The Narrow Road Kick starter Campaign!

Erik Yeager, author, producer, director, editor and cinematographer is running a kickstarter campaign for the creation of his new novel The Narrow Road. based upon Pilgrim's Progress and he's almost made his goal. Check it out:

The Narrow Road is an adaptation of John Bunyan’s 17th-century classic, “The Pilgrim’s Progress”, first adapted as a feature-length film script by Erik Yeager, Howard Allen, and Phillip Loeb.  Working with brilliant illustrator, artist, and real-life swordsmith, David DelaGardelle, Erik thought that the Tolkien-esque The Narrow Road would make a fun novel!

Check out the video explaining the story by the creators below!

First published in 1678,The Pilgrim's Progress has been called the greatest allegory ever written.  The novel has sold millions of copies and been translated into over a hundred languages.  In our version, a medieval soldier, in mortal fear of destruction at the hands of supernatural forces, flees his home in search of the means to save himself and his family from a fate worse than death.

From the author: “I’ve been working on the novelization of The Narrow Road film script for over a year, and based on the feedback of our early readers (from all backgrounds), I’m hopeful that this novel will be enjoyable for readers of all ages and walks of life.  And I’m really excited about Dave’s brilliant illustrations!”

Yeager has included a really cool film short about the  story and based on that it looks like an excellent piece of fiction. The art work is beautiful and created by David DelaGardelle of Cederlore Forge and support will support art work, printing and binding costs and any other costs associated with producing the book. There will be many great incentives for supporters of the project. Go to The Narrow Road kickstarter page and support them today. They have 66 hours to go!

The Narrow Road Kickstarter!

Antiquitypunk? Anyone? Anyone?

Steampunk.

It's a popular genre and has been for quite some time now. Some might say it's past it's heyday. I don't know about that. I plan to write a steampunk series sometime in the next year so I hope that isn't true. Even if it were in some peoples' minds, publishing is different now so you can pretty much write anything you want and someone will want to read it, no matter how "out of style" the genre may be.

In any case, I don't think the steampunk sub-genre will ever truly go out of style. I follow a fellow on Facebook, Daniel Proulx, who creates steampunk jewelry. He also posts a lot of wonderful steampunk conceptual art pieces that he finds on to his FB page. Here are a few of my favorites:

But it got me wondering yesterday. That and an interview I was listening to on the Adventures of SciFi Publishing podcast about something older - antiquitypunk. Ancient people's used machines often to tell time, seasons and to study the stars. There are other ancient machines as well that I can't recall the names of at the moment. Oh, there's a famous archeological find called the Antikythera Mechanism that comes to my mind.

What would antiquitypunk look like? What would it be like? what kind of stories could populate such a world? Perhaps ancient flying balloons instead of dirigibles? Or mechanical bow and arrows that shoot arrows of fire that explode on impact, like bunker-busters? Or mechanical horses and chariots? Wooden and metal submarines? Airplanes shaped like birds, made of wood with wings of linen? I don't know. There's a lot to think about. It just gets me thinking that perhaps I should write a short story involving this sub-genre just mostly as a place holder for future ideas.

Anyone else out there have any ideas?

Geeking Out: Fan Films

I've only recently been getting into fan films and I'm discovering a lot of wonderful content out there.

I love the independent arts. Indie news. Indie films. Indie books. Indie music. Indie art. Open source software and programs. Fan films. I just love the great stuff that's coming out of people, on their own steam and their own resources. It's like a Renaissance of independent content and culture.

Anyway, I saw The Hunt For Gollum last night and I loved it. You can watch it here if you haven't already seen it - if you happen to be a big Lord of the Rings fan like I am, you'll enjoy it. I plan to watch another one, Born of Hope, which can be found here. The production values, the score, the acting is wonderful in tHfG so check it out. Oh, and it's free, of course! You can also get a free copy of the soundtrack which is also good. And if you really like it, donate to them. On the Born of Hope website there is a Paypal donation button. Indie artists and content creators work hard. Show your appreciation with your pocketbook when you can.

Then there's the matter of a Dune fan film that was in production in Spain but the breaks have been put on it by the Herbert Foundation. I hope this can get worked out because i would love to see a well made Dune fan film. In fact, I would love to see Dune remade, by a director who loves and respects the work who can get the right amount of funding/budget for it. Dune always needed at least two films for the story to properly be told. Below is some wonderful Dune artwork I found on Mark Molnar's sketchblog.

If someone could use his art as the conceptual art for a new Dune film trilogy or series - I would be in Sci-Fi heaven!