Guest Blog Post by Curtis Jobling & Competition (EVENT NOW CLOSED) to win a set of Wereworld books! (UK only ends 13th August)

As part of my review of Wereworld: Rage of the Lions I'm proud to present not only some questions answered by Curtis, but also a competition for one winner to win both books! Before I start I would like to thank Curtis for including me and all the other bloggers who helped out with promoting his debut novel Wereworld: Rise of the Wolf. It was a wonderful surprise to see the mention, and it continues to be a pleasure helping promote his books. Right, on with the Q & A! My questions are in bold and Curtis's replies are in italics. 

1) Who was your favourite character to write about in Rage of Lions and why? 

Can I go with the cop-out answer and say all of them?  To be quite honest, I’ve especially enjoyed writing Hector’s storyline. Each of the characters heads in very different directions in Rage of Lions compared to the more linear tale of Rise of the Wolf. Hector and Drew, the greatest of friends, are separated from one another early on and have to deal with all that they encounter without their ‘moral compass’ at their side.

2) Is there any scene which didn't make the final book which you enjoyed writing? 

There’s a VERY big reveal scene that I wrote for the end of the novel, which would have had a massive impact in the storyline for Book Three, Shadow of the Hawk. Instead, I’ve banked that, put it to one side, and that’ll be making an appearance in Book Four, which I’m about to start writing.

3)  Whitley goes through a fair amount in this book - what was the inspiration for her, and will she play a main role in the next book?

I was very aware that, although my target audience might be perceived as being male teens, there are a lot of girls reading – and loving – their fantasy and horror. I was determined with the second book to give a female character more to do, and hopefully avoid her being a simpering stereotype. Both Whitley and Gretchen get to kick a little ass in this book, which is great fun to write. As for her role in Book Three, that’s spoiler territory, my lips are sealed

4) Are you able to give any hints about the next book?

Well, if you’ve read Rage of Lions you’ll already know that there was quite a cataclysmic ending for our heroes. Inevitably we’ll be concentrating on Drew’s story principally, with Hector coming a close second, as they encounter fantastic new therianthropes in the most unlikely places. With each novel in the series the stakes have to be dramatically heightened, but I also want some big pay-offs and revelations for the fans. Hopefully Rage and Shadow both have that! 

5) What's your favourite snack and drink while writing?

It’s got to be a nice tall mug of tea and chocolate biscuits. The tea has to be Yorkshire Tea (which grieves me as a Lancastrian) and the biscuits can be Jaffa Cakes, chocolate covered Hobnobs and the like. Ooh, I didn’t even mention the naughtiest writerly nibbles of all, the dreaded Chocolate Orange and the terrible Toblerone!

Mmm chocolate orange! Few can resist its allure. I'm afraid I haven't got a chocolate orange as a prize (even if I did it wouldn't actually make it to the post office), but I do have a set of Curtis's two books for a prize! 

This event is now closed.

The prize: One winner will receive a copy of Wereworld: Rise of the Wolf and Wereworld: Rage of the Lions from Penguin. 

Thank you to both Penguin for providing the prize, and to Curtis for answering the questions.