alarmeighteen

April Book Winner!

Despite being severely sleep deprived and distracted by my gorgeous newborn smol bean, I remembered to hold this month's draw! Hooray for me, haha :P *pat pat pat*

I have entered all of your names into the spinning wheel of chance, and I have a winner...

CONGRATULATIONS to Lisa-Sophie Roth! You have won a free copy of one of my books, your choice which! I will be in touch shortly to confirm this with you.

Please join me in congratulating this month's winner, and bad luck to those of you who weren't chosen this time around. Next month might offer you more fortune, and don't forget - I'll be offering another special draw once I reach 400 Patrons!

Thank you all for your continued support, especially at this time where Patreon is a primary source of income for me as a new father!

All the best,
Jack

DISCORD - Saturday 13th March 6pm (GMT)

After a small delay, I am finally going to re-open my Discord server!

Tomorrow night, from 6pm - 8pm (ish), I will be live on Discord for a chat with my Patrons, as well as a reading or two from A History of Magic (eep!).

I hope that at least a few of you can make it :]

Remember that different tiers have access to different levels on Discord, so make sure you're aware of what it is that your current tier offers.

Talk soon?
Jack

March Book Winner!

Roundy, roundy, round goes the wheel of chance. But who will it land on this month...?! Well! I can tell you...

The winning Alarm Eighteen Patron for March is Marta! CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU!
I will be in touch shortly to confirming your chosen Harry Potter textbook replica prize (or another book, if you so wish) and your delivery details :]

Unlucky to the 340 others who weren't chosen this time, but if you stick around for the wheel's return in April, you'll be in with another chance!

I'll also be holding another big draw at 400 Patrons, so if you have any friends who you think might be interested in joining us here, please feel free to share!

All the best,
Jack

24 Hour Discount - Limited Edition Prints

I have just listed the 4 chosen prints of the 'A History of Magic' illustrations on the Alarm Eighteen website! Limited to 50 pieces each.

The discount code PATRONPRINTS10 will give all Patrons a 10% discount for the next 24 hours, so head over now using this link if you'd like to pick one up for yourself!

Postcards will follow along shortly :]

PATRONS ONLY - 24 Hour Print Exclusive!

The brand new prints of @cm-wizart's illustrations from my 'A History of Magic' replica have arrived! They have now been individually numbered from  01 to 50 (50 of each design), and will be listed on the  Alarm Eighteen website very soon!  

For the the first 24 hours after the listings have gone up, all of you - my lovely Patrons - will be granted early access to a 10% discount on any order placed for one of these 4 limited edition prints! Simply enter PATRONPRINTS10 upon check-out to apply it :]

The same 4 designs will also be listed as postcards, if you're lacking space for a full-size print!

I will post here again once I have listed the new items. Your 24 hours to use the discount will start once the next post goes up here, before the prints revert back to full price for all.

Prints - Poll Results!

Thank you all for voting for your favourite prints :]

The most popular, and therefore those soon to be made available, are...

12 - Number Seven Breakfast Epiphany (28 votes)
16 - Beedle The Bard Writes His Tales (32 votes)
21 - Brewing a Batch of Liquid Luck (35 votes)
31 - Arrival of the Hogwarts Express (36 votes)

These prints will be in the same format as the other two already listed on my website (‘Page 394’ and ’Spell Classifications’) other than being black and white instead of colour:

- Giclée Art Print
- Hahnemühle German Etching Paper
- Print size 135mm x 255mm
- Overall paper size 247mm × 327mm (suitable frames fit A4 artwork)

I am going to start production on these today, with a limited run of 50 prints (hand numbered) of each design. However, I will also be making the same designs available as unlimited postcards, for those who would like more subtle additions to their collection!

I will let you all know once the new pieces are available to order :]

All the best,

Jack

Did someone say... Prints? (continued)

And here are the remaining choices! (see previous post)

Did someone say... Prints?

It's time that I added some more prints to my website! From a different book this time...  and the wonderful hand of @cm_wizart!

But before I do, I'd like your help in selecting the first 3 or 4 to be added, from the following list of 35! Select any that you would be interested in having for yourself in the poll(s) that follow.

(I had to split the set between two posts, as the max option is 25 - the rest will follow in the next post, so please vote there too)

Discord Timing - VOTE

Hello again!

