, Thad and Asheba over the Tantre Farm in Chelsea.
Thad Coleman takes momentary refuge for contemplation inside St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Jackson.
All this begs the question: where will Jubal's journey take him next?
The answer is provided at the conclusion of The Last Angel To Fall, but I can tell you it's a place I've never been to. I won't ruin it for those who haven't read the first novel in the Jubal Stone Series, but it's going to be just the start of an epic journey that began when he learned about the State Department's peace treaty with Hell.
To read the novel Kirkus Reviews calls “A powerhouse first volume in a supernatural thriller series, point your browser to:
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About the author
Brian
G. Walsh is the author of The Last Angel To Fall, volume one
of the Jubal Stone Series of urban fantasy novels.
Walsh is
also the author of No Place For Mercy: An Eclectic Anthology,
a collection of short stories readers have compared to the writing of
Stephen King, Edgar Allan Poe, Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, Rod
Serling and others.
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