Privacy Policy

Effective date: October 2, 2026

Elara Emberly values reader privacy and aims to collect only the information reasonably needed to operate this website, communicate with readers, and provide The Emberlyght Guild newsletter.

This Privacy Policy explains what information may be collected through elaraemberly.com, the Emberlyght Archive reading experience, and the publisher-side operation of The Emberlyght Guild on Substack, as well as how that information is used.

Information You Choose to Provide

Contact Form

If you use the contact form on elaraemberly.com, you may provide your first name, email address, and a message.

Your email address and message are used to receive and respond to your communication. Your first name, if provided, is used only in connection with that correspondence.

Information submitted through the contact form is not added to The Emberlyght Guild mailing list or used for unrelated marketing.

Archive Reader Feedback

Some pages within the Emberlyght Archive provide an opportunity to share thoughts about a story, character, chapter, preview, or the Archive more generally.

These feedback forms are designed not to request your name, email address, or other identifying information. Please do not include sensitive or personal information in the open-response fields.

Reader feedback may be retained, reviewed, and analyzed to help understand reader responses, identify themes, improve the Archive experience, and inform future creative or publishing decisions.

When third-party services or tools are used to assist with this analysis, names, contact information, sensitive personal information, and other details that could reasonably identify the person who submitted the feedback are removed beforehand.

Reader feedback is treated as private by default. It is not sold, used for advertising, or publicly quoted or published without separate permission.

Newsletter Subscriptions

The Emberlyght Guild is hosted through Substack. If you choose to subscribe, Substack processes information associated with your subscription, including your email address and other information you choose to provide through the platform.

I use subscriber information only to operate The Emberlyght Guild, deliver newsletter content, and manage the reader-subscriber relationship. I do not use newsletter email addresses for unrelated marketing.

Substack also processes information under its own privacy policies and platform practices.

Information Collected Through Website Operation

Elaraemberly.com is hosted through Hostinger. Like other website hosting providers, Hostinger and its infrastructure may process technical information necessary to deliver, secure, and maintain the website.

Hostinger's built-in website analytics may provide aggregate information such as visits, general country-level location, and device type. I currently do not use Google Analytics, Meta Pixel, Hotjar, or another separate behavioral analytics or advertising system on the site.

The site may also generate ordinary server and security information as part of website hosting and delivery.

YouTube Audiobook Players

Some chapters of The Storm by the Shore contain embedded YouTube players so readers can listen to audiobook versions of the chapters.

Because these players are provided by YouTube, information may be transmitted to or processed by YouTube or Google when embedded content loads or is used. YouTube and Google control their own data practices, which are governed by their respective privacy policies and settings.

I do not receive access to personal information in your Google or YouTube account through these embedded players.

Cookies and Similar Technologies

Elaraemberly.com does not currently use separate advertising or behavioral-analytics cookies added by me.

Third-party embedded services, particularly YouTube, may use cookies or similar technologies in accordance with their own practices.

If I later add analytics, advertising, or other technologies that materially change how visitor information is collected, this Privacy Policy will be updated accordingly.

How Information Is Used

Information collected through the site or newsletter is used only for purposes connected to operating the Elara Emberly website, the Emberlyght Archive, The Emberlyght Guild, communicating with readers, receiving reader feedback, maintaining the website, and understanding general site use.

Personal information is not sold.

Personal information is not shared with advertisers or used for targeted advertising.

Information may be processed by service providers that are necessary to operate the website and newsletter, such as Hostinger and Substack, and by third-party services you choose to interact with, such as YouTube.

Data Retention

Contact messages and related correspondence may be retained for as long as they remain useful for communicating with readers or maintaining relevant records.

Archive feedback may be retained as part of the Archive's reader-feedback history unless it is deleted during normal site maintenance.

Newsletter information is retained through Substack while a subscription or related publisher-reader relationship exists, subject to Substack's platform tools and policies.

Information may also be retained where reasonably necessary to comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, protect the site, or enforce applicable terms.

Your Choices and Requests

You may contact me to ask about personal information you have directly provided through elaraemberly.com or The Emberlyght Guild, or to request that information be corrected or deleted where applicable.

Because Archive feedback forms are intentionally anonymous, it may not be possible to identify a particular anonymous submission after it has been sent.

Newsletter subscribers can also use Substack's subscriber tools to manage or unsubscribe from The Emberlyght Guild.

Privacy requests may be sent to info@elaraemberly.com.

Children’s Privacy

This website and The Emberlyght Guild are not directed to children under 13.

I do not knowingly request or collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has submitted personal information through the site, please contact info@elaraemberly.com so that it can be addressed.

Online Tracking and Do Not Track

I do not currently use elaraemberly.com to track readers across unrelated websites for behavioral advertising.

The website does not currently change its own practices in response to browser “Do Not Track” signals. Third-party services embedded on the site, such as YouTube, may collect information or respond to privacy signals according to their own policies.

Third-Party Services and Links

The website may contain links to or embedded content from other services, including Substack and YouTube. Those services operate under their own terms and privacy practices.

This Privacy Policy describes how information is handled by Elara Emberly and does not control the independent practices of third-party websites or platforms.

Changes to This Policy

This Privacy Policy may be updated as the Archive, newsletter, or website changes.

If the ways personal information is collected or used materially change, this page will be updated to reflect those practices. The effective date at the top of the policy will show when the current version took effect.

Contact

For questions about this Privacy Policy or privacy-related requests, contact:
Elara Emberly
info@elaraemberly.com