Privacy Policy: I hate spam, just like you. When you click a Newsletter confirmation link it signs you up for my newsletter, nothing else. Every newsletter I send will have unsubscribe instructions so that if at any time you decide to stop receiving my newsletters, just hit that unsubscribe button. I hope you don’t but if you have to, you have to. Many thanks for subscribing with me.
Summary of Privacy Policy for ConniesRandomThoughts.com
Updated: May 2018
We take your privacy seriously and will use your personal information only to improve your experience for your visit or to interact with you in the ways you request. We never sell or trade your information, and information is shared with third parties only to further its intended use or for administering this site.
In addition, you have the right to block, access, update, or delete your information.
Full Privacy Policy for ConniesRandomThoughts.com
This Policy is meant to inform those who are concerned with how their Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is being used online. 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 Policy explains when and why we collect personal information about people who visit our website, how we use that information, and what we do with it. We may change this Policy from time to time so check this page occasionally to ensure you’re comfortable with any changes.
By using our website, you’re agreeing to be bound by this Policy.
Included in this policy are the following sections:
- Who am I?
- How do we collect information from you?
- What type of information is collected from you?
- How is your information used?
- Who has access to your information?
- What are your choices?
- How can you access, update, or delete your information?
- What security precautions are in place?
- What about the use of “cookies”?
- What about links to other websites?
- What else should you know?
1: Who are we?
We’re Connie Cockrell and other administrator-level associates of this site. Connie is an author of fiction books, poetry, articles, workshops, and tools she shares with readers and writers.
2: How do I collect information from you?
Most of our site’s features don’t require you to share PII, allowing you to visit our site without telling us who you are. However, some features won’t work properly if you choose to withhold your PII.
The features that require you to share PII include:
- leaving a comment or filling out a form
- subscribing to a newsletter
- ordering a product or service
- registering for an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) Team
- requesting a review copy of a book
3: What type of information is collected from you?
The personal information we collect might include your name, address, email address, IP address, and information regarding your request (such as your newsletter subscription or product purchased). In addition, we use Google Analytics, which attempts to collect non-personal information, such as browser type (Firefox, Chrome, etc.), browser version, and pages viewed.
If you purchase a product from me, your card information is not accessed or held by us, as it is collected by our third-party payment processors (i.e., PayPal), who specialize in the secure online capture and processing of credit/debit card transactions.
4: How is your information used?
Your information may be used to:
- display your comments on a site page or post
- send you communications you’ve requested
- process orders you’ve submitted
- deal with requests for special consideration (contest giveaways, ARC fulfillment, review copies, editing feedback, etc.)
- personalize your experience and deliver the information in which you’ve expressed an interest
- follow up after requested communications to provide extra information or to ask for assistance
- improve the functionality and/or engagement of the site
- maintain internal records
We don’t use your information for purposes other than what you intend. For example, leaving a comment will not automatically subscribe you to our newsletters or marketing information, etc.
For the best experience of our visitors, we generally don’t delete information unless requested (see sections #6 and 7 below). For example, many of our products come with a lifetime-access guarantee that requires us to keep purchasers on record, information included with comments remains unless the comment itself is deleted, etc.
We don’t track our visitors across other websites, use Google AdSense/AdWords, or allow advertising on our site, so your information is not used by us for targeted ads. However, we do use Google Analytics, which might collect information used by Google.
Other third parties beyond our control might collect information through tracking and cookies as well. It’s possible to discourage tracking and/or disallow use of cookies through your browser (see section #9 below).
5: Who has access to your information?
Only Connie Cockrell and her administrator-level associates of this website have access to your information on our server. We will not sell, trade, or rent your information to third parties, and we will not share your information with third parties for marketing purposes.
We may pass your information to our third-party service providers for the purposes of completing tasks and providing requested services to you on our behalf (for example, to process orders or send ARC invitations). However, when we use third party service providers, we disclose only the personal information that is necessary to deliver the service. We won’t release your information to any other third parties unless we are required to do so by law.
When you use our secure online store, your payment is processed by a third-party payment processor (i.e., PayPal). If you have any questions regarding those secure transactions, please refer to their policies.
6: What are your choices?
You have a choice about whether you wish to share information with us or to receive information from us. If you decide not to share some PII with us, we may not be able to provide you some of the features and functionality of the site.
However, we will not contact you for marketing purposes unless you’ve given your prior consent. We use double-opt-in for our newsletter subscribers, and we encourage those who change their mind about their interest in our marketing messages to unsubscribe by offering explicit invitations/reminders and instructions.
You can change your subscription preferences for either informative and/or marketing purposes at any time by clicking the links at the bottom of every message to subscribers or by requesting through this form to have your information removed from our records.
