Privacy Policy

Effective date: July 2026

Who we are

Our website address is: https://heatherleross.com

This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, how we use it, and the choices and rights you have regarding that information.

Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)

This website and any products and services offered here are not intended for persons under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 13 years of age. Interactive features of this website — including leaving comments, filling out forms, signing up for the newsletter, or applying to be an ARC reader — are not intended for use by children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from them. If we learn that we have collected information from a child under 13, we will delete it.

Information We Collect and Why

We collect personal information when you voluntarily provide it to us — for example, when you:

  • Sign up for our email newsletter

  • Apply to be an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) reader

  • Leave a comment on the site

  • Contact us through an online form or email

  • Order a book, service, or product

Newsletter Sign-Up (Kit)

If you subscribe to our newsletter, we collect the information you provide at sign-up — typically your name and email address. Newsletter sign-ups are managed through Kit (formerly ConvertKit), a third-party email marketing platform. Kit stores your information on our behalf and helps us send newsletters, updates, and promotional emails to subscribers.

Kit may also collect standard email engagement data (such as whether you opened an email or clicked a link) to help us understand how our newsletter is performing.

You can unsubscribe from our newsletter at any time using the unsubscribe link included in every email. You may also contact us directly to request removal.

Kit's own privacy policy is available at: Kit Privacy Policy | How We Use Your Data

ARC Reader Sign-Up (Google Forms)

If you apply to become an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) reader, you'll do so through a Google Form. The information collected through this form may include your name, email address, mailing address (if physical copies are involved), and any other details requested on the form, such as your reading preferences or where you plan to post reviews.

Information submitted through Google Forms is subject to Google's own privacy practices in addition to ours. Google's privacy policy is available at: Privacy Policy – Privacy & Terms – Google

We use the information collected through the ARC sign-up form solely to manage the ARC reader program — including selecting readers, distributing review copies, and following up about reviews. We do not use this information for unrelated marketing unless you've separately opted in (for example, by also subscribing to our newsletter).

Cookies

This website may use cookies (small files saved by your browser) to support basic site functionality, remember your preferences, and — if you leave a comment — save your name, email, and website so you don't have to re-enter them next time. These comment cookies last for one year.

If you visit our login page (if applicable), a temporary cookie may be set to check whether your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.

Where required by law, we will ask for your consent before setting non-essential cookies.

Analytics

This website does not currently use Google Analytics or similar analytics/tracking tools.

If we add analytics services in the future (such as Google Analytics), this Privacy Policy will be updated to disclose the specific service(s) used, the type of data collected (such as pages visited, time on site, general location, and device/browser information), and how that data is used. Where required by law, we will also implement a cookie consent mechanism before any such tracking begins. We encourage you to check back periodically for updates.

Comments

When visitors leave comments on the site, we collect the information shown in the comment form, along with the visitor's IP address and browser user agent string, to help with spam detection.

An anonymized string created from your email address (a "hash") may be shared with the Gravatar service to check whether you're using it. Gravatar's privacy policy is available at: Privacy Policy . If your comment is approved, your profile picture may be publicly visible alongside your comment.

Media

If you upload images to this website, please avoid including embedded location data (EXIF GPS). Visitors to the site can potentially extract location data from images that include it.

Embedded Content

Pages on this site may include embedded content (such as videos or images) from other websites. Embedded content behaves exactly as if you had visited the other website directly, and that site may collect data about you, use cookies, and monitor your interaction with the embedded content — including if you're logged into an account there.

Who We Share Your Data With

We respect your privacy and will never sell, trade, or transfer your personally identifiable information to third parties, except:

  • As necessary to provide our services (for example, sharing your email with Kit to send our newsletter, or using Google Forms to collect ARC applications)

  • To comply with legal obligations

  • To enforce our website terms or protect our users or the public

  • With your consent (for example, for a specific contest or promotion)

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it with third parties for their own independent marketing purposes.

How Long We Retain Your Data

  • Comments: retained indefinitely, along with associated metadata, so we can recognize and approve follow-up comments automatically.

  • Newsletter subscribers: retained in Kit for as long as you remain subscribed, or until you unsubscribe or request deletion.

  • ARC reader applications: retained for as long as reasonably needed to manage the ARC program, after which they may be deleted or archived.

  • Registered users (if applicable): personal information is stored in your user profile. You can view, edit, or delete this information at any time, except your username.

Your Rights

General Rights

If you have an account, have subscribed to our newsletter, applied as an ARC reader, or left comments, you can:

  • Request an exported copy of the personal data we hold about you

  • Request that we correct inaccurate data

  • Request that we erase your personal data (subject to any legal, administrative, or security obligations that require us to retain certain records)

To exercise these rights, contact us using the information below. We may ask you to verify your identity before fulfilling certain requests.

If You Are in the European Economic Area (EEA) or UK (GDPR)

If you are located in the EEA or UK, we act as the "controller" of your personal information for purposes of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). You have a number of rights, including the right to:

  • Fair processing and transparency about how your information is used

  • Access your personal information

  • Correct inaccurate information

  • Request erasure of your personal information in certain circumstances

  • Receive your data in a portable, machine-readable format

  • Object to processing for direct marketing purposes

  • Object to certain automated decision-making

  • Restrict our processing of your information in certain circumstances

  • Lodge a complaint with your local data protection supervisory authority

For more detail on these rights, see the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) guidance: Individual rights - guidance and resources

International data transfers: This website is operated in the United States. If you are located in the EEA, UK, or elsewhere outside the US, any information you provide will be transferred to and processed in the United States, as well as by our service providers (such as Kit and Google), which may also process data outside your home country. By using this website and providing your information, you consent to this transfer. Where required, such transfers rely on appropriate safeguards, such as standard contractual clauses.

If You Are a California Resident (CCPA/CPRA)                                                                                                 

If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CCPA/CPRA), gives you the right to:

  • Know what personal information we collect, use, and disclose, and why

  • Request acc ess to the specific pieces of personal information we hold about you

  • Request deletion of your personal information, subject to certain exceptions

  • Correct inaccurate persona l information

  • Opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of y our personal information (we do not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined under the CCPA)

  • Non-discrimination for exercising your privacy rights

Residents of Other US States

If you live in a state with its own comprehensive privacy law (such as Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, Oregon, Texas, or others), you may have similar rights to access, correct, delete, or obtain a copy of your personal information, and to opt out of certain types of processing. Contact us and we'll do our best to honor applicable requests under your state's law.

Links to Other Sites

This website may contain links to third-party sites, including publishers, retailers, or partners. Any information you provide on those sites is governed by their own privacy policies, and we are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of third-party websites.

How to File a Complaint

We hope to resolve any concerns you raise about how we handle your information directly — please contact us first. If you're in the EEA or UK, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection supervisory authority.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

This policy is effective as of July 2026. We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time, including to reflect new tools or services (such as adding Google Analytics in the future). Material changes will be noted here, and where appropriate, we will notify subscribers by email.

Contact Us

If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, or want to exercise any of the rights described above, please contact:

[email protected]