Terms of Use

OZ BOOKS

Terms of Use

Effective date: May 4, 2026

 

1. Acceptance of these terms

Welcome to OZ Books. These Terms of Use (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of the website at https://ozbooks.org and any related content or services we provide (collectively, the “Site”). By using the Site, submitting a comment, subscribing to the newsletter, or contacting us, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the Site.

The Site is operated by Janice Strohmeier personally, who self-publishes independently under the name OZ Books (collectively, “we,” “us,” “our”), from Smith County, Texas, United States.

2. The Site, in plain language

OZ Books is the personal website of author Janice Strohmeier. It hosts her writing, information about her published works, and a community space where readers may respond to monthly writing prompts and comment on posts. The Site is provided for personal, non-commercial reading and engagement.

3. Your account and your comments

3.1 Submitting comments

You may comment on posts and writing prompts. When you submit a comment you provide a name and email address (the email is not displayed publicly) and your comment text. All comments are moderated by Janice and posted at her sole discretion. We may approve, decline, edit, or remove any comment for any reason, including violations of these Terms or our Community Guidelines (https://ozbooks.org/community-guidelines/).

3.2 Your representations about your submissions

When you submit a comment, you represent and warrant that:

  • You are the author of the comment and own all rights to its content, or you have all necessary permissions and licenses to submit it.
  • Your comment does not infringe any third party’s intellectual property, privacy, publicity, or other rights.
  • Your comment does not contain unlawful, defamatory, threatening, harassing, hateful, obscene, or otherwise objectionable material.
  • You are at least 13 years of age. If you are under 18, you have your parent’s or guardian’s permission.

3.3 License you grant us

By submitting a comment to the Site, you grant us a non-exclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable, transferable license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, distribute, and display the comment in connection with operating, promoting, and archiving the Site, in any medium and through any technology now known or later developed. This license includes the right to display your comment alongside the post or prompt to which you replied, to include it in any aggregated or curated content (for example, “Reader Responses to the May 2026 Prompt”), and to retain it in archives even after the post itself is updated or removed.

You retain ownership of the underlying creative work in your comment. The license you grant us is non-exclusive, which means you can also use, publish, or license your own writing elsewhere.

3.4 Prohibited content and conduct

You may not submit content or use the Site to:

  • Post spam, chain letters, advertising, affiliate links, or solicit business unrelated to writing or the topic of the post.
  • Impersonate any person or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or organization.
  • Harass, threaten, defame, or invade the privacy of any person, including private individuals named in writing prompts or in the author’s memoirs.
  • Submit material that is obscene, sexually explicit, or that exploits minors in any way.
  • Submit material that infringes any third party’s copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property right.
  • Submit material generated wholly by an AI system and presented as your own original writing without disclosure.
  • Attempt to disrupt the Site, gain unauthorized access to any account or system, or transmit malware.
  • Use the Site for any unlawful purpose or in violation of these Terms.

3.5 Moderation

We have the right (but not the obligation) to monitor, edit, decline, or remove any submission for any reason or no reason. Decisions are at our sole discretion and are typically not explained. We are not responsible for any failure to remove or moderate content; the user who submits content is solely responsible for it.

4. Newsletter

Our newsletter is hosted by Substack, Inc. By subscribing, you agree to Substack’s terms of service and privacy policy (available at https://substack.com/tos and https://substack.com/privacy). You may unsubscribe at any time using the link at the bottom of any newsletter email or directly through your Substack account.

5. Books and other content

5.1 Author’s work

All written content authored by Janice Strohmeier on this Site — including the memoir excerpts, blog posts, writing prompts, bilingual stories, and “About” content — is copyright © Janice Strohmeier. All rights reserved. You may share links to pages on this Site freely. Do not copy, republish, translate, or excerpt the author’s writing in volume without prior written permission.

5.2 Quotations and short excerpts

Short, attributed quotations of the author’s work for the purpose of review, commentary, news reporting, scholarship, or teaching are welcome under principles of fair use. If you are uncertain whether your intended use exceeds fair use, please contact us before publishing.

5.3 Site design, code, and theme

The visual design, custom theme code, and unique markup of this Site are the work of The Clone Shop (https://cloneshop.com) and are not licensed for reuse without the Clone Shop’s permission.

5.4 Photographs and decorative images

Decorative photographs throughout the Site include images licensed from Unsplash and personal photographs taken by or owned by Janice Strohmeier and her family. Reuse of any image is not permitted without permission.

6. Links to other sites

The Site contains links to third-party sites including Amazon, Substack, Instagram, and others. We are not responsible for the content, privacy practices, or terms of those sites. Linking is for convenience only and does not imply endorsement.

7. Copyright concerns

We respect the intellectual property rights of others. If you believe content posted on this Site infringes a copyright you own or are authorized to enforce, please contact us through our contact form at https://ozbooks.org/contact/ with the subject “Copyright Concern” and include: the work you believe is being infringed, the URL where the allegedly infringing material appears, and your contact information. We review every notice and remove or modify content as appropriate.

 

8. Disclaimers

THE SITE AND ALL CONTENT ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ACCURACY, NON-INFRINGEMENT, OR UNINTERRUPTED OPERATION. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SITE WILL BE FREE OF ERRORS, VIRUSES, OR INTERRUPTIONS, OR THAT IT WILL MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS.

Nothing on this Site is intended as legal, medical, financial, or other professional advice. The author’s memoirs and writing reflect her personal experiences and views; they are not advice or instruction.

9. Limitation of liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL WE BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF THE SITE, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SITE OR THESE TERMS WILL NOT EXCEED ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100).

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain damages, so the above limitations may not apply to you.

10. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Janice Strohmeier and her affiliates, agents, and licensors from any claim, demand, loss, or damage (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or related to: (a) your use of the Site; (b) any content you submit; (c) your violation of these Terms; or (d) your violation of any third party’s rights.

11. Governing law and binding arbitration

11.1 Governing law

These Terms and any dispute arising from or relating to them or your use of the Site are governed by the laws of the State of Texas, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles. The Federal Arbitration Act (9 U.S.C. §§ 1–16) governs the interpretation and enforcement of the arbitration provisions below.

11.2 Agreement to arbitrate

Except as provided in Section 11.3 (Exceptions), you and we agree that any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms, the Site, or your relationship with us — whether based in contract, tort, statute, fraud, misrepresentation, or any other legal theory — will be resolved exclusively by final and binding individual arbitration, and not by lawsuit or jury trial.

The arbitration will be administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules then in effect, available at https://www.adr.org. The arbitrator will be selected per AAA rules and will issue a written award that is final and binding on both parties and enforceable in any court of competent jurisdiction. Arbitration will be conducted in Smith County, Texas, or by remote/video proceeding if both parties agree, or as otherwise required by AAA rules to accommodate the parties.

11.3 Exceptions

Either party may bring an individual action in small-claims court for disputes within that court’s jurisdiction (currently up to $20,000 in Texas justice courts). Either party may also seek injunctive or other equitable relief in a court of competent jurisdiction in Smith County, Texas to prevent actual or threatened infringement of intellectual property rights.

11.4 Class action and jury waiver

You and we each waive the right to bring or participate in any class, collective, consolidated, or representative action against the other. The arbitrator may award relief only on an individual basis to the party seeking relief and only to the extent necessary to provide that individual relief. If a court determines that this class action waiver is unenforceable as to any claim, that claim (and only that claim) will be severed from the arbitration agreement and brought in court; all remaining claims will continue in arbitration.

YOU AND WE ALSO WAIVE THE RIGHT TO A TRIAL BY JURY.

11.5 Opt-out

You may opt out of the arbitration agreement by sending a written opt-out notice through our contact form at https://ozbooks.org/contact/ within 30 days of the date you first accept these Terms. Your notice must include your name, the email address you used on the Site, and a clear statement that you wish to opt out of the arbitration agreement. If you opt out, the rest of these Terms continue to apply, and disputes between us will be resolved in the state or federal courts of Smith County, Texas.

 

12. Termination

We may suspend or terminate your access to the Site, including the ability to submit comments, at any time and for any reason, including violation of these Terms or our Community Guidelines. Sections of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination — including license grants, intellectual property, disclaimers, limitation of liability, indemnification, and governing law — will survive.

13. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. The “Effective date” at the top of this page reflects the most recent update. Continued use of the Site after a change indicates your acceptance of the updated Terms. Material changes may also be announced on the homepage.

14. Severability and entire agreement

If any provision of these Terms is held unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect. These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and Community Guidelines, constitute the entire agreement between you and us regarding the Site and supersede all prior or contemporaneous understandings.

15. Contact

Questions about these Terms can be sent through our contact form at https://ozbooks.org/contact/ with the subject “Terms Question.”