7: How can you access, update, or delete your information?
You can update your preferences for newsletter subscriptions or my ARC Team at any time by clicking the links at the bottom of every message to subscribers.
To access, change, or delete your information gathered from other processes, please contact us at our Contact Form.
8: What security precautions are in place?
We contract with a server hosting company with an aggressive policy toward computer hackers and other server/networking risks. They take security just as seriously as we do, but no online data can be guaranteed 100% secure.
Our entire site uses SSL/https encryption. While we can’t control how your computer transmits information to us, once we receive your information, we make our best effort to ensure its security on our systems.
9: What about the use of “cookies”?
Like many other websites, we use cookies—small pieces of information sent to your computer to allow our website to recognize you when you visit. They do not identify you as an individual but help us improve our website and deliver a more personalized experience.
For a few examples, while on our site, cookies may be used to:
- identify any new comments on a post since the last time you visited that page
- pre-fill in your information in a comment form if you’ve left a comment before
- keep products in your cart while you continue browsing our site
Use of this site without blocking software or settings means you agree to allow cookies to be placed on your computer. We don’t have access to your computer through our use of cookies or to cookie data stored on your computer beyond what you choose to share with Google Analytics on our behalf.
It’s possible to switch off cookies by setting your browser preferences. For more information on how to switch off cookies, search for information on cookies and the name of your browser in a general web search (such as with Google) or check your browser’s Help section. Turning cookies off may result in a loss of some features when using our website.
If you don’t want your data collected with Google Analytics, you can install a browser add-on for Chrome. If you use a different browser, check with your browser manufacturer to determine if an add-on will work with your browser version or if settings can be changed.
10: What about links to other websites?
Our website contains links to sites run by other organizations. This Policy applies only to our website, so we encourage you to read the privacy statements on the other websites you visit.
We cannot be responsible for the privacy policies and practices of other sites even if you access them using links from our website. Nonetheless, we want to protect the integrity of our site and the safety of our visitors, so we welcome any feedback about links to questionable sites.
In addition, if you visited our website through a link from a third-party site, we cannot be responsible for the privacy policies and practices of the owners and operators of that third-party site and recommend that you check the policy of that third party site.
11: What else should you know?
We do not promote the information, products, or services of this site to children under the age of 15. Visitors under the age of 15 should get their parent/guardian’s permission before sharing PII with us.
Information shared with us will be transferred to the United States, no matter the originating country. This Policy applies to all visitors, regardless of home country.
Any questions regarding this Policy or our privacy practices can be referred through our Contact Form.
This Policy was last updated May 2018.
Terms of Use:
Official Contest Rules:
2. ELIGIBILITY: This contest is open only to persons over the age of 18. Void where prohibited by law. Contestants residing in those areas where the contest is void may participate in the contest but may not win any prizes.
3. WINNER SELECTION: Contestants will be chosen at random unless the contest specifically says otherwise.
4. PRIZES: Winners will receive books, ebooks, promotional materials (cups/posters/etc.) as the contest specifies. Mailing of physical products will be to U.S. addresses only. International contestants will receive ebooks or other electronic prizes.
5. WINNER NOTIFICATION: Winners will be notified within 14 days after the determination date. Inability to contact a winner may result in disqualification and selection of an alternate winner.
6. GENERAL CONDITIONS:
7. USE OF CONTEST INFORMATION: All entries become the property of Connie’s Random Thoughts. Connie’s Random Thoughts reserves the right to use any and all information related to the contest, including submissions provided by the contestants, for editorial, marketing and any other purpose, unless prohibited by law.
8. NOT ENDORSED BY FACEBOOK: By participating in this contest, you acknowledge that this contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook and release Facebook from any and all liability arising from or related to this contest. The information you are providing for this contest is being provided to Connie’s Random Thoughts and not to Facebook, and will be used to notify you if you have won, and to inform you about special offers from Connie’s Random Thoughts and our trusted partners.
9. CONDUCT: All contest participants agree to be bound by these Official Rules. Connie’s Random Thoughts in its sole discretion, reserves the right to disqualify any person it finds to be tampering with the entry process, the operation of its web site or is otherwise in violation of these rules.
10. LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY: Connie’s Random Thoughts is not responsible for late, lost or misdirected email or for any computer, online, telephone or technical malfunctions that may occur. If for any reason, the contest is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention or technical failures of any sort, Connie’s Random Thoughts may cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the contest. Entrants further agree to release Connie’s Random Thoughts from any liability resulting from, or related to participation in the contest.
11. WINNERS LIST: The names of the winner may be obtained by sending a self-addresses stamped envelope to: Social Media Contests, Connie’s Random Thoughts, P.O. Box 1495, Payson AZ 85547.