Privacy Policy

Who We Are

This website is the official author website of Carol Reece.

Information You Voluntarily Provide

You may voluntarily provide personal information when you:

• Submit the website contact form;
• Subscribe to Carol Reece’s newsletter;
• Communicate directly by email; or
• Participate in a future reader survey, giveaway, promotion, or similar activity.

The information collected may include your name, email address, message, and any other information you voluntarily provide.

Please do not submit sensitive personal, financial, medical, or confidential information through the website forms.

Contact Form

The website uses WPForms to operate its contact form.

When you submit the contact form, the website may collect your name, email address, message, IP address, browser information, and other technical information associated with the submission.

Contact-form information is used to:

• Review and respond to your message;
• Maintain correspondence records;
• Prevent spam and website abuse;
• Diagnose submission or delivery problems; and
• Protect the security of the website.

Submitting the contact form does not automatically subscribe you to marketing or newsletter emails.

Newsletter Subscriptions

When you voluntarily subscribe to Carol Reece’s newsletter, the website may collect your name, email address, subscription status, subscription date, IP address, and related technical information.

Newsletter information may be used to send:

• Book announcements;
• Release and preorder information;
• Laurel Crossing updates;
• Author news;
• Reader content;
• Occasional promotional messages; and
• Other communications you requested.

The website uses the WordPress Newsletter plugin to manage its subscriber list and newsletter communications. Subscriber information may be stored within the website’s WordPress database and processed by the website’s hosting and email-delivery services.

You may unsubscribe at any time by using the unsubscribe option included in newsletter emails or by contacting Carol@Carolreece.com.

The website may retain limited information about an unsubscribe request to ensure that the individual is not unintentionally added back to the mailing list.

Spam Protection and Website Security

The website uses anti-spam and security measures to protect its forms and website from automated submissions, fraud, abuse, and malicious activity.

These protections may include WPForms anti-spam tools, Akismet Anti-spam, Cloudflare Turnstile, hosting security systems, and other automated protections.

These services may process information such as:

• IP address;
• Browser and device information;
• Referring webpage;
• Submission time;
• Form contents;
• Interaction patterns; and
• Other technical information used to identify spam or abusive activity.

Cloudflare Turnstile may process information according to Cloudflare’s own privacy practices.

Information Collected Automatically

When you visit the website, certain technical information may be collected automatically by WordPress, the website host, security systems, caching tools, and other services necessary to operate the website.

This information may include:

• IP address;
• Browser type;
• Device type;
• Operating system;
• Referring website;
• Pages requested;
• Date and time of access;
• General geographic region;
• Server logs;
• Security events; and
• Error or performance information.

This information may be used to operate the website, maintain security, prevent abuse, diagnose technical problems, improve performance, and understand general website activity.

Analytics

The website does not currently use a separately identified third-party analytics plugin such as Google Analytics, MonsterInsights, Jetpack Analytics, or Google Site Kit.

The website host, LiteSpeed Cache, server software, or security services may still collect limited technical, performance, traffic, and server-log information as part of operating and protecting the website.

If a dedicated analytics service is added in the future, this Privacy Policy will be updated as appropriate.

Cookies and Similar Technologies

Cookies are small data files that may be stored on your browser or device.

This website and its service providers may use cookies or similar technologies to:

• Operate website features;
• Process forms;
• Remember preferences;
• Maintain security;
• Prevent spam;
• Improve website speed;
• Cache website content;
• Diagnose technical problems; and
• Support embedded or third-party content.

Visitors can usually control or delete cookies through their browser settings. Blocking certain cookies may affect how some website functions operate.

Cookies used by website administrators when signing into or editing the WordPress website are not generally relevant to ordinary visitors who do not have website accounts.

Website Caching and Performance

The website uses LiteSpeed Cache to improve website speed, performance, and page delivery.

Caching may temporarily create and store copies of website pages or related files. Cache files are temporary and generally expire or are deleted according to the website’s caching configuration.

LiteSpeed Cache may use QUIC.cloud services for caching, image optimization, performance optimization, or related website services if those features are enabled.

Amazon and Other External Links

The website contains links to Amazon and may include links to other booksellers, social platforms, websites, or third-party services.

When you click an external link, you leave Carol Reece’s website. The external website may collect information, use cookies, or monitor your activity according to its own privacy policy.

Carol Reece does not control and is not responsible for the privacy, security, content, availability, or business practices of third-party websites.

Amazon links are provided to help readers locate Carol Reece’s books. Unless otherwise clearly disclosed near a link, the website does not represent that a visitor will pay an additional cost by using the link.

Embedded Content

Pages may include embedded content or features from third-party websites, such as videos, maps, images, book previews, social-media content, or retailer tools.

Embedded content may behave in the same manner as though you visited the third-party website directly. The third party may collect information, use cookies, or monitor your interaction with its content according to its own privacy practices.

How Information Is Used

Information collected through the website may be used to:

• Respond to inquiries;
• Send requested newsletter communications;
• Provide book, release, and author information;
• Operate and maintain the website;
• Process and manage subscriptions;
• Prevent spam, fraud, abuse, and malicious activity;
• Diagnose technical or delivery problems;
• Improve website functionality and performance;
• Maintain records;
• Comply with legal obligations; and
• Protect the rights, safety, property, and security of Carol Reece, visitors, and others.

How Information May Be Shared

Information may be shared when reasonably necessary with service providers that assist in operating the website, including:

• Website-hosting providers;
• WordPress-related services;
• Form-processing services;
• Newsletter and email-delivery services;
• Spam-prevention providers;
• Security providers;
• Caching and performance services;
• Technical-support providers;
• Professional advisers; and
• Government or legal authorities when disclosure is required by law.

Personal information is not sold or rented to third parties for their independent marketing purposes.

How Long Information Is Retained

Contact-form submissions and related correspondence may be retained for up to two years, or longer when reasonably necessary to respond to the inquiry, maintain correspondence records, resolve a dispute, protect the website, or comply with legal obligations.

Newsletter subscriber information is generally retained until the subscriber unsubscribes, requests deletion, or the newsletter service is discontinued.

Limited unsubscribe information may be retained after an individual unsubscribes so that the website can honor the request and avoid sending unwanted communications.

Security logs, server logs, spam records, cached files, and technical information may be retained according to the settings and practices of the website host and applicable service providers.

Data Security

Reasonable administrative and technical precautions are used to protect information submitted through the website. These precautions may include encrypted HTTPS connections, access controls, spam prevention, website updates, security monitoring, and caching or hosting protections.

No method of internet transmission or electronic storage is completely secure. Absolute security therefore cannot be guaranteed.

Your Choices and Privacy Rights

Depending on where you live and the laws that apply, you may have the right to request:

• Access to personal information held about you;
• Correction of inaccurate information;
• Deletion of personal information;
• Withdrawal of consent;
• Restriction of certain processing;
• Objection to certain uses;
• A copy of information you provided; or
• Unsubscription from marketing communications.

To make a privacy request, email Carol@Carolreece.com.

Please include enough information to identify the relevant submission or subscription. Additional information may be requested when reasonably necessary to verify your identity and protect information from unauthorized access or deletion.

Some information may be retained when required for legal, administrative, security, fraud-prevention, or recordkeeping purposes.

Children’s Privacy

The website is intended for a general audience and is not designed to knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13.

Children under 13 should not submit personal information through the website without the involvement and permission of a parent or legal guardian.

If you believe a child has submitted personal information through the website, contact Carol@Carolreece.com so the information can be reviewed and, when appropriate, deleted.

International Visitors

The website is operated from the United States.

Information submitted through the website may be processed or stored in the United States or another location where the website’s hosting, email, security, caching, or other service providers operate.

Privacy and data-protection laws in those locations may differ from those in your country.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy may be updated when the website’s forms, plugins, services, features, business practices, or legal obligations change.

Any updated policy will be posted on this page with a revised effective date.