Book Review: Red by Kait Nolan

This isn't the first time I've read a book by Kait. She's working on a series, including novellas and short stories in the Mirus Universe she created. But Red isn't one of them; actually, it's a YA, different than Kait's other books.
I thought I was over my YA reading period. But since the excerpt Kait posted on her blog back in December, I was curiously waiting when it'd be finished.

Red is about Elodie who inherited a 'curse' from her mother. A long line of her ancestors died very young because of it. Even in the opening scene and throughout the book, we can feel her preparation for death; to follow in her ancestors' footsteps, because she doesn't know of any other way.
And it's about Sawyer who had just moved to this new place with his father to try to overcome his mother death, to find his place in the world again. But he's still full of bitterness and anger at the injustice her mother suffered.

When they first meet, Elodie is testing herself to prove she's stronger than her mother and Sawyer misunderstands, thinking he saves her from suicide. But their paths cross again when Elodie finds out her boss for her summer internship is Sawyer's father.
That, and he can't stop thinking about her. He's intrigued by her secret, wanting to figure it out while Elodie is adamant on being careful.
But Sawyer, too, has a secret and when we realize what both of theirs is, it's like watching Elodie and him dance. They're attracted to each other, but believe they can't be together because they think the other is human. When in reality, they are similar.
Elodie's change is closer with each page as well as a hunter who wants her dead. Can she escape her ancestors' bitter fate? It depends on Sawyer figuring out her secret in time and how the encounter with the hunter would go.

First love, secrets and danger; a book with lovable characters and dynamic interactions between them, propelling the story forward, which makes Red for a very enjoyable reading; perfect for these hot summer days when all you want to do is to have a cold drink and a great book in your hand, lazing in a cool room.
I suggest you get an e-reader. Sadly, I don't have one (yet!), so I was worrying the whole time not to let my netbook become too hot. I stayed up late to finish reading the book and it was so worth it.
It feels like a whole, round story and I'm sure this is one of those books I'm re-reading. And I really like the characters and how something always happens in Red. There's not a moment of boredom; Kait manages to hold my attention through the entire book.

I recommend you to buy it now, because -if all goes right-, then you won't be able to have it in this format for much longer.
I hope I'll be able to hold the physical book in my hands soon ;) <knocks on wood>

Where you can buy it: Smashwords, Amazon, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Barnes and Noble, All Romance EBooks.
Kait Nolan's website with infos on this book and her other works (and of her, of course!): KaitNolan.com 

PS.: Loved the references to a certain popular YA right now ;)

And here was my very first book review. Whew~

E-paper for Writers

This is a (very) unscheduled post, but I've just noticed these news about e-paper and its possible usage in advertisement, newpapers, ticket-selling, etc. And suddenly remembered that I decided to buy a printer in the near future, which is quick, can print a lot with one cartridge and the quality is great.
Add the two of them together and... I realized e-papers can be extremely helpful for writers, as well.

First, let me introduce the technology a little (here you can find the article with more details). What is important to us that it can be re-printed 260 times and the developers at ITRI aim to increase it to 500 in the next two years, when they plan to commercialize the technology.
That means, after you printed on the paper, you can delete and print it another 259 times. It can be printed with thermal printers (such as in fax machines), electrical and physical technology.

Even if writers love e-books and electrical gadgets to make their life easier, we still love the traditional paper books and lots of us do edits on paper and like to see our research printed so we can see the whole. And I'm betting there are many literary agents and editors who print out their work and like to read on paper. Because you can still catch mistakes, inconsistencies, etc. more likely in the printed form. And... you know, it does feel different when reading on the screen or on paper.

Imagine, what we could do with e-papers?  Because you don't need to worry about wastes and costs, you can:

• see your scenes in printed form and edit more easily
• re-print your drafts every time you update it
• have less/smaller pile of papers on your desk (nowadays, because you don't want to waste paper you recycle them - as in, using the back to write on it)
• if you print extra material (timeline of story, storyboard, research, summaries, character sheets, etc.) and later you need to change them or realize you don't need them, you can just re-print it with corrections or with something you need or simply delete the page.

You can do this all without wasting paper or ink! Isn't it exciting? An effective and cost-friendly way to protect your workspace/home from a huge mess and Earth, because you don't need to cut down loads of woods just to get paper and then throw it out when you're not satisfied with what you wrote on it.
And now it's in our reach, no longer science-fiction or a dream of the future!

I only gathered these 4 things from the top of my head, but I'm sure there's more. Help me collect these here. What other ways can you use e-paper in your work?