An Exclusive Interview with Lori Titus, Creator of the Marradith Ryder Series

Lori Titus is one of the most imaginative and prolific writers I've ever met. Whether she's writing about lovelorn ghosts, vampire, werewolves, or other creatures of the night, her ability to put new twists on old clichés constantly surprises me..and delights readers.

Her first ongoing story, The Marradith Ryder Series, is her most daring and enthralling work to date. I recently had the chance to interview Lori Titus and found her to be just as intriguing as her fictional creations.

When you first wrote, Hunting in Closed Spaces, did you have any plans to make a longer story out of it?

Yes, actually I did. The protagonist popped up as a character in another of my stories called My Boss is a Werewolf, which I wrote a few months before Hunting. In that story, she was an adult, and she was called Mary.

In the first story, your main character wasn't even named. How did you come up with the name Marradith Ryder?

I had written about another character about ten years ago that was named Marradith. I loved her. There was something very strong about the character, but for some reason I never got very far on her story. When I realized that I wanted to take Hunting further, I decided that this character should be Marradith. It fit her personality; a very common and dependable sounding name, but with an odd spelling. She seems ordinary on the surface but is very unique.

For the last name, I looked through a list of baby names for one that meant knight. There were quite a few with that meaning, but Ryder stuck out and had the kind of punch I was looking for. Once she was named everything else about her fell into place.

What about her family? What led you to introduce them and make them such an important part of the series?

I always think it's a mistake to isolate your character; the more people that she knows and cares for, the richer and deeper the story is. It's also an opportunity to show people at different phases in their lives. Once they were in the story, they all started getting their own secrets, histories, and motivations.

Starting with the second episode, you began slowly developing your own dark fantasy world with its own history and fictional "rules." Was this planned, or something that you came up with as you were writing?

A little of both. I knew that if I ever wrote about werewolves and vampires, they needed to have a seperate history and follow a different set of rules than the usual ones. I wouldn't find them interesting otherwise. The specifics came to me as the story unfolded.

Because they're both young girls and they hunt supernatural creatures, comparisons to Buffy the Vampire Slayer are inevitable. But, what sets Marradith apart?

I love Buffy, but I leave her completly to Joss Whedon! Marradith is part werewolf/part vampire, and I believe that makes a huge difference. She also has some very practical reasons to hunt these creatures. They are threatening her and her family. Marradith does not start her journey with the idea that she is special or chosen. She is only participating because its what she needs to do to survive. If she had a choice, she'd be quite happy to let Justin and others like him do the job.

Before this series, you've primarily written one-shot stories, how is doing a serial story different for you as a writer?

Writing this series has been a great learning ground for me. I have had a lot of fun fleshing Marradith out and developing back stories for supporting characters. When I write short stories I often think of them as snapshots that can provide a frame for a larger story later. However, I think it's easier to write longer stories; after a certain point the momentum is built up, and the characters take the plot where it needs to go. With short stories, you need to have a theory cemented, sometimes before you even begin.

As of this interview, you're up to Part 7 of the series and have over 20 more installments already written. How far do you think this series will go?

It could easilly go twenty more, perhaps longer.

Have you had a lot of fan reaction from readers? How have the reactions been?

I have had overwhelming response from readers, all of it positive. It is great to realize that people who don't know me enjoy reading my stories. I was also pleasantly surprised at the diversity of people that were attracted to the story.

Can you tell us anything about your future plans for Marradith without giving away TOO many spoilers?

Yes! The story will include some new characters in upcoming episodes, and characters who were only mentioned previously will start to pop up. There may be some romance on the horizon for some.

Anything else you'd like to tell us about The Marradith Ryder Series?

I am thoroughly enjoying writing it, and I do hope that readers will continue to like it as well. Surprises are in store.

Lori Titus's The Marradith Ryder Series appears exclusively at http://www.flashesinthedark.comhttp://www.flashesinthedark.comhttp://www.fariagraphics.comhttp://www.flashesinthedark.comhttp://www.fariagraphics.comhttp://www.myspace.com/talesforthedark