Last updated: July 5, 2026
The rules of my house. Short version: be an adult, be decent, don’t steal my work. Long version below.
These terms govern your use of readsterling.com, operated by an India-registered sole proprietorship, publishing under the pen name S. H. Sterling (“I”, “me”, “the site”). By using the site, you accept these terms. If you don’t accept them, close the tab — no hard feelings.
1. Adults only
This site contains adult fiction, mature themes, and sexually explicit content intended solely for adults.
- You must be 18 years of age or older, or the age of majority in your jurisdiction, whichever is higher, to use this site.
- By using the site, registering, or accessing any content, you confirm you meet this requirement.
- If content of this nature is illegal where you live, don’t access it from there. You’re responsible for compliance with your local laws.
2. What this site is
- A showcase of my fiction: excerpts, previews, and member-only extended content
- My books are sold on third-party retailers (Amazon and others). Purchases happen on their platforms under their terms — I don’t process payments on this site.
- Free reads, the Sterling Letters newsletter, Sterling Dates (live text-chat events), and reader forms are offered as-is, and I can modify or discontinue any of them.
3. Everything here is fiction
All stories, characters, names, images and events on this site and in my books are works of fiction. All characters depicted in any sexual context are adults, 18 or over. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental. Images on this site are AI-generated and do not depict real people.
4. Your account
- Registration requires a name or alias, an email address, and confirmation that you’re an adult. Aliases are welcome; impersonating real people is not.
- You’re responsible for your account and password. One account per person.
- I may suspend or delete accounts that violate these terms, harass anyone, attempt to scrape or redistribute content, or make me regret the open door.
5. Conduct in chat and forms
Sterling Dates and site forms are moderated spaces. By participating you agree to:
- No harassment, hate speech, or threats
- No sharing of illegal content of any kind
- No posting other people’s personal information
- No commercial spam
- No recording, screenshotting for redistribution, or republishing of chat conversations
I can mute, remove, or ban anyone who crosses these lines, without notice and without appeal. My house.
6. My content, my rights
- All content on this site and in my books — text, stories, cover art, the S. H. Sterling name and persona — is my intellectual property or licensed to me, protected under the Copyright Act, 1957 (India) and international copyright treaties.
- You may read, enjoy, quote briefly with attribution, and share links.
- You may not republish, redistribute, sell, scrape, train AI models on, or otherwise exploit my content without written permission.
- Free reads are free to read, not free to republish.
7. Takedowns and complaints
If you believe content on this site infringes your rights or is otherwise unlawful, use the complaint form on the Didn’t Like Something? page or email sterling@readsterling.com with: identification of the content, the basis of your complaint, and your contact details. I take genuine complaints seriously and respond within the timelines required under Indian law.
8. No warranties
The site is provided “as is”. I aim for it to be available, accurate, and delightful, but I don’t guarantee uninterrupted access, error-free operation, or that a story won’t ruin you for lesser fiction.
9. Limitation of liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, the site operator and S. H. Sterling are not liable for any indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from your use of the site. Total liability for any claim is limited to ₹1,000 or the amount you paid me directly through this site (which is zero — sales happen on retailers), whichever is higher.
10. Third-party links and services
Links to retailers, Instagram, Luma, and other third-party services take you to platforms I don’t control. Their terms and privacy policies apply there.
11. Privacy
How I handle your data is covered in the Privacy Policy and Cookies Policy, which are part of these terms.
12. Changes
I may update these terms. The date above changes when I do, and continued use means acceptance. Material changes get a mention in Sterling Letters.
13. Governing law
These terms are governed by the laws of India. Courts in Bengaluru, Karnataka have exclusive jurisdiction over any disputes.
Now that the boring part is done — go find something of mine to read that these terms are protecting, or drop me a line, telling me something hot.
— S. H. Sterling