~tim powers and kickstarter

An author I recently discovered (and have no idea how I've missed his work) is Tim Powers.

For those who aren't familiar with his name, he's known for an award-winning novel called The Anubis Gates. Oh, and a little story adapted as a film in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise by the name of On Stranger Tides.

I've only read one of Tim's books so far, an older one titled, The Stress of Her Regard. It's a paranormal twist on the lives of the great Romantic poets, Byron, Shelley, and Keats. I'm constantly on the lookout for vampire stories in which the vampires are a little different than the standard Dracula model, and this novel really fits the bill.

In my pursuit to learn more about this writer of secret/alternative histories, I discovered a project of his on Kickstarter titled "Last Call," which is also the name of another of his award-winning books. The goal for their fundraiser is to raise enough money to film a scene from the book to be used for pitching to Hollywood (my son in the industry calls this a 'tone piece.')

Now this is a very cool project, and in fact, since I've become aware of it, they've raised over half of the amount needed to make the short film.

Kickstarter is an innovative fundraising tool oriented toward artist of all types. This is how it works:

The artist develops a proposal to raise funds for a project and pitches it on Kickstarter. The artist sets a dollar goal that must be met by a specific date. Donors pledge varying amounts and receive a variety of perks in return.

If the dollar goal is met, the donors' credit cards are charged their pledge amounts. If the dollar goal is not met by the declared date, no one is charged a dime and the artist goes home.

Pretty simple.

In fact, it's such a cool concept I think I might try it. My son, his business partner, and I are putting together a proposal to raise money for a book trailer for Watcher. I'll keep you posted.

Writer L. M. May  blogged last week about several Kickstarter success stories. Maybe I can be one of them.

In the meantime, visit Tim's Kickstarter page and kick in a little $$ to help his project out.

On another note, I'm attending the World Fantasy Convention in San Diego next month (more on this amazing convention later). Tim Powers is going to be there, and I'm hoping to be able to meet him!