Thank you for responding to the previous poll. It seems that a lot of you are interested in me picking my Discord back up, especially for readings of A History of Magic! But, it clearly depends on the time and day...

Please help me out by voting below (select all suitable options) and I will do my best to accommodate the most requested answer! Please note, all times are in GMT, so take that into account when voting if you're overseas.

Thank you in advance!
Jack

Discord Revisited

Hello everyone! I hope you're all keeping well.

I have been locked out of my Discord for a long time now - my apologies for not being present for any questions asked - but I am planning to sort this out over the next few days.

Once I have done so, I have been considering holding a weekly (possibly...) Discord chat again! If I do so, I'm thinking about reading from my new 'A History of Magic' replica. Perhaps a section a week, as well as holding a bit of a general Q&A and chat afterwards.

What are your thoughts on this? Would you attend? I'd be grateful for your input in the poll below, just check any options that appeal to you! Thank you in advance :]

February Book Winner!

Good February, everyone! I hope this month is treating you fairly so far.

As you know, it's time for another monthly draw! I have just added all 350 patrons into the wheel of names, and we have a winner...

CONGRATUALTIONS to patron - Lynwen Davies!

You have won a free book of your choosing! I will be in touch shortly to collect your book choice and delivery information :]

Please share in congratulating this month's winner. Unlucky to the 349 of you who were not chosen this time around, but perhaps next month might offer you more luck?

Thank you again for your continued support of my work!

All the best,
Jack

Instagram Harry Potter Trivia - Winner!

Thank you to all 86 patrons who tried their luck with my recent trivia over on Instagram! I made sure to double your entry (if you got all 7 questions right, that is!).

I have just entered the names of all 217 successful participants and spun the wheel of chance... 

And the winner is - @luengort - CONGRATULATIONS to you!

Though I know the luck was swayed in your favour (as patrons were twice as likely to be drawn than non-patrons), I'm so glad that the winner is a patron! It's an extra reward for your support here :]

Thank you again to everyone for taking part - I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed putting it together! And as you may have seen, due to numerous requests to do so, I am now working on a Harry Potter themed Book of Riddles called 'Tom, Nick, or Harry?' in which I will be creating more questions and riddles that you can test your friends with! Head here to check out the WIP cover if you haven't seen it already: https://www.instagram.com/p/CKbjF1AABut/ 

See you for the next monthly draw at the start of February, if I don't see you again before!

All the best,
Jack

How's your Harry Potter Trivia?!

Hello my lovely Patrons! I hope you're all doing well and staying safe with everything that's going on (I seem to say this all time at the moment, but the world continues to throw things at us, it seems).

Those of you that follow me on Instagram may have already seen my announcement this afternoon - I am going to be hosting another round of Harry Potter Trivia via a set of interactive Instagram stories. I hope you'll all join in with me! 

As an added bonus, all Alarm Eighteen Patrons who enter the trivia competition will have their names entered twice into the random winner selection! This will give you double the chance of having your name drawn, and thus receiving a free replica book of your choice.

However... you'll have to answer all of the questions right first!

Please tag your Instagram @ in the comments on this post (or direct message me if you'd rather not share publicly) to make sure I know you're eligible.

Good luck to you all :]

December & January Book Winners!

Happy New Year everyone! Thank you so much for your continued support throughout 2020.

Because of everything that has been going on, I had to postpone (and then completely forgot!) to announce the December winner... so here they are, along with the newly selected winner for January too!

December - Congratulations to patron Maddie Allen!

January - Congratulations to patron Chloe Emily Stone!

You have both won a free copy of any replica of mine you choose (or one of my other books, if you'd prefer). I will contact shortly to arrange postage :D

Bad luck to everyone else who was included in the these two draws. Perhaps next month will be your lucky month?! Also, don't forget that for another 5 days (until 5th January), I am offering free shipping on all orders placed on both the Alarm Eighteen and Treasury of Magical Enigmas websites. Simply use the code 12DAYS on checkout!

All the best,
Jack

300+ Patrons - The wheel has been spun!

Hello to all 381 (currently) of you! Thank you so very much for your continued support of my work - you are all very much appreciated :D

As promised, for exceeding my goal of 300 Patreon Patrons, I am offering a full set of all 5 of my replicas to one lucky supporter. And a random name has now been drawn...

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNER - Augustina Hund!

I will be contacting you shortly for your shipping information!

Bad luck this time to the 380 (so many lovely friends!!!) of you who were not so lucky, but don't forget that I will be continuing to hold a single book draw at the start of each and every month (just remember you'll need to be on Tier 3 or up to be entered for these). 

I'd also be interested in your thoughts for my next subscriber goal - I'm thinking I will set it at 500, as I'm already so close to 400! What would you like to win next?

Please join me in congratulating the winner in the comments below!
Jack

300+ Patrons! Sorry This Took So Long...

My sincere apologies for not organising this sooner. Things have been rather hectic, but I am finally about to hold the random draw for the full free set of 5 replica books :]

I am going to post once more via my Instagram story to make sure everyone has the opportunity to enter, should the wish to, and tomorrow I will spin the wheel of fate with all Patron names included!

I wish each and every one of you good luck :D

November Book Winner!

Sorry for the slight delay in announcing the Harry Potter Textbook Replica winner this month, things got a little bit snagged up again! But I have now spun the wheel of chance, with all 359 of your names entered!

Please join me in offering a huge congratulations to this month's winner - Ingrid Adreani!

You have won your choice of any of my replicas (or one of my other books, if you'd prefer). I will be sending you a message shortly so that you can let me know which title you'd like!

Bad luck to the rest of you this time around. Perhaps December is your month?

Once again, thank you so much for your continued support of my work :]

Upcoming 'A History of Magic' Extras

Now that the full textbook replica is complete, Claire (@cm_wizart - the illustrator) and I have been discussing the possibility of releasing some of her wonderful artwork in different ways.

So far, we have settled on postcards and prints, and perhaps a 'behind the scenes' style artbook, showing the working sketches, our thoughts and conversations we had about them, and all 35 final illustrations that feature in the book!

We would be very grateful if you would vote below on which of these things you would be interested in, if any, and please also feel free to comment any other ideas that you may have!

Thank you in advance - Jack

Changing Currency to GBP (£)

Hello everyone,

I wanted to share some Patreon currency-related news! I’m now able to change my creator balance and payout currency to my local currency of GBP (£). This means I’m subject to less fees when I receive funds through each month.

To avoid any additional conversion fees for the both of us, I suggest that those of you in the UK/EU/US also change to your local currency. For those of you who would like to switch your currency you can follow these steps:

1. On Patreon.com, hover over your avatar in the top right of your screen.
2. Click Manage memberships.
3. Find this page, and click Edit.
4. Under Currency, choose your preferred currency.
5. Click Update to save your settings.

For those of you outside of the UK, you can also change to pay in your currency of choice (EUR or USD) which will help you avoid foreign transaction fees.

Thank you for your continued support!
Jack

(the message above is based on the Patreon default message provided to me - please let me know if you have any other questions regarding this!)

October Book Winner!

Around and around spun the wheel... until it came to a rest on patron Jaylunn Obee!  Congratulations for winning a free copy of any book of choice! I will be contacting you shortly so can tell me which book you would like to receive as your prize! 📘📗📙📓

Unlucky to the other 310 patrons who were entered into the draw this time around... you can always enter again next month :) As always, please remember that Felix Felicis is banned from all competitions!

Sneak Peek

How many Bathildas does it take to write A History of Magic?

That's not a joke, but the answer might just surprise you nonetheless...

September Book Winner!

The wheel of chance has spun once again... Please join me in congratulating patron Kandice who has just won a free copy of any book of choice! I will be contacting you shortly so can tell me which book you would like to receive as your prize! 📘📗📙📓

Bad luck to the other 239 patrons who were entered into the draw this time... there's always next month :) Once again, please remember that Felix Felicis is banned from all competitions!

Nearly One Whole Month! :O

I really must apologise for the lack of posting on here... Things are so busy with organising, packaging, and shipping that I've barely had time to think, let alone post!

I know this is very much not what you're all here for, but as I have nothing else relevant to share right now, here's a quick cover of 'Inbetween Days' by The Cure I recorded as a socially distanced birthday present for my Dad. I played the drums, bass, and guitar parts live (not at the same time, of course!), as well as the vocals, then added in a couple of synth parts through the computer.

I hope you enjoy it! (?!)

There may well also be a cover of 'Shake It Off' by Taylor Swift... but let's see how brave I am after posting this one first!

p.s. Don't forget that the August prize draw is coming up in a few days! Good luck!

August Book Winner!

A huge congratulations to patron Brad Cosner who has just won a free copy of any book of choice! I will be contacting you shortly so can tell me which book you would like to receive as your prize! 📘📗📙📓

Bad luck to the other 194 patrons who were in the draw this time around, but who knows... perhaps next month is your month? :) Please remember that Felix Felicis is banned from all competitions!

200(+) Patron Prize!

Good morning, everyone! Or at least it's morning here :]

I've just sat down with my first cup of tea of the day (and a cheeky biscuit) and, as promised, I have entered all 230 of your names into a randomiser to choose the winner of a book of choice!

And the winner is... 

accio.ali

CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU! I'll be in touch shortly to organise your prize!

Please join me in congratulating the winner in the comments below, and bad luck to the rest of you this time around. A little more Felix Felicis might help next time?!

Don't forget that I'll be hosting another once I reach 300 Patrons, this time for a full set of all 5 Books we All Need! And I am also going to be offering a chance to get a free book monthly, too! As long as you are signed up to the $5 tier (or higher) at the start of each month, you'll be in with a chance :]

Thank you all once again for your continued support!

All the best,
Jack

Monthly Book Giveaways!

Hello everyone! It's been a while, I'm sorry about that. I've been buried in books and boxes (and I still am, truth be told). 

However! We have just passed the 200 patron goal. HOORAYYY!!! Thank you to every one of you for supporting me here. It really means a lot :D

I will be entering all 200(+) of you into a random draw on Tuesday to find the winner of a book of choice (you can select any of my books for your prize - past, present, or future!). Stay tuned for that.

-------

Also, starting next month, and continuing each and every month, I will be offering all Tier 3 ($5) and above patrons a chance to receive any book of choice for FREE! At the start of each month, a random draw will be held to select the lucky winner!

Good luck to you all :D

All the best,
Jack

Completed Part-Payments?

Hello everyone!

Sorry, this is another boring text post, but an important one nonetheless!

As I am now starting to ship Books we All Need, it would be great if all patrons on the part-payment tier could let me know once they have paid off their book reservations in full. Many of you have already done so (thank you very much!). 

I will, of course, be checking this myself, but it would help things to move more quickly if you could drop me a quick message to let me know you've paid off your book/s.

This also goes for the start of next month and those that follow, too.

Thank you all in advance!
Jack 

Perfecting Potions - Bullet Journal and Sketchbook

Seeing as work on the full textbook version of this book has been delayed somewhat, I have decided to release it in notebook form for the time being! You can choose either dot grid pages (for bullet journalling) or blank white pages (for sketchbook use).

For all my lovely Patrons, each order placed will receive a little something extra along with any order placed for this notebook. Simply let me know your order number!

Click here to take a closer look :]

Goblins and Runes

While I'm still working out the best way to share videos with you all, here's a little behind the scenes look at the Goblin underpainting tests I did for Dangvingäsh - The Goblin Dictionary, and the trials for the Elvan Planitis runes.

To create a wide range of Goblin characters, from Artist to Yardmaster, I spent time compiling features (mostly ears and noses!), clothing, hairstyles, etc. I then drew these aspects in different combinations, until I ended up with a character I was happy with. These sketches were then underpainted and layered digitally.

To create the Planítis runes, I worked with combinations of lines, circles and dots, each mark representing an aspect of Astronomy, such as orbits, asteroids, moons, horizon lines, etc. Of course, each rune has its own use and meaning too, as well as a specific casting direction based on compass points, should you wish to use them for Divination...

Copies of Dangvingäsh and Læraryna will be shipping from next week! Hooray!

Also... NEW GIVEAWAY GOAL

As I am now sitting at 150 Patrons (thank you to every one of you), I have added the next goal!

Once I reach 200 Patrons, I will run a giveaway for a free book of choice. Once I get there, all 200(+) of you will be entered into a random draw for a chance to win :] The winner can choose any of my books, past, present, or future, as their prize!