Terms & Conditions

1. Eligibility and Authority

You must be at least 18 years old and legally able to enter into a binding agreement to place an order. If you are under 18, a parent or legal guardian must place the order for you.

If you use the website or place an order on behalf of another person or an organization, you represent that you have authority to act on that person's or organization's behalf.

2. Product Information

At present, the online store offers a physical hardcover edition of A Sense of Place. We make reasonable efforts to display the book, cover, colors, dimensions, description, pricing, and availability accurately. Screen settings, printing variations, and production changes may cause minor differences in appearance that do not constitute a defect.

All product descriptions and availability information are subject to change before an order is accepted. Nothing on the website constitutes a guarantee that the book will remain available in a particular quantity.

3. Pre-Orders

Expected Availability

A Sense of Place is currently expected to become available in October 2026. This is an estimated availability period rather than a guaranteed delivery date. Printing, freight, inventory, weather, carrier, or other circumstances may affect the final release and shipping schedule.

Payment and Fulfillment

Unless the checkout page states otherwise, payment for a pre-order is collected when the order is placed. When copies become available, pre-orders will be prepared and shipped to the delivery address provided at checkout. Customers will be notified when their orders ship.

Cancellations and Delays

You may cancel a pre-order for a full refund at any time before it enters the packing or fulfillment process. Once fulfillment begins or the order ships, the standard Refund & Returns Policy applies.

If we cannot ship within the timeframe stated at purchase, we will provide an updated estimate and, when required, give you the choice to accept the delay or cancel the unshipped order for a full refund. Nothing in these Terms limits cancellation or refund rights that cannot be waived under applicable law.

4. Orders and Order Acceptance

After an order is submitted, you should receive an electronic confirmation. That confirmation acknowledges receipt of the order but does not guarantee acceptance or fulfillment. We may review an order before accepting it.

We may decline, limit, or cancel an order for reasons including:

• Inventory limitations or product unavailability;
• An incorrect price, description, tax, discount, or other website error;
• Suspected fraud, unauthorized payment, misuse, or other security concerns;
• An incomplete, invalid, or undeliverable shipping address;
• Violation of these Terms; or
• Legal, payment-provider, carrier, or operational restrictions.

If we cancel an order after payment has been collected, we will refund the canceled amount to the original payment method. We may place reasonable quantity limits on orders, including orders that appear intended for resale.

5. Pricing, Taxes, and Promotions

Prices are displayed in U.S. dollars unless otherwise stated. Applicable taxes, shipping charges, and available discounts will be calculated or displayed during checkout before the order is submitted.

We may correct typographical, pricing, tax, discount, or calculation errors. If a material error affects an order already placed, we may contact you for instructions or cancel the affected order and issue a refund. Promotional offers may be limited by time, availability, quantity, or other conditions disclosed with the offer and have no cash value.

6. Payments

Payments are processed through Stripe. By submitting payment information, you represent that you are authorized to use the selected payment method and authorize the amount shown at checkout to be charged.

Stripe may process payment, transaction, device, and fraud-prevention information under its own terms and privacy notices. We do not control Stripe's approval, decline, authorization, wallet, or account-verification decisions. An order may be delayed or canceled if payment cannot be authorized or completed.

7. Customer Accounts and Information

You agree to provide current, complete, and accurate account, billing, shipping, and contact information. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your username and password and for activity occurring through your account.

Please notify us promptly if you suspect unauthorized account use. We may suspend or close an account when reasonably necessary to protect customers, transactions, the website, or our legal rights.

8. Shipping and Delivery

Shipping Estimates

Shipping and delivery dates are estimates unless expressly identified as guaranteed. Carrier delays, weather, holidays, service disruptions, and other circumstances outside our reasonable control may affect delivery. A shipping confirmation and tracking information will be provided when available.

Delivery Address

You are responsible for providing a complete and accurate delivery address. Contact us immediately if a correction is needed. We cannot guarantee that an address can be changed after packing or fulfillment begins.

Additional shipping, carrier-return, or reshipment charges resulting from an incorrect or incomplete address, refusal, or failure to claim a package may be the customer's responsibility, as described in our Refund & Returns Policy.

Delivery Problems

If tracking shows damage, loss, an exception, or delivery that you cannot locate, contact us promptly with your order number. We may request information needed to investigate with the carrier. Your statutory rights concerning undelivered or damaged merchandise are not limited by these Terms.

9. Cancellations, Returns, Exchanges, and Refunds

Cancellations, returns, damaged or incorrect books, exchanges, return shipping, and refunds are governed by our Refund & Returns Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms.

Refunds are issued to the original payment method. Payment providers and financial institutions may require additional time to post an approved refund. Nothing in our policy excludes a consumer right or remedy that cannot be waived under applicable law.

10. Intellectual Property

The website and its contents—including text, excerpts, photographs, artwork, graphics, book-cover materials, logos, page designs, downloads, and code—are owned by or licensed to A Sense of Place and are protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual-property laws.

Purchasing the physical book transfers ownership of that individual copy only. It does not transfer any copyright, trademark, reproduction, adaptation, distribution, publication, performance, display, merchandising, or other intellectual-property right in the book or website content.

You may access and use the website for personal, noncommercial shopping and informational purposes. Without prior written permission, you may not copy, reproduce, republish, distribute, sell, license, scrape, modify, create derivative works from, or commercially exploit protected content except as permitted by law.

11. Prohibited Uses

You may not use the website to:

• Violate any applicable law or the rights of another person;
• Commit fraud, impersonate another person, or submit unauthorized payment information;
• Introduce malware, malicious code, or other harmful material;
• Probe, disrupt, bypass, or interfere with website, account, checkout, or security functions;
• Collect personal information about other users without authorization;
• Use automated tools to scrape content, overload the website, manipulate orders, or interfere with normal operation; or
• Use website content or services for unauthorized commercial activity.

We may restrict or terminate access when we reasonably believe these Terms have been violated or when necessary to protect the website, customers, or our rights.

12. Reviews, Feedback, and Submissions

If the website allows reviews, comments, photographs, suggestions, or other submissions, you remain responsible for what you submit. You represent that you have the right to submit it and that it is accurate, lawful, and does not infringe another person's rights.

You grant us a nonexclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, display, format, and distribute the submission in connection with the website, the book, and related promotion, subject to our Privacy Policy. We may moderate or remove submissions that are unlawful, abusive, misleading, irrelevant, or otherwise inappropriate, but we are not obligated to monitor every submission.

13. Privacy

Our collection and handling of personal information are described in our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms. By using the website or placing an order, you acknowledge that website, account, order, analytics, and payment-related information will be handled as described there.

14. Electronic Communications

By providing an email address, you agree that we may send electronic communications necessary to administer your account or order, including confirmations, payment notices, pre-order updates, delay notices, shipping information, security messages, and policy notices.

Transactional communications are separate from promotional marketing. Marketing emails will be sent only as permitted by law and may be unsubscribed from using the instructions in the message.

15. Third-Party Services and Links

The website may rely on or link to third-party services, including Stripe, shipping carriers, analytics providers, social platforms, and external websites. Third parties operate under their own terms and privacy practices. We are not responsible for third-party content, availability, security, or independent conduct, except to the extent responsibility cannot be excluded under applicable law.

16. Website Availability and Disclaimers

We make reasonable efforts to maintain accurate and available website and store functions, but we do not guarantee uninterrupted, error-free, or completely secure operation. The website may occasionally be unavailable for maintenance, updates, security work, service-provider disruptions, or other reasons.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, the website and its general content are provided on an “as available” basis without warranties not expressly stated in these Terms. This disclaimer does not affect express product commitments, our published return policy, or warranties and consumer rights that cannot legally be excluded.

17. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, A Sense of Place and its owners, employees, contractors, and service providers will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages arising from website use, delayed access, loss of data, or unauthorized misuse outside our reasonable control.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, our total liability arising from a particular order will not exceed the amount you paid for that order. These limitations do not apply to fraud, willful misconduct, personal injury caused by negligence, or any liability or consumer remedy that cannot legally be limited or excluded.

18. Events Outside Our Reasonable Control

We are not responsible for delay or failure caused by events outside our reasonable control, such as printing or supply disruptions, carrier failures, severe weather, natural disasters, labor disputes, war, civil unrest, government action, public-health emergencies, power or internet outages, or failures of third-party systems.

We will make reasonable efforts to communicate material delays and resume performance. This section does not eliminate any legally required delay notice, cancellation option, refund, or other non-waivable consumer right.

19. Governing Law and Disputes

These Terms and transactions through the website are governed by the laws of the State of Virginia, without regard to conflict-of-law principles, except where the consumer-protection laws of another jurisdiction must apply.

Before filing a legal claim, you and A Sense of Place agree to make a good-faith effort to resolve the matter by contacting the other party and allowing a reasonable opportunity to respond. Unless applicable law requires or permits another forum, legal proceedings shall be brought in the appropriate state or federal courts serving Newport News, Virginia.

20. General Provisions

Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, Refund & Returns Policy, product-page disclosures, and checkout terms, form the entire agreement concerning your use of the website and purchase through the store.

Severability

If a provision is found unenforceable, it will be modified to the minimum extent necessary or severed, and the remaining provisions will continue in effect.

No Waiver

A failure to enforce a provision on one occasion does not waive the right to enforce it later.

Assignment

You may not transfer your rights or obligations under these Terms without our written consent. We may transfer our rights and obligations in connection with a legitimate sale, reorganization, or transfer of the business, subject to applicable law.

21. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms to reflect changes in the website, store, product, services, providers, or applicable requirements. Revised Terms will be posted on this page with an updated “Last updated” date.

Unless applicable law requires otherwise, material changes will apply prospectively and will not reduce rights already associated with an accepted order. Continued website use after revised Terms become effective constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms for future use and transactions.

22. Contact Us

For questions about these Terms, an order, or the website, please contact: