This privacy policy has been compiled to explain how your ‘Personally Identifiable Information’ (PII) may be used on this website. PII is information that can be used on its own or with other information to identify, contact, or locate a single person, or to identify an individual in context. This privacy policy was created on May 19, 2017, and last updated on May 25, 2018.
What personal information do I collect from visitors to our website and when?
When you subscribe to the newsletter, or send a message using the contact form, I collect your name and email address. In addition, I use third-party services to compile information about site traffic and interactions and to send desktop notices to those who opt in.
Comments
When you leave comments on the site, it collects the data shown in the comments form, and also your IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection.
An anonymised string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. If you are, Gravatar will send your gravatar to the site. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.
How do I use this information?
I use your email address to either reply to your message or send you a newsletter, depending on the action you specified. For example, if you send me an email message with a question about my site or books, I will not add you to my newsletter list. To receive my newsletter, you must make a specific request, which you can do here. If you sign up for desktop notifications of new posts, I will send you those notifications. You can unsubscribe from the newsletter or notifications at any time and you won’t receive any unsolicited communication from me.
How do protect this information?
I regularly scan this website for malware and have software in place to bounce off troublemakers. We also use an SSL connection for all pages on this website.
Does this site use cookies?
Yes. A cookie is a string of information that a website stores on a visitor’s computer, and that the visitor’s browser provides to the website each time the visitor returns. Pixel tags (also called web beacons) are small blocks of code placed on websites and emails. They enable the site’s systems to recognize your browser and capture and remember certain information. This site uses cookies and other technologies like pixel tags to track page hits, understand email campaign effectiveness, and compile aggregate data about site traffic and site interaction so that I can offer better site experiences and tools in the future.
Do I have to accept cookies?
No. If you disable cookies through your website browser, this site will continue to work.
Embedded Content
Pages on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.
These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracing your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.
Third Party Disclosure
This site does not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer to outside parties your personally identifiable information without advance notice. This does not include website hosting partners and other parties who help operate this website or business, so long as those parties agree to keep this information confidential. This site may also release your information to comply with the law, enforce site policies, or protect ours or others’ rights, property, or safety. However, non-personally identifiable visitor information may be provided to other parties for marketing, advertising, or other uses. Third parties I use include WordPress and Jetpack to manage the website, SiteGround for web hosting, Google Analytics for anonymized tracking, Mailchimp for newsletters, and Cloudflare for speed and security. Regular backups of this website are held on SiteGround and private cloud drives hosted by Google and pCloud.
MailChimp processes information in accordance with its Privacy Policy and Terms.
Third Party Links
This site may include or offer third-party products or services on our website. These third-party sites have separate and independent privacy policies. Therefore, this site has no responsibility or liability for the content and activities of these linked sites.
Affiliate Links
This website participates in affiliate advertising programs. These programs provide a means for sites to earn fees by linking to products or services on other websites. For example, if you click on a link to purchase a book on Amazon, Amazon pays a small fee to me in addition to any royalties I may earn from linked books. These affiliate fees help pay for the site and keep my writing career sustainable.
Some links appear as advertisements on select pages and are labeled “advertisement.” Others are included in articles or posts that include notes disclosing affiliate links.
Amazon has asked me to specifically state on this site that I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. I am also a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.it, and Amazon.es. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases made by clicking Amazon links on this site. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.
Review Policy
Some books reviewed on this blog were given to me by publishers or authors. I give my honest opinion whether the book was given, bought, or borrowed.
Google Analytics Opt-Out
You can opt out permanently using the Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser add-on.
California Online Privacy Protection Act (CalOPPA)
In accordance with CalOPPA:
- users can visit this site anonymously
- this privacy policy is linked on the homepage using the word ‘privacy’
- any changes to this policy will be advertised on this page, and to change your email address
- users subscribed to receive newsletters can use the links on the bottom of any newsletter received to unsubscribe
Children Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)
Children are not the intended audience for this website.
Fair Information Practices
There is no PII stored on this website. However, should one of our trusted third-party services suffer a data breach, they will notify you as per their privacy policy.
CAN SPAM
This site may collect your email address in order to respond to inquiries and requests. It may also collect your email address, if you provide it, to send the author’s newsletter. To opt out of future emails, follow the instructions at the bottom of each newsletter.
Contacting Us
Please use the contact form. Alternatively, please address all postal communications to: 2002 Winnebago St #3261, Madison WI 53704. Add “USA” or the appropriate country designation in your language if you are sending mail from outside the United States. If you address postal communications in any other way, I cannot guarantee receipt.