On Kickstarter there are often various fascinating projects going on and I came across this one thanks to Moses Siregar. First up is Spectre by Jason Denzel. Here’s what Jason has to say about it:

The story is about a fallen paladin who wakes up wounded on a battlefield. There he finds Spectre, a notorious sword with the ability to speak who's responsible for much of the destruction in the land.

Having lost everything, the paladin vows to take the sword to a temple where it can be destroyed. But as he makes the long and grueling journey over land, he finds the sword is nothing like the world believes it to be.

Spectre is a short fantasy film I hope to complete with your help. About seven years ago, I began developing an original screenplay based on an imaginary world. I did this in my spare time, and took a couple years to get it right.

In 2007-08, I successfully led a team of talented artists and craftsman to produce the foundations of an excellent movie. We collected many hours of high-definition footage, showcasing custom-made costumes and props, great acting, and beautiful locations. Unfortunately, after we finished shooting, I lacked the funds to complete the visual effects and other post-production elements. Spectre needs a lot of work to be completed. We have some great footage, but a lot of empty shots that need to be filled with visual effects.

If our Kickstarter campaign is successful, I will hire a team of professionals to provide us with a variety of post-production services. There are well over 100 shots requiring visual effects work. I'd also like to hire an editor to help me cut the movie in an exciting and compelling way.

So here your chance of supporting a great campaign, it has 6 more days to go and about $17,333 is pledged with the final goal being of $18,000. Check out this wonderful project and join Moses, Brandon Sanderson, many others and me helping Jason realize his wonderful project.

Another Indie who is making waves with his online efforts is Ben Galley and he has started his own Kickstarter project for a graphic novel based on his debut novel. Here’s what Ben had to say about the inception of the project and the reason for the move to make a graphic novel:

Often described as "Lord of the Rings meets Sin City", 'The Written' is an epic and gritty fantasy book, part mystery, part thriller, crammed with bloody and brutal action, more magick than you can shake a sword at, and twists and turns that will keep the edge of your seat firmly occupied. It's the first book in the Emaneska Series, and has hit the top of the bestseller lists for epic fantasy more than once in the past few years.

So why are we here on Kickstarter? Well, we're glad you asked! The time has finally come to realise the "Sin City part" of its description. It's time turn the Emaneska Series into its own series of graphic novels, and we're kicking off with the first book - 'The Written.'

Myself and artist Mike want to take the book, rip it apart, and stick it back together in an all-new format. The action and pace of 'The Written' makes it perfect for a graphic novel, as does the grand, sweeping Nordic world of Emaneska itself - its cities, its mountains, its creatures, its magick, its fight scenes, its mythology, and its wild people. Aside from the blistering action of the book, there's also a lot of poignancy too, and subtext. 'The Written' is also about struggle and change, one man's fight against another's ideas, splashed against a world that is vast and varied. Essentially, we have the license to go crazy, and make the best damn fantasy graphic novel we can.

For those readers who are yet to read Ben Galley’s work, check out the review of The Written over here. I know I would like to see both these talented guys be given a chance to showcase what they have planned and so consider being a part of this project as it has 35 days to go and currently is at £3,621 of the total £5,000 goal.

This particular announcement was made by Ilona Andrews on her blog and twitter. Basically this was it:

“I hint at new and exciting things to come.”

The authors will most likely be revealing more about it next week and I’m pretty sure it has to do something with new books. I’m hoping that it’s a new series preferably in the epic or dark fantasy genre. Fingers crossed for the actual announcement though ☺

Lastly Tor.com revealed the fantastic cover for Ian Tregillis' upcoming urban fantasy book called “Something Other Than Night” and here’s the synopsis:

Something More Than Night is a Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler-inspired murder mystery set in Thomas Aquinas’s vision of Heaven. It’s a noir detective story starring fallen angels, the heavenly choir, nightclub stigmatics, a priest with a dirty secret, a femme fatale, and the Voice of God.

Somebody has murdered the angel Gabriel. Worse, the Jericho Trumpet has gone missing, putting Heaven on the brink of a truly cosmic crisis. But the twisty plot that unfolds from the murder investigation leads to something much bigger: a con job one billion years in the making. Because this is no mere murder! A small band of angels has decided to break out of heaven, but they need a human patsy to make their plan work.

Much of the story is told from the point of view of Bayliss, a cynical fallen angel who has modeled himself on Philip Marlowe. The yarn he spins follows the progression of a Marlowe novel — the mysterious dame who needs his help, getting grilled by the bulls, finding a stiff, getting slipped a mickey. Angels and gunsels, dames with eyes like fire, and a grand maguffin, Something More Than Night is a murder mystery for the cosmos.

So check out entire piece on Tor's blog and you can also take a look at the alternate artwork, which is as fantastic as the final version if not better.