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Off The Grid

by Dan Kolbet

Giveaway ends November 06, 2011.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

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It’s pretty awesome “discovering” someone reading your book

Allow me to be a little overly-excited for one post. If you’re an author too, you’ll get it.

Today at work I arrived about three minutes early to one particular meeting. Yes, I try to show up on time. As the other attendees start to arrive and sit around the conference table, I notice my co-worker is carrying a Nook. To be completely honest, I’d never seen anyone at work carrying a Nook or Kindle. iPad, yes ,but not the others.

“Is that a Nook?” I ask.

“Yes, it is,” my co-worker says.

Because I’m really not into self-promotion at work, since they actually pay me to do other stuff, I didn’t want to give him the whole pitch for Off The Grid. And the meeting was about to start anyway. So, I flipped on my phone, which has the book cover image as my lock screen.

“Well, if you’re looking for something to read you should check out this book,” I said, holding the phone so he could see the cover picture for Off The Grid.

“You mean this book?” he asks, turning his Nook around to show me that he was already reading the book!

How cool is that?  Pretty damn cool.

Off The Grid is available on Nook and Kindle right now. It’s also available to order in paperback from Amazon CreateSpace, but I’m not going to plug that too much until our release party on November 5, but if you want to buy it before then, that's cool.   

Off The Grid Release Party is November 5

If you're in the Spokane area, drop by!

Off The Grid Release Party

November 5, 2011

6 p.m.

The Kolbet House

We’re hosting a release party to celebrate the release of my debut novel, Off The Grid. Please come and enjoy light snacks and drinks while helping commemorate this milestone achievement.

Dan will read an excerpt from the book, sign copies and thank the many individuals who made Off the Grid happen.

I’d love to see you all at the party. We’ll have copies of the book for sale, ready for personalized autographs!

More info and RSVP here

First CreateSpace proof arrived today

Just before leaving work today, my wife texted me an picture of the mail. Not a normal occurrence. Yet, getting a finished proof of my debut novel, isn't a normal occurrence either.

It looks fantastic. I've got a few little tweaks to make on the cover and the inside pages that no one but me would probably ever care about, but after that, it'll be ready for public consumption.

It should be available for sale before Christmas. Yes, I'm padding that date, but so what. If everything goes to hell, it'll still be ready. That's my plan.

If you're a Kindle or Nook reader, you can grab a e-copy today. I've been a bit surprised how many of my friends, family and co-workers said they didn't have e-readers and wanted the printed version. I assumed most of the world converted. Guess not.

Editorial Review from T&D World Technology Editor Vito Longo

Review/blurb by Vito Longo, 

Technology Editor, Transmission & Distribution World 

"Off the Grid" presents a future where burning things like coal to generate electricity is banned and Nikola Tesla's power beaming has become a reality for a company, StuTech, that has monopolized the electric market and has un-plugged a big part of the United States. Luke Kincaid's parents were early casualties of this wide spread blackout. Ten-years later, Luke is working for StuTech . . . but, to what end?

"Off the Grid" is an interesting and compelling read both for mystery fans and electric power industry veterans.

-Vito

Longo was previously a Project Manager in Power Delivery at the Electric Power Research Institute and Overhead Transmission Line Engineer at PG&E. You can follow Vito on twitter, @Uncle_Vito. 

Kindle edition of Off The Grid is available

The Kindle edition of Off The Grid is now available from Amazon. You can also download a sample and read the first four chapters. I hope you'll check it out and provide a review when you finish it. Thanks.

Off The Grid and on the Nook

As of this morning, Off The Grid is on sale for $3.99 on the Barnes and Noble Nook. Happy day!

Wouldn't it be cool to say you bought the first copy?

Oh, yeah, it'd be cool. You should do that.

My cover design for Off The Grid

I really enjoyed using CrowdSPRING for the jacket cover creation for Off The Grid. I was able to review 135 designs from 27 different designers from all over the world. I am ecstatic about the design. Overall it cost about $600 to design the cover - $450 goes to the designer, the rest to the site for fees.

The cover includes an image of a house that is off the grid – no electrical power. Shown out the window is a vibrant city that gets wireless power from StuTech, the monopoly that runs wireless power distribution in Off The Grid. On the back cover, which is still being developed, is a public notice by StuTech that is posted inside the abandoned house. The text essentially says that the home is too far away from StuTech’s towers to provide power – you’re out of luck. The colors and imagery are enough to drive interest from readers and the little details are really fitting for the book.

I asked my friends and co-workers to vote on their favorite designs and it was a mixed bag. This design and another design, essentially tied for the popular vote. They both received 4 stars out of 5 on average. I knew this was my favorite design from the beginning, so it was reassuring to see my friends were on the same page with me.

When I get the back cover ready I’ll post it here too. I’d like to give credit to the designer who made the cover, but I haven’t gotten his permission to release his name yet. He deserves big time props. 

Vote for your favorite "Off The Grid" book cover design

More than 130 unique covers were submitted by graphic designers all over the world through CrowdSPRING, for my new novel “Off The Grid.” There are so many awesome choices that I need your help! I picked four designs for you to choose from.

Until Saturday morning you can vote on your favorite cover design and even leave feedback for the designers and me. Just select how many “stars” you give each design – its OK if you rank them the same.

Here are your choices. Click the image below to go to the site and vote.

Want to know more about Off The Grid? Here’s the books description.

Off The Grid

Today electricity is delivered wirelessly, a technological revolution that saved the world from a drastic energy shortage. One company has the monopoly to deliver this power through the air, but this stranglehold thrusts thousands of cities and millions of people into an eternal blackout.

Luke Kincaid’s hometown wasn’t the first to be forced off the grid, but when the blackout leads directly to his parent’s deaths, Luke has just one company and one man to blame. It’s time to fight back. It’s time to fight StuTech.

So it’s quite a shock when Luke finds himself at StuTech as a model employee, engaged to the founder’s daughter and quickly becoming the go-to corporate spy on its behalf. Threatened by a secret that could destroy him and any chance of bringing power to the forgotten millions, Luke sets off to find the true origins of wireless electricity, but discovers so much more.

More than 100 years ago scientist Nikola Tesla envisioned a world without wires, but he never expected this . . .  

The book will be available on Kindle and Nook in late October or early November. It will be in print by the end of the year through Amazon. But until then, vote for your favorite cover design!