Terms & Conditions

Last updated: September 3, 2026

These Terms & Conditions govern your use of laurenmhayes.com (the “Site”) and any purchase made directly through the Site.

The Site is operated by Black Emerald Press LLC, the publishing imprint of author Lauren M. Hayes (“Black Emerald Press,” “we,” “us,” or “our”).

By accessing or using the Site, or by placing an order through the Site, you agree to be bound by these Terms & Conditions and by any policies incorporated into them by reference.

If you do not agree to these Terms & Conditions, please discontinue use of the Site.

AGE AND ELIGIBILITY

The Site and its direct-sale store are intended for adults.

By placing an order through the Site, you represent that you are legally capable of entering into a binding purchase transaction.

WEBSITE USE

You may use the Site only for lawful purposes.

You may not:

  • attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Site or its systems;
  • interfere with or disrupt the Site;
  • introduce viruses, malicious code, or other harmful technology;
  • use the Site in violation of applicable law;
  • scrape, reproduce, exploit, or commercially misuse Site content without authorization; or
  • use the Site in a manner intended to harm Black Emerald Press, Lauren M. Hayes, other users, or third parties.

We reserve the right to restrict or terminate access to the Site where reasonably necessary to protect the Site, our business, our customers, or our legal rights.

PRODUCTS, DESCRIPTIONS, AND AVAILABILITY

We make reasonable efforts to accurately describe and display products offered through the Site.

However, minor variations in color, appearance, packaging, printing, signatures, or other physical characteristics may occur.

Product availability is not guaranteed.

We reserve the right to:

  • limit quantities;
  • discontinue products;
  • correct pricing or description errors;
  • refuse or cancel orders affected by obvious errors;
  • refuse transactions involving suspected fraud or misuse; and
  • cancel orders when inventory is unavailable.

If we cancel an order after payment has been collected, the amount paid for the canceled portion will be refunded.

PRICING, SALES TAX, AND PAYMENT

Prices are displayed in U.S. dollars unless otherwise stated.

Applicable sales tax and shipping charges are calculated or displayed during checkout.

Payment is processed through third-party payment providers available on the Site.

Black Emerald Press LLC does not directly store complete payment-card numbers.

Your use of a third-party payment service may also be governed by that provider’s terms and privacy policy.

Submission of an order does not guarantee acceptance. An order is considered accepted when payment has been successfully processed and the order has been confirmed, subject to our right to correct errors, address suspected fraud, or resolve inventory problems.

SHIPPING

Physical orders are governed by our Shipping Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms & Conditions by reference.

Current shipping methods, charges, processing times, geographic restrictions, tracking practices, and procedures for delayed or missing packages are described in that policy and may also appear during checkout.

You are responsible for providing an accurate and complete shipping address.

Carrier delivery dates are estimates and cannot be guaranteed by Black Emerald Press LLC.

RETURNS, REFUNDS, AND DAMAGED ORDERS

Returns, refunds, damaged products, incorrect orders, and related matters are governed by our Refund & Returns Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms & Conditions by reference.

Signed book sales are generally final except as stated in that policy or where applicable law requires otherwise.

Nothing in these Terms is intended to eliminate any consumer right that cannot lawfully be waived.

ORDER INFORMATION AND CUSTOMER RESPONSIBILITY

You agree to provide current, complete, and accurate information when placing an order.

If you discover an error in your order information, contact us as soon as possible.

We will make reasonable efforts to correct mistakes before fulfillment, but we cannot guarantee changes once an order has entered processing or has shipped.

Additional shipping charges may apply if an order must be reshipped because of an incorrect address supplied by the customer.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Unless otherwise indicated, the original text, graphics, branding, photographs, artwork, book-related materials, downloadable materials, designs, and other original content appearing on the Site are owned by or licensed to Lauren M. Hayes and/or Black Emerald Press LLC and are protected by applicable copyright, trademark, and other intellectual-property laws.

Your use of the Site does not transfer ownership of any intellectual-property rights.

You may not, without prior written permission:

  • copy or substantially reproduce protected Site content;
  • republish or commercially distribute protected content;
  • sell, license, or commercially exploit Site materials;
  • remove copyright, trademark, or proprietary notices; or
  • create unauthorized derivative works from protected Site materials.

Purchasing a physical book grants ownership of that physical copy only. It does not transfer copyright or other intellectual-property rights in the book or its contents.

Nothing in these Terms restricts uses that are permitted by applicable law, including lawful fair use.

Requests for permission may be sent to laurenmhayes@laurenmhayes.com.

USER-SUBMITTED CONTENT

The Site may permit comments, reviews, messages, form submissions, or other user-generated content.

You remain responsible for any content you submit.

You represent that you own or have the necessary rights to submit that content and that it does not unlawfully infringe the rights of another person.

You may not submit content that is unlawful, defamatory, threatening, fraudulent, infringing, malicious, obscene, abusive, or otherwise inappropriate.

We reserve the right to moderate or remove user-submitted content where reasonably necessary.

By submitting content intended for public display, such as a comment or review, you grant us a non-exclusive license to display that content in connection with the Site and our business.

We do not claim ownership of your original content.

COMMENTS

Comments submitted to public areas of the Site may be visible to other visitors.

We may use spam-detection or moderation services to review comments.

Information associated with comments is handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

We reserve the right to remove spam, abusive comments, infringing material, or other content that violates these Terms.

THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES AND SERVICES

The Site may contain links to or integrations with third-party websites and services, including retailers, social-media platforms, payment processors, shipping carriers, analytics providers, and other service providers.

Black Emerald Press LLC does not control those third parties and is not responsible for their content, availability, security, privacy practices, or terms.

Once you leave our Site or interact directly with a third-party service, that third party’s terms and policies may apply.

EMBEDDED CONTENT

Pages on the Site may include embedded content such as videos, images, social-media posts, or other materials from third-party websites.

Embedded content may behave as though you visited the third-party website directly and may collect data according to that third party’s policies.

Please review our Privacy Policy for more information.

PRIVACY

Personal information collected through the Site is handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

By submitting information through the Site, you agree that we may use it for legitimate business purposes such as processing orders, providing customer service, fulfilling purchases, preventing fraud, maintaining business records, and complying with legal obligations, subject to our Privacy Policy and applicable law.

RELIANCE ON WEBSITE CONTENT

General informational content on the Site is provided for informational purposes and is not intended as legal, financial, medical, tax, or other professional advice.

We make reasonable efforts to provide accurate information but do not guarantee that all informational content will always be complete, current, or error-free.

NO WARRANTIES

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the Site and its general informational content are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis.

We do not warrant that the Site will always be uninterrupted, secure, error-free, or free from technical problems.

Nothing in this section limits warranties or consumer protections that cannot legally be excluded.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Black Emerald Press LLC, Lauren M. Hayes, and their agents and service providers will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, punitive, or consequential damages arising solely from use of, or inability to use, the Site.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability where exclusion or limitation would be prohibited by law.

This section does not limit obligations relating to properly accepted orders, refunds required under our policies, or consumer remedies that cannot legally be waived.

INDEMNIFICATION

To the extent permitted by law, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless Black Emerald Press LLC and Lauren M. Hayes from claims, losses, liabilities, or reasonable expenses arising from:

  • your unlawful use of the Site;
  • your violation of these Terms;
  • your infringement of another person’s intellectual-property or legal rights; or
  • unlawful or infringing content you submit to the Site.

This provision does not require you to indemnify us for claims caused solely by our own unlawful conduct.

PROHIBITED USE

You may not use the Site to:

  • violate applicable law;
  • infringe intellectual-property rights;
  • impersonate another person;
  • transmit malicious code;
  • harvest personal information unlawfully;
  • interfere with Site security;
  • attempt unauthorized access;
  • commit fraud;
  • submit deceptive or malicious information; or
  • engage in conduct intended to damage or disrupt the Site.

GOVERNING LAW

These Terms & Conditions are governed by the laws of the State of Georgia and applicable federal law, without regard to conflict-of-law principles.

Nothing in this provision deprives a consumer of any non-waivable right or protection available under applicable law.

DISPUTE RESOLUTION

Before initiating formal legal proceedings, we encourage you to contact us so that we may attempt in good faith to resolve the dispute informally.

Any dispute that cannot be resolved informally may be pursued through any lawful forum available under applicable law.

FORCE MAJEURE

We will not be responsible for delays or failure to perform caused by events reasonably beyond our control, including natural disasters, severe weather, carrier disruptions, governmental actions, labor disruptions, widespread technology failures, power outages, or similar events.

This provision does not eliminate any refund, cancellation, or consumer remedy required by applicable law.

TERMINATION

We may suspend or terminate access to the Site for violations of these Terms, unlawful activity, fraud, abuse, or conduct that threatens the security or operation of the Site.

Termination does not affect obligations arising from an order already accepted unless the order is separately canceled or refunded.

AMENDMENTS

We may revise these Terms & Conditions from time to time.

The current version will be posted on this page with an updated effective date.

Changes apply prospectively. They do not retroactively change the terms governing an order already placed unless required by law or agreed by the parties.

SEVERABILITY

If any provision of these Terms is held invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in effect to the fullest extent permitted by law.

NO WAIVER

Failure to enforce a provision of these Terms on one occasion does not waive our right to enforce that provision later.

ENTIRE AGREEMENT

These Terms, together with policies expressly incorporated by reference, including our Privacy Policy, Shipping Policy, and Refund & Returns Policy, constitute the agreement governing use of the Site and direct purchases from the Site.

CONTACT

Questions regarding these Terms & Conditions may be sent to:

Black Emerald Press LLC
Lauren M. Hayes
laurenmhayes@laurenmhayes